NEW ORLEANS _ The Eagles spent the last week trying to fix a sinking season, calling for self-reflection and seeking to capitalize on the underdog card that propelled them last winter.
It didn't work. A season of underachievement might have reached its nadir in a 48-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at the Superdome, dropping the Eagles to 4-6.
The mirrors that the Eagles said they needed to look into during the last week didn't offer any guidance. Or maybe they were revealing. Because the Eagles were even worse on Sunday.
It wasn't so bad that they lost to the Saints, the hottest team in the NFL. The Eagles were heavy underdogs, and any hope of salvaging the season must come through NFC East victories. Rather, it was how uncompetitive and uninspired they appeared. They didn't look anywhere near the class of the Saints. It was the Eagles' worst loss since 2005, when they dropped a 42-0 blowout to Seattle during a lost season after a Super Bowl appearance.
Sound familiar?
Quarterback Carson Wentz finished 19 of 33 for 156 yards and three interceptions. Saints quarterback Drew Brees added to his MVP campaign by going 22 of 30 for 363 yards and four touchdowns.
And if the loss and the way they played wasn't enough to cause angst in Philadelphia, the injury report made it even worse.
Avonte Maddox, the rookie who filled in admirably at safety and slot cornerback, exited with a knee injury. Center Jason Kelce also left the game with an elbow injury. And Sidney Jones, who was back for the first time in a month, couldn't finish the game because of hamstring injury. Rasul Douglas departed with a knee injury.
The Eagles cornerbacks at the end of the game were Chandon Sullivan, Cre'von LeBlanc, and De'Vante Bausby. None of them was on the 53-man roster when the team flew back from London.
Throughout the week, there was much discussion by the team about their slow starts to games. They entered Sunday with a league-low 21 points in first quarters this season. They finished the first quarter with a league-low 21 points, too.
The Eagles went three-and-out on their first two drives and two-and-out on the third drive, when Wentz underthrew Nelson Agholor into deep double coverage. Whatever script coach Doug Pederson used for the first 15 plays appeared designed to feature punter Cameron Johnston more than to allow the Eagles to unleash a new touchdown celebration.
The Eagles went backward on their first play of the game and Pederson punted the ball away on a fourth-and-1 from the Eagles' 24-yard line on the opening drive, already putting them behind. On Wentz's interception, he seemed to try to force the throw just to make something happen. The quarterback was visibly agitated on the sideline after the play and had no answer all afternoon.
The Eagles offense needed to finally break through on Sunday to keep pace with the Saints, who are the highest-scoring offense in the league. Unfortunately for the Eagles, both offenses were as advertised. New Orleans scored on its first three possessions.
They settled for a field goal on their opening possession, which could be considered a positive for the Eagles. Entering the game, the defense knew the Saints would move the ball, but the Eagles needed to keep them to field goals rather than touchdowns. That didn't last long.
The Saints reached the end zone on their next two drives. The Eagles had the Saints backed up to a third-and-9 on the first touchdown drive, but Nigel Bradham couldn't make the stop in coverage and the Saints moved the chains with a 10-yard gain.
That was the only third-down conversion they needed to drive to the goal line, where they next encountered a third down. This time, Brees found Austin Carr for a 3-yard score and a 10-0 lead.
After Wentz's interception, the Saints went 84 yards on 10 plays. Mark Ingram rushed for a 14-yard score in which the Eagles defense didn't seem interested in going near Ingram.
Once the Eagles spotted New Orleans 17 points, they finally put a scoring drive together. Josh Adams, who didn't make the team at the start of the season but has since emerged as the lead running back, rushed for a 28-yard touchdown to cut New Orleans' lead to 10. It was the Eagles' only score of the game.
The defense forced a three-and-out, and the Eagles had a chance to make it a one-possession game. They faced a third-and-4 from the Saints' 46-yard line _ clearly four-down territory. But then came an inexplicable play that ruined any chance of trying to get back into the game. Wentz took a deep drop and was sacked for a 10-yard loss, forcing the Eagles to punt. If the Eagles made a quick pass that was incomplete, they could have had another crack at the first down. But the 10-yard loss was too costly, and the Saints never looked back.
They scored a touchdown before halftime to take a 24-7 lead, and the lead only grew in the second half. In fact, the Saints reached the end zone on five consecutive drives. They settled for a field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
All the while, the Eagles couldn't score any points of their own. They barely threatened the Saints. And now they host the New York Giants next week with little reason to be confident that they can do anything this season.
