In the end, the story wasn't about Kevin Kolb, who did a good job in his first NFL start at quarterback. The Eagles lost 48-22 to New Orleans on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field because the defense battled and ultimately was caved in by a superb New Orleans offense, and because the Eagles special teams made mistakes that proved deadly.
The special teams were of primary concern, and coordinator Ted Daisher has to find a way to correct things immediately. Starting with a Chris Clemons personal foul penalty long after a Saints punt backed the Eagles up on their 12-yard line midway through the first quarter and continuing in that same sequence with an illegal shift penalty when the Eagles punted that cost Philadelphia 29 precious yards of field position, the special teams were just not tight enough to win a big early-season game against a quality opponent.
There were more mistakes – a DeSean Jackson decision to catch a punt at his own 2-yard line trying to make a play which instead resulted in illegal block penalties and backed the Eagles into a hole that gave New Orleans time to get the ball back and score a touchdown before the end of the half, and then an Ellis Hobbs fumble on the kickoff to open the second half put New Orleans in position to turn a 17-13 halftime lead into a 24-13 lead minutes into the third quarter – that the Eagles could not overcome.
With 1 minute, 40 seconds remaining in the first half, the Eagles and Saints were tied, 10-10. With 11:39 to go in the third quarter, New Orleans held a 31-13 lead.
A crazy game went haywire quickly against the Eagles on a sun-splashed September day. We all knew going in how tough it would be against quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints offense, and it proved to be every bit as difficult as the expectations. Brees was brilliant, completing 25 of 34 passes for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns, and he came right out from the start and picked apart the defense with some intermediate passing, some quick throws and then perfectly-thrown strikes down the field.
New Orleans drove 74 yards in eight plays to open the game and while the defense had a moment or two – Akeem Jordan leaped to tip a pass and made a spectacular interception – the Saints rolled to more than 400 total net yards and Brees had his way.
That sequence late in the first half and early into the third quarter turned everything upside down, though. To that point, the Eagles hung in with Kolb at quarterback and with some wrinkles thrown in.
Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg weren't shy about opening up the ""Wildcat"" portion of the playbook in the first half. They called it seven times with wide receiver DeSean Jackson (3), running back Brian Westbrook (2) and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (2) sharing snaps. For the most part it worked, gaining 43 yards on the seven plays.
On one snap, the Eagles bunched three men to the left and right sides of the formation, using tackle Winston Justice, tight end Brent Celek and Maclin to the right, with tackle Jason Peters, wide receiver Kevin Curtis and tight end Alex Smith to the left side of the formation. Jackson took the direct snap with Westbrook to his right in the backfield, and Jackson scrambled for 4 yards and a first down on a second-and-3 play.
In the third quarter, the Eagles ran it twice, including once in the red zone when Westbrook took a direct snap, rolled right and threw for fullback Leonard Weaver in the flat. The throw was slightly behind Weaver, who couldn't hang on.
Then Kolb ran an option play to the right side of the formation and pitched to Westbrook, who was stopped after 1 yard.
The tricky stuff wasn't enough, though. New Orleans had too much on this day and played a virtually perfect game while the Eagles stumbled on special teams and flailed away on defense. The defense battled, it really did, but the Saints were nearly flawless. Brees ran a magnificent show, even forcing the Eagles to back off the blitz as he read what was coming and from where and made the Eagles pay with a series of throws down the field.
Maybe the most pressing big-picture concern is the special teams. The Eagles were called for five penalties on kicks. Hobbs turned the ball over on a kickoff return to open the second half, which led to the Saints running away with things in the third quarter. Jackson made a poor decision to field a punt at his 2-yard line with 1:57 to go in the first half. If he lets the kick bounce into the end zone, the Eagles get the ball at their 20-yard and can be more aggressive offensively. Instead, the Saints held, the Eagles punted and two plays later Brees threw a touchdown pass to Marcus Colston – he was unstoppable on the day – and New Orleans held a 17-10 lead.
Kolb led a pretty 7-play, 65-yard drive to set David Akers up for a 32-yard field goal at the end of the half, but then Hobbs fumbled the kickoff to open the third quarter and Kolb threw an interception on the next possession and the Saints had 14 unanswered points.
Just like that the Eagles were pushing to come from behind, and they couldn't catch the Saints on this day. Even late, with the Eagles still hanging around, the special teams faltered.
Sav Rocca shanked a 26-yard punt early in the fourth quarter with the Eagles down 34-20 and hoping to turn the momentum around. Instead, New Orleans took possession at its 48-yard line with 12:50 remaining in the game and drove 52 yards to score on a Reggie Bush touchdown run to put things way, way, way out of reach.
As for Kolb, who could start again against Kansas City if Donovan McNabb is not recovered from his fractured rib, he did a lot of good things. He ran the huddle well and was generally very accurate with his throws. He made good decisions, and other than the interceptions -- one was returned 97 yards by Darren Sharper for a last-minute touchdown -- Kolb threw for 391 yards, tossed a couple of touchdowns and looked like he was in command. Overall, Kolb completed 31 of 51 passes.
Kolb's two-minute drill was strong at the end of the first half and he did a good job with the clock in his head and avoiding sacks. Should he be called upon against Kansas City, the Eagles will have a lot of confidence in him, and he will have a lot of confidence in knowing what he can do.
But between now and Sunday, there are a lot of things to fix. Special teams have to be at the top of the list. The Eagles lost the battle on this Sunday, in a game when they had to be great in every phase to turn back a powerful Saints team.
It will be an important week going into the bye, into a game against a team the Eagles should beat if they play their game. But this is a tricky game, and the pre-bye week game hasn't been kind to the Eagles.
Next Sunday, the Eagles need to show improvement. They need to be a team that wins all three phases to wipe away some of the sour taste from this game.
