National Football League

Common theme arises in Eagles' losses

Published Nov. 16, 2009 9:45 p.m. ET

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An inability to run the ball effectively, score touchdowns in the red zone and convert short-yardage situations cost the Philadelphia Eagles again. "We've got to do better there," coach Andy Reid said a few times Monday. The Eagles rallied from a 28-9 fourth-quarter deficit to lose 31-23 to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. Donovan McNabb threw for 450 yards, and the passing attack accounted for a whopping 94 percent of the offense. But three drives stalled inside San Diego's 10, and the Eagles settled for short field goals by David Akers. "Three opportunities in the red zone you've got to take advantage of," Reid said. "There are some things we can do schematically and things we can execute better when we're down in there. Really, it's probably more the execution thing we have to take care of as players and coaches." Trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, Philadelphia had a first down at the Chargers 1. Fullback Leonard Weaver was stopped for no gain. McNabb threw an incomplete pass. Halfback Eldra Buckley then was stopped short of the goal line on just his fourth carry of the season. Later in the quarter, the Eagles had a first down at the Chargers 9. An incomplete pass was followed by Brian Westbrook's no-gainer run. McNabb then tossed a 2-yard pass to Brent Celek, and Akers came on for another field goal to cut the deficit to 14-6. After San Diego took a 21-6 lead in the third quarter, the Eagles drove to the Chargers 7. But McNabb threw an incomplete pass on third-and-1 and that brought on Akers. In a 20-16 loss to Dallas last week, the Eagles couldn't convert three critical short-yardage plays. They were stopped twice on third-and-1 and once on fourth-and-inches. The Eagles (5-4) have had trouble in running situations, because they just don't run the ball often. Of their 548 offensive plays this season, only 159 have been rushes by their halfbacks or fullback. That's 29 percent. Some of those carries weren't even in a traditional formation because Philadelphia has used a variation of the wildcat offense this year. "Short-yardage situations, again, we've got to do better there," Reid said. "When you're in the red zone and you've got a number of shots at it, you've got to score touchdowns." The defense also was a big culprit in the loss at San Diego, giving up a lot points and failing to make a key stop late in the game. With San Diego up 28-23 midway through the fourth quarter, the Chargers controlled the ball for nearly seven minutes. Nate Kaeding kicked a field goal with 30 seconds left, and Philadelphia got the ball back with just 24 seconds remaining and 66 yards to go. Against Dallas, the Eagles kicked a field goal with 4:27 left in the game and didn't see the ball again. "The last drive, I expect more from my defense than that," Reid said. "I have a lot of trust in them. We'll figure that out and get that taken care of. You've got to be able to get off the field in those situations and give the offense an opportunity to score, and we didn't do a good enough job there." Notes: Brian Westbrook's status is uncertain after he sustained his second concussion in three weeks. Reid said LT Jason Peters should be ready to go next week after missing Sunday's game with an ankle sprain. CB Sheldon Brown has a hamstring strain, but he stayed in the game. S/KR Quintin Demps has a high-ankle sprain.