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Philadelphia Eagles News

Morning Roundup: Quick hits from Sunday's loss to the Raiders

Wide receiver Jalen Reagor
Wide receiver Jalen Reagor

Microsoft Teams Top Connection

Wide receiver Jalen Reagor came down with the ball despite coverage from three Raiders defenders and ran into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

1. Dallas Goedert takes over as top tight end

On National Tight Ends Day, it was only fitting that the Eagles' own Dallas Goedert led all pass catchers with a season-best 70 yards on three receptions. Goedert's 24-yard reception on the opening drive of the game put the Eagles in Raiders territory as Philadelphia capitalized to take an early 7-0 lead.

Goedert added a 25-yard catch in the fourth quarter that once again set up a touchdown drive. Goedert later got in the end zone as the recipient of a two-point conversion to cap off the Eagles' scoring for the day.

The outing was significant for Goedert. It was his first game back after missing the Week 6 game against Tampa Bay on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. It was also Goedert's first performance as the bonafide top tight end following the trade that sent Zach Ertz to Arizona.

Of course, Goedert isn't concerned about stats. He wants to simply help the Eagles get back in the win column.

"We're going to go back into work and continue to get better each and every day," Goedert said. "That's all you can do, get better every day. Come to work and get better. We're going to go out there next week and compete and eventually we're gonna get in that win column and start rolling."

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2. Rodney McLeod addresses the team following the game

Team captain Rodney McLeod understands the urgency that the Eagles must have after falling to 2-5 with Sunday's loss to the Raiders.

"We have to find a way to get better and we've got to figure it out fast," McLeod said. "We can't keep coming back in here (the locker room) after the game and feeling the way that we have and just be satisfied with great effort. It has to translate over into wins."

McLeod said that he addressed the team and spoke from the heart.

"I know the guys in that locker room, we're committed," McLeod said. "We all had a conversation and guys are ready to come back on Wednesday ready to work, ready to fight, ready to get this thing back on track."

From a defensive standpoint, McLeod said the Eagles didn't force enough negative plays on Sunday. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave forced quarterback Derek Carr into an errant throw that was picked off by cornerback Avonte Maddox on the opening drive, but that was one of Carr's few mistakes all game long.

"We weren't able to disrupt him in the pocket, and it goes hand-in-hand. We talked about this as a defense. Secondary and D-line work hand-in-hand. We have to do our job in the back seven to allow those guys (up front) to have an opportunity," McLeod said. "An efficient quarterback like Derek Carr, we have to create some indecision. We have to take away his first read to give our D-line an opportunity. We failed to do that today."

3. Nick Sirianni remains 'confident' in the team

Sunday's tough defeat provides another opportunity for a young coaching staff led by Nick Sirianni to reflect on how the Eagles can take steps forward in the weeks to come.

"Anytime you lose like that everybody's got to look themselves in the mirror and it just wasn't good enough execution and wasn't good enough playcalling on both sides of the ball," Sirianni said. "We just weren't good enough. And that starts with me."

Sirianni searched for edges, calling for an onside kick attempt with his team down 17-7 at halftime. Jake Elliott's offering went the perfect distance, but took too much of a bounce at the end providing the Raiders the chance to recover. The Eagles battled outscoring the Raiders 15-3 in the fourth quarter, but it proved to be too big a deficit to overcome.

Another test awaits next Sunday in Detroit.

"I think we got everybody in our building that we need. I got so much confidence in our guys. I love our team," Sirianni said. "That's what we're going to say after things go wrong and we're going to accept that responsibility. If we want our players to accept responsibility for mistakes they make, we have to start here first."

4. Miles Sanders exits game with ankle injury

Miles Sanders exited the first quarter of Sunday's game with an ankle injury. Head Coach Nick Sirianni said that Sanders was undergoing X-rays, but had no further information.

"When you lose a good player like him, that's tough," Sirianni said. "He was running the ball pretty well."

Sanders was a key cog on the opening drive for the Eagles with five carries for 25 yards that resulted in a touchdown. On the second drive, Sanders had another 5-yard carry before suffering the injury on a screen pass where he was tackled by Raiders linebacker Denzel Perryman. Sanders was helped off the field by trainers before getting carted to the locker room.

"He's a big-time player," quarterback Jalen Hurts said. "He was definitely getting rolling and getting active early in the game."

Hurts led the rushing attack with 61 yards on 13 attempts. Rookie Kenneth Gainwell had 20 yards on the ground and another 41 receiving, including a 13-yard catch-and-run on the opening drive for a touchdown. Boston Scott also accounted for 24 rushing yards and a touchdown.

5. Jalen Hurts: Consistency is what wins in this league

Coming out of the mini-bye weekend, the Eagles offered the Raiders some different looks early with quarterback Jalen Hurts operating more under center than in previous games.

The Eagles were able to march down the field on the opening drive as Hurts was 2-of-3 for 37 yards with a touchdown to rookie Kenneth Gainwell.

However, the Eagles did not score again until the fourth quarter and by that point, it was too late in the loss to the Raiders.

Hurts finished 18-of-34 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 94.7 QB rating. He also led the Eagles after Miles Sanders exited the game due to an ankle injury with 61 yards on the ground. Hurts has accounted for a touchdown, either passing or rushing, in 12 straight games. But it wasn't enough as the Raiders were efficient on offense and made enough stops on defense to get the win.

"I believe in myself to go out there and execute and that's something that I haven't done a good enough job of doing clearly. We've been losing games, putting ourselves in position to do things and just kind of messing it up. That's something we have to be better at. That's something we have to be better at, executing," Hurts said. "We believe in ourselves. We believe in the culture. We believe in everything we have going on here in Philadelphia. It's just a matter of putting it together and executing and that's something we've yet to do on a consistent basis and really consistency, it wins in this league. That's what we are striving for."

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