The Philadelphia Eagles entered Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks without their No. 1 running back and their top three wide receivers, spelling a recipe for disaster for Carson Wentz and the offense. Turns out, the offense was a lot worse than the depth chart showed when they took the field.

Wentz struggled throughout the afternoon, throwing two interceptions and fumbling three times (losing two of them) as the Seahawks defense forced five turnovers in their 17-9 win. Philadelphia's lone touchdown came in the final seconds in garbage time. The Eagles reached Seattle territory four times prior to the late touchdown, committing three turnovers and turning the ball over on downs midway through the fourth quarter.

Seattle took the lead for good on a trick play in the first quarter, which resulted in a Russell Wilson 33-yard touchdown pass to Malik Turner. Wilson was sacked six times in the win and wasn't his sharpest (13 for 25, 200 yards, touchdown, interception, 75.4 passer rating), but the Seahawks made enough plays on offense to counter an anemic Eagles offense that didn't have a pulse after scoring the first three points of the game.

Rashaad Penny was the unlikely spark of the Seahawks offense, finishing with 14 carries for a career-high 129 yards and a touchdown, which came on a career-long 58-yard run with 11:56 remaining in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach for the Eagles. Seattle had plenty of miscues in this one, committing 12 penalties and committing two turnovers, but the Eagles offense was unable to get anything going as Seattle gave them multiple chances to steal a win.

The Seahawks defense took advantage of a depleted Eagles team to earn another road win on the East Coast, while Philadelphia turned in another abysmal performance against one of the best teams in the league.

Why the Seahawks won

This was an interesting game to evaluate for the Seahawks. Russell Wilson didn't play well, missing an easy touchdown pass to Jacob Hollister in the second quarter. He was also plagued by a touchdown drop by Tyler Lockett on a deep ball in third quarter, but all the Seahawks really needed was one touchdown to beat a depleted Eagles offense. While Penny's 58-yard touchdown run wasn't the game-winner, it sealed the victory. The Eagles run defense held Chris Carson to just eight carries for 26 yards and a credited fumble, but Penny stepped up with a career-high in carries and his second-career 100-yard game. Without Penny's touchdown run, Seattle was in danger of losing a game its defense dominated. Penny got the Seahawks the two-score lead they desperately needed against a horrific Eagles offense.

Why the Eagles lost

Carson Wentz and the offense were abysmal in a game where the Eagles needed their franchise quarterback to step up against a Seahawks defense ranked 23rd in points allowed and 25th in yards allowed. Wentz finished 33 of 45 for 256 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, but he went 8 for 8 in garbage time with that touchdown pass coming in the final minute with the game out of hand. Wentz missed open receivers in the flat and on screen pass that would have extended drives. He also fumbled the ball three times, one of those coming in Seattle territory with the Eagles down seven points. One of his two interceptions came in Seattle territory as well, hurting a potential scoring drive. The Eagles coaching staff doesn't help Wentz; they don't play to his strength and move him out of the pocket enough, but the quarterback's mechanics and timing were off all afternoon. Just a terrible game from Wentz on a day the Eagles needed him to be very good.

Turning point

Crazy to think a play in the first quarter dictated the outcome of a game, but that's exactly what happened for the Eagles' offensive output. On the Eagles' second possession, Wentz drove the offense down to the Seahawks' 10-yard line and had them facing a third-and-9. The Eagles quarterback had running back Miles Sanders wide open on a wheel route and sailed the ball way past him for an incomplete pass as the Eagles had to settle for a field goal with 7:31 left to play in the first quarter, taking a 3-0 lead. Wentz missed Sanders throughout the game on short throws, not even looking his way on several pass attempts.

If Wentz hits Sanders, the running back has a chance to potentially get a first down and the Eagles potentially could have scored a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead. The Seahawks took the lead for good on their ensuing possession and a 7-3 deficit felt like a three-touchdown hole with how poor the Eagles offense played. That completion could have changed the complex of the game.

Play of the game

It's been hard to score touchdowns off the Eagles defense since the bye week, unless a team runs a trick play against them. Seattle took a page from the New England Patriots playbook on how to score six points off the Eagles defense as Wilson's 33-yard pass to Turner gave the Seahawks a first quarter lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Wilson tossed the ball to running back Chris Carson, who took a few steps and threw a lateral back to Wilson. The Seahawks quarterback went back to pass with tons of room to throw the ball and threw a perfect pass to Turner in the back of the end zone for the score. The Eagles defense read the flea flicker well, forcing Wilson to hit Turner in one spot for the score as an underthrown ball ends up in an interception or an incomplete pass. Wilson wasn't at his best in this game, but that was a MVP-type throw.

Quotable

"Our issues on offense today were not about Carson Wentz." -- Eagles head coach Doug Pederson after the loss

Wentz didn't have his starting running back, his top three wide receivers, his All-Pro right tackle or even his All-Pro right guard for the majority of the game in playing with a makeshift offensive line, but the quarterback struggled to hit open receivers on easy passes. Wentz's body language looked concerning as he had little help in a game he struggled to get the offense moving. While Wentz isn't 100 percent at fault, he's not playing like the $128 million quarterback the Eagles paid him to be (he's 3-8 against over .500 teams since 2018).

Up next

The Seahawks host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football as Minnesota comes off their bye week, a battle for playoff positioning in the NFC. The Eagles travel to Miami to face the Dolphins, the first of three straight games vs. sub-.500 teams.



