Eagles buried again in loss to Bengals

CINCINNATI - The signs of an Eagles team in free fall were everywhere Sunday.

The Eagles couldn’t score on offense. They couldn’t stop the Cincinnati Bengals on defense. And afterward, they were left to question everything following an embarrassing 32-14 loss.

That included their effort. They Eagles played even worse just days after Eagles coach Doug Pederson challenged his team by saying he’ll find out who deserves to return next season.

“I’m hurting like the players are,” Pederson said. “I’m obviously disappointed where we are… We have some challenges. I told the guys in the locker room at the end of the game this thing can go one or two ways, and I only know of one way it’s going to go, and that’s up. We just have to dig ourselves out of this hole and it starts next week.”

It certainly didn’t start Sunday as the Eagles (5-7) fell behind 29-0 before finally getting on the scoreboard with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

The players said that was not a sign of surrender even though the Bengals, who came into the game at 3-7-1, and 1-5-1 in their last seven games, scored on each of their first six possessions. But the Eagles at least know the playoffs are now out of the question.

“This is my ninth year in the league, and it’s my ninth year of supposedly not going to the playoffs,” cornerback Leodis McKelvin said. “As you see right now, it’s not happening.”

What about the effort?

“Most definitely, everybody is giving their full effort,” McKelvin said. “Ain’t nobody out there point-shaving or whatever you want to call it, not giving their full potential. Guys out there are still playing. They’ve got their names on their backs. They’re still playing and looking forward to what’s next.”

That’s about all that’s left. On offense, Carson Wentz had the worst game of his brief NFL career. He threw a career-high three interceptions while completing 36 of 60 passes for 308 yards. The 60 attempts were an Eagles’ record, one that Wentz no doubt would rather not have.

He also had at least five passes batted at the line of scrimmage, a lot considering that he’s 6-foot-5.

Granted, Wentz didn’t have much to work with as Jordan Matthews, the Eagles’ leading receiver by far, sat out with an ankle injury. That enabled Nelson Agholor, who sat out the previous game against Green Bay as a healthy scratch, to get back into the lineup. He didn’t do much, catching just four passes for 23 yards.

The Eagles’ defense, meanwhile, couldn’t stop the Bengals, who were playing without their top receiver in A.J. Green. It hardly mattered as quarterback Andy Dalton completed 23 of 31 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns.

The Eagles didn’t have a sack for the second straight game. They only hit Dalton one time. As a comparison, the Bengals hit Wentz 10 times despite sacking him just once.

Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who signed a $103 million contract last spring yet hasn’t had a sack in eight straight games, seemed to question the scheme of Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The Eagles rush the passer with four defensive linemen, rarely blitzing.

“Obviously, we aren’t getting to the quarterback the way we should,” Cox said. “When [opponents] are ready to go deep, they seven-man protect. We’re rushing four. So you do the math.”

Added Pederson: “Jim and I will visit and figure out what we’re going to do going forward.”

As usual for the Eagles, penalties were a problem, too. They committed 10 for 88 yards, all of them coming in the first three quarters when the Bengals dominated the game. Four of them were 15-yard penalties by the defense. The Eagles also had four false start penalties.

The only bright spot for the Eagles was wide receiver Paul Turner, who led the Eagles with 80 yards receiving. That included his first career reception, which went for 41 yards in the third quarter.

After falling behind 10-0, the Eagles finally put together a decent drive over a 7 minute, 23 second stretch of the first and second quarters. But the drive stalled and Caleb Sturgis missed a 51-yard field goal.

The Bengals responded with a field goal, then added a touchdown with 7 seconds left in the half after going 93 yards in 3:07 to make it 19-0.

The comedy of errors only continued into the second half. The Eagles scored twice to pull within 29-14 - on Wentz’s 13-yard TD pass to Zach Ertz and a 2-yard run by Darren Sproles. They had one last chance to get back into the game, recovering a fumble with six minutes left.

But Wentz threw his third interception of the game and the Eagles were finally put out of their misery.

“We’re kind of on a skid,” Wentz said. “Obviously, we don’t make plays. We have a lot of mistakes. We’ve got to clean up some of our discipline. I think we lack that at times. There’s no quit, and you’ve just got to stay positive.”

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.