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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor
If there was even a sliver of hope left for the Eagles to be in the playoff picture after a loss on Monday, it's gone now.
That's because the Eagles turned in their worst game of the season on Sunday in Cincinnati, falling to the Bengals, 32-14, and dropping to 5-7 on the season. It's another frustrating loss, the Eagles third in a row, only this time, there was no silver lining, no bright spots. This game was a disaster from the start.
Here are this week's grades.
Pass Offense - F
This was, without question, Carson Wentz's worst game of his young career. He completed slightly more than half of his 60 pass attempts. He threw three interceptions. A lot of his passes were off-target, too short, too long, wobbly, you name it.
Wentz has two consistent qualities. He is poised to stand in there and take whatever the game brings to him. He'll also do whatever is asked of him. So when that includes 60 pass attempts -- far too many for a rookie who is struggling -- it can certainly mess with his psyche and confidence. Today, that was a lot of pressure from the Cincinnati Bengals defensive line that never allowed Wentz to truly get comfortable.
Paul Turner had a good game, making five catches. Nelson Agholor responded well from his benching by making four catches with no drops, but there was nothing significant. Zach Ertz had one garbage time touchdown -- yes, it was already garbage time in the third quarter. And that's it. Poor day all around.
Run Offense - F
The Eagles had just 19 running attempts because once again they had to abandon the run. Darren Sproles scored a touchdown on the ground. If nothing else, what really hurts this grade is the game plan from the coaches. A good way to attack Cincinnati was on the ground. 19 attempts isn't attacking anything. It's a pathetic effort to somewhat keep the run involved.
Pass Defense - F
When the pass defense looked bad against Aaron Rodgers, you understood. Rodgers is an all-pro quarterback. Against Andy Dalton and without A.J. Green? It's another story.
This entire unit needs to be evaluated and retooled. That doesn't mean burn it down and start over, but to have multiple games in a row where there is no pressure whatsoever on the quarterback with a secondary that should be overhauled, you're going to get results like you saw on Sunday, even against a 3-7-1 team.
The top two corners, Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll, have been horrible in the last three games. Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and the line? Pathetic, and it hardly has to do with double teams anymore.
In particular, it's the third-down defense that is the most painful to watch. Cincinnati was 7-for-14 on third down.
Run Defense - D-
Cincinnati attempted 33 carries on Sunday, two more carries than passes from Andy Dalton. The Bengals used the perfect balance, getting big plays in the air and eating up time and short yardage on the run. An average day from the run defense, considering the pitiful performance against the pass.
Special Teams - D
Even the special teams wasn't good. It started early with a bad punt by Donnie Jones. Caleb Sturgis missed a 50-yard field goal, but did make both extra points.
The one play that nearly broke everything was Kenjon Barner's 61-yard return. That was the special teams unit's one big play. It didn't result in any points.
Overall - F
It was another bad game on the field, but that's only half the story.
After Monday's loss to Green Bay, Doug Pederson sounded like a defeated coach. The result on the field six days later was a defeated football team. No passion, no emotion, no energy, undisciplined, uninspired, unprepared, a flat-out terrible football team.
Pederson's happy-go-lucky, eternal-optimist mindset that usually comes with his press conference isn't going to work anymore. The Eagles are a 5-7 team, but you can't ignore how the season started. They were 3-0. Since the bye, they are 2-7. It's unacceptable how this team completed folded.
And at this point, all you can do is evaluate. They desperately need help in the secondary. They need more weapons for Carson Wentz. They need more on the offensive line.
And yet, they also need maturity and accountability, because both have been absent. Struggles were going to happen with a rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach, but there is so much fundamentally wrong with this team that the rookie card is almost not a viable excuse anymore.
They are just a bad football team and there is nothing that says they will become a good team anytime soon. That's where we're at after this loss.