| Advertisement |
PHILADELPHIA -- The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. But it doesn't appear the Eagles are going to make any kind of a deal. Jason Peters, their nine-time Pro-Bowl left tackle, sustained a season-ending knee injury last week against Washington.
Advertisement
Second-year man Halapoulivaati Vaitai started in his place Sunday in the Eagles' 33-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers. He gave up a sack and looked a little shaky at other times.
But head coach Doug Pederson said he was pleased with Vaitai's overall performance.
"I think he held up extremely well," Pederson said. "He gave up the one sack, and it was a combination of him getting a little off-balance and (quarterback) Carson (Wentz) hanging on to the ball while just waiting for the routes to open up down the field.
"Things like that are going to happen, obviously. But you take away that play, and he played really well."
The Eagles also lost one of their starting linebackers, Jordan Hicks, for the season last week when he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon. And one of their top special teams players, Chris Maragos, is out for the year with an ACL tear in his knee.
Pederson has little input into player acquisition. That's the domain of football operations chief Howie Roseman and player personnel vice president Joe Douglas. But Pederson said he would be surprised if the Eagles made a move by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
He said, "Do I expect (us) to be active? Listen, I'm focused" on the players he has. "That might be a Howie question. But I like where we're at right now with our roster (with) the way guys are playing.
"We're always looking, obviously. I'm not going to say it's out of the question. But at the same time, the guys that we have in this locker room, we've got a lot of confidence in. And we go forward from there."
Without Peters, Wentz had his second-lowest passer rating of the season Sunday (84.2). He was just 2-for-7 for 9 yards and was sacked twice when the 49ers blitzed him.
One of the biggest problems the Eagles are having against the blitz, however, isn't their offensive linemen. It's their running backs. None of their backs -- LeGarrette Blount, Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement and Kenjon Barner -- are particularly good at blitz pickup.
"It comes down to studying film and just working at it in practice on Wednesdays and Thursdays," Pederson said. "The thing is, the guys are actually in the right spots. Sometimes it can be just technique, and we've just got to continue and keep stressing it and keep working on it."
--
One of the keys for the Eagles' defense in the first half of the season has been their improvement on third down. They finished tied for 19th in third-down defense last season (40.0). After eight games this year, they are third (31.0). Opponents have a 47.1 passer rating against the Eagles on third down. Just 23 of 45 third-down completions (51.1 percent) against the Eagles have resulted in first downs. A league-high six of their eight interceptions have been on third down.
"It's been the calling card of this defense this year," safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "Getting off the field, getting drives stopped."
In Sunday's win, the 49ers converted just three of 15 third-down opportunities against the Eagles. Quarterback C.J. Beathard was just 3-for-8 for 31 yards with two first downs on third down.
--
The league is reviewing a hit by defensive tackle Fletcher Cox on 49ers left tackle Joe Staley. Staley suffered a fractured orbital bone around his right eye late in the first half Sunday. A couple of Staley's teammates accused Cox of a cheap shot. When head coach Doug Pederson spoke with reporters Monday, he said he hadn't yet talked to Cox and added that the film wasn't very revealing.
"It's hard to even see on the coach's copy, exactly what had happened," he said. "There was contact, obviously. But it's so far away that it's hard to tell exactly. Without getting something a little bit closer, it's hard to tell exactly what happened at that point."
--
Wide receiver Torrey Smith played his lowest percentage of snaps of the season against the 49ers (46 percent) as the Eagles gave more playing time to rookie Mack Hollins. Smith has no catches in the last two games. For the season, he's been targeted 28 times and has 14 receptions. Asked Monday about Smith, head coach Doug Pederson said: "He's doing fine. It's also good to see our young players step up. It just helps the whole football team. Bottom line, we're going to do everything we can to win the football game, regardless of who's in it."
Hollins has been very productive when he's been in the game. He's been targeted nine times and has eight catches. He's averaging 20.5 yards per catch.
NOTES: CB Ronald Darby has been a limited practice participant the last two weeks as he continues to come back from his Week 1 ankle dislocation. While there's a possibility he could play this week against Denver, the Eagles probably will keep him out until after next week's bye week. ... WR Torrey Smith played his lowest percentage of snaps of the season Sunday (46 percent). Smith doesn't have a catch in either of the last two games and has just 14 for the season. ... LT Halapoulivaati Vaitai "held up extremely well" in his first start at left tackle for Jason Peters, head coach Doug Pederson said Monday. The Eagles had considered sliding RT Lane Johnson over to left tackle and plugging Vaitai in at right tackle. But they felt Johnson's been playing very well at right tackle and they didn't want to move him. ... CB Patrick Robinson suffered a concussion in Sunday's win over the 49ers and is going through the concussion protocol. The slot corner's status for Sunday's game against the Broncos won't be known until later in the week. ... QB Carson Wentz had his second lowest passer rating of the season Sunday. Wentz had an 84.2 rating against the 49ers, including 6.6 yards per attempt and a 56.2 completion percentage. He was 2-for-7 and was sacked twice when the 49ers blitzed.
REPORT CARD VS. 49ERS
--PASSING OFFENSE: C - This wasn't one of Carson Wentz's better performances. Had some ugly overthrows, including one to a wide-open Alshon Jeffery down the middle. Completed only 3 of 8 third-down passes and had his second third-down interception of the season. Didn't get a lot of help from his Jason Peters-less offensive line.
--RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus --The Eagles averaged just 3.6 yards per carry against the 49ers. LeGarrette Blount had just 48 yards on 16 carries, and 23 of those 48 yards came on a pair of runs in the fourth quarter. The Eagles had just 58 yards on 18 carries in the first three quarters. On the plus side, Blount did have his second rushing touchdown of the season.
--PASS DEFENSE: A - The Eagles intercepted rookie C.J. Beathard twice, sacked him four times and held him to 4.6 yards per attempt. Beathard was just 3-for-8 for 31 yards on third down. Jalen Mills' interception return for a TD came on third down. It was the Eagles' sixth third-down pick of the season.
--RUSH DEFENSE: B-plus - The Eagles gave up a couple of double-digit yard runs to Carlos Hyde and Kyle Juszczyk, but basically did another excellent job against the run, holding the 49ers to 3.9 yards per carry and four rushing first downs. Take QB C.J. Beathard's 40 scrambling yards out of the equation and the Eagles held the 49rs to 54 yards on 18 carries.
--SPECIAL TEAMS: B-plus - Jake Elliott booted his fifth 50-plus yard field goal of the season, but also missed a pair of extra points. Derek Barnett blocked a 27-yard field-goal attempt. All seven of Elliott's kickoffs went for touchbacks. The Eagles' punt coverage unit held Trent Taylor to 4.5 yards per return.
--COACHING: A-minus - Head coach Doug Pederson did a good job of making sure his team didn't underestimate the winless 49ers. Jim Schwartz's defense continues to shine on third down. The 49ers converted just three of 15 third-down opportunities.
