-
Tim McManus, ESPN Staff Writer
SEATTLE — A major shake-up in the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defensive coaching ranks appeared to have some positive effect Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks, but a unit that has struggled for much of the season let down in the biggest moment, leading to a 20-17 defeat that extended the Eagles’ losing streak to three games.
Senior assistant Matt Patricia took over playcalling this week for D-coordinator Sean Desai. Coach Nick Sirianni said after Monday’s contest that Patricia now has final say over the defense.
Players said they were notified of the change early last week and that Patricia ran the defensive meetings during the lead-up to the Seattle game.
“I made the decision,” Sirianni said. “I did what I thought I needed to do in the best interest of the football team. We made some adjustments there. Didn’t feel like we were playing and coaching well enough on defense, so I made an adjustment.”
The defense held Seattle to 90 yards and three points before intermission, allowing the Eagles to build a halftime lead for the first time in seven games.
The second half was a different story. The Seahawks outpaced Philadelphia 17-7 to close the game. They went ahead for good when rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba got behind cornerback James Bradberry and caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Drew Lock with under 30 seconds remaining.
“I think we played well today as a whole. Individually, I didn’t play well … I definitely let down the defense today,” Bradberry said when asked whether he thought the coaching change from Desai to Patricia had worked.
Bradberry said he was trying to prevent Seattle from picking up a first down on that third-and-10 play and got too aggressive, allowing Smith-Njigba to get over the top.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts attempted to lead a late rally but instead threw his second interception of the night to safety Julian Love on an attempt to A.J. Brown down the right sideline, effectively ending the game.
“I was trying to be aggressive in that moment,” Hurts said of his interceptions. “You know, we had multiple opportunities in the game to open it up, and we didn’t do that. I didn’t do that. I didn’t do my job good enough. Just got to be better.”
Hurts played through flu-like symptoms. He took a separate plane to Seattle to prevent his teammates from getting sick, and for a time, it was in question whether he’d be able to play.
The Eagles dropped to 10-4, and they are in a virtual tie with the Dallas Cowboys atop the NFC East. Philadelphia has the easiest closing schedule in the NFL, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index, with two games against the New York Giants and a home tilt with the Arizona Cardinals remaining. But there are no guarantees at this point for an Eagles team scrambling to find its footing.
“We still have our goals ahead of us. We know we clinched playoffs this week. We’re not really looking at that,” Sirianni said. “We know what we want to do. We want to win this division, but that’s the last time you’ll hear me say that. We got to go win a game this upcoming week.”
