Alshon Jeffery and Carson Wentz failed to connect on this play in the end zone with seconds left in the Birds 21-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers at the Linc. Photo by Michael Corsey

With 6:59 left in the second quarter of the Eagles-Carolina game at the Linc, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton had manged to complete just one pass for five yards.

It was the kind of start you want your defense to produce. The Eagles did that and more…at least for the first three quarters jumping out to a 17-0 lead in front of their fans at Lincoln Financial Field.

But the Eagles, as a team, simply stopped playing.

Led by Newton, the Panthers roared back to score 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Birds 21-17 leaving them with a 3-4 record and looking for answers.

“Well, quite frankly, we didn’t make enough plays offensively and defensively in the second half,” Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said at his post game press conference. “We had opportunities to get off the field defensively and we didn’t. We had an opportunity to stay on the field offensively and we didn’t. So, it’s something that that we’ve just got to take a look at. There were some positive things, obviously, but those are areas that have hurt us in a couple of games this season already.”

The Eagles were up 17-3 in the second half against the Tennessee Titans three weeks ago in Nashville and lost in overtime. In that game the Birds defense failed to hold the Titans on a fourth and long to end the game in overtime.

With 2:06 left in the fourth quarter and the Eagles leading 17-14, the Panthers faced a fourth and 10 from their own 31-yard-line. Newton hit ex-Eagle wide receiver Torrey Smith with with a 35-yard catch-and-run to set up the winning score.

Smith, who finished with four receptions for 61 yards, talked about the play.

“I was running a dig route and I kind of saw Cam pulling up,” Smith said at his locker after the game. “I knew (the throw) wouldn’t be on time so I was just feeling where he was. He was just scrambling. He ended up getting it off. Jalen (Eagles CB Mills) must have slipped behind me and Cam saw it. I don’t know how he got it off. He muscled it out and we got it done.”

Smith said he knew he had time when he caught the ball so he was able to fight for yardage and not just try to get out of bounds.

The ball was in the air for about 10 yards. After he came down with it, Smith broke a number of tackles to make it all the way from the Panthers 31-yard line to the Eagles 34.
Smith, was a big part of the Eagles Super Bowl run last year, said a loss could have sent the Panthers toward a tough season.

“It means a lot,” Smith said. “It shows the character of this team and what we’re capable of. To do I ton the road, in this environment, a tough place to play, against one of the best teams in the league.
It was our first win on the road, it was huge.”

Wentz had a Pro Bowl stat line going 30 for 37 for 310 yards and two touchdown passes. He is not throw an interception but was sacked four times and hit five other times.

The 2017 Pro Bowler talked about how disappointing it is to fall short after having the game in hand.

“Very, very disappointing,” Wentz said. “We had chances to win there at the end. Offensively, we had a chance to seal the deal with the drive before, really the two drives before. We just didn’t do it. When you’re on the field at the end like that, with a shot, ball is in your hand and you don’t win, it’s frustrating.”

Wentz was asked why the offense was not as productive in the second half

“It’s hard to say,” he said. “It’s a combination of things. We have to go back and watch the tape. That’s just not a way for us to finish a game. I thought we were moving the ball well, early. [We] did some things well that we know we are capable of and then it just seemed like we let off the gas as an offense, just stopped making plays.”

The Eagles defense, although it kept the Panthers off the scoreboard for three quarters, holding the visitors to just 68 passing yards and 96 yard rushing (38 by Newton), the Birds defense did not force a single turnover. After seven games, the Eagles have produced just six turnovers.

Newton after three quarters was 9 of 17 for 68 yards. He was sacked twice and sported a 62.9 quarterback rating. The eight-year veteran out of Auburn finished 25 for 39 for 269 yards and two touchdown passes plus a rating of 101.3 for the game.

Newton was the leading rusher in the game with 49 yards on seven carries. Wendell Smallwood led the Eagles with 32 yards on nine carries.

Safety Malcolm Jenkins was asked what changed from holding them to 100 yards in the first three quarters to being outscored 21-0 in the fourth.

“They made some plays at the end of the day,” said Jenkins, who was tied with Mills to lead the team with seven total tackles on the day. “It was a few plays here and there that got them down the field. They converted a good play on the right side and cut down there in the goal line. They just drove the ball. They didn’t run anything particular. We had a fourth-and-ten opportunity. There was a third-down opportunity the drive before that and they just extended it.”

Jenkins was also asked how this loss ranks in terms of disappointment in his career.

“I mean, you know going into the fourth quarter and you’re up pretty big and had control of the game,” he said. “To kind of just starve completely as a team was just disappointing. At the end of the day, you handle what you control. Our effort is never something we question. It’s just about detail and small parts. It’s one play here, one play there that turn into big deals. Margin of error in this league is tight especially against a good team like the Panthers. So we have to be able to finish that game.”

Carolina Panthers offensive lineman Greg Van Roten (73) played for the Penn Quakers from 2009-2012.
Photo by Michael Corsey

In the other locker room, another player with ties to Philadelphia was all smiles. Greg Van Roten, who played at the University of Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2012, started at left guard and could not have been happier

“It was awesome,” said Van Roten. “I had a lot of friends at the game today, guys I played with in college. People from the area. It’s cool just to see everybody yesterday and play in front of them today. It was kind of a homecoming for me. It was exciting.”

Van Roten has bounced around CFL and NFL rosters and practice squads since being signed by the Green Bay Packers in 2012 as an undrafted free agent. The 6-foot-3, 305 pounder spent two seasons with the Pack. Van Roten also spent time with the Seattle Seahawks (2014), Toronto Argonauts (2015–2016) Jacksonville Jaguars (2017) before landing in Carolina when was signed in July 2017.

He admits that his friends were hoping he played well, but most hoped for an Eagles victory. The 28-year-old smiled as he answered.

“It’s football, things happen,” He said. “I’m happy that we won.”

Van Roten, who grew up in Rockville Centre, NY, talked about what clicked in the fourth quarter.

“We just started throwing the ball,” Van Roten said. “We didn’t give up. We knew that we had a lot of time left. We touched the ball three times…at the end of the third and all of the fourth and we scored each time we had the ball. Curtis (WR, Samuel) got us going, then Funch (WR Devin Funchess) caught another one and Greg (TE Greg Olsen) capped it off. It was fun.”

And Smith’s fourth down play right before the last drive? He had a bird’s eye view.

“It was unbelievable,” Van Roten said. “We did what we could as an O-line to protect and let Cam get the ball off. He made a great throw and Torrey made a great play.”

The NFC is even more wide open, right?

“For sure,” Van Roten said. “To beat the defending Super Bowl champs in their own house is a huge statement win for our team.”

Wentz was asked how the Eagles look to recover from this loss:

“You just isolate this game in this week and move on to the next,” he said. “You learn from it. I sound like a broken record every time we lose up here, but it’s on to the next. There is no time to feel sorry for yourself. There is no time to be pissed about it. You have to learn from it quick and bounce back to next week.” *

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii