BALTIMORE – The Eagles were unable to find a win on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium, falling to the Ravens 27-16 -- their fifth straight loss (see Instant Replay).
They did, however, find some balance.
The pass-happy Birds didn’t just run the ball well on Sunday afternoon, they ran the ball better than anyone has this season on the Ravens, who came into the game as the NFL’s top-ranked run defense.
“The line was playing great,” running back Ryan Mathews said. “Our receivers were blocking downfield. Tough running, though. But the line played great today. You have to give all the credit to them.”
And Doug Pederson gets credit, too, because he was the one who decided to stick with the run. A case could be made that he should have run the ball -- or at least have Mathews on the field -- for the crucial failed two-point conversion late in the game.
“We were confident on play-calling today and our run game,” Pederson said. “They are a tremendous defense and one of the best in the league and against the run as well. It just came down to sheer patience and determination and the offensive line.”
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The Eagles finished with 169 yards on the ground Sunday – their highest total since the Atlanta game on Nov. 13 and their second-highest total of the season.
Those 169 rushing yards were also the most given up all season by the Ravens, who came in allowing an NFL-best 75.5 rushing yards per game (see Roob's 10 observations from the loss).
“We've been close all season long running the ball,” center Jason Kelce said. “We have good backs. Our offensive line is good at run blocking. I think we've had good games before. We have some good personal I think. We executed very well, especially in the second half. That's all it comes down to.”
With Darren Sproles (concussion) out for the game and Wendell Smallwood (knee) out for the season, the Eagles needed Mathews to carry the bulk of the load. And he did. Mathews finished with 128 yards on 20 carries and punched in his career-high eighth touchdown of the season.
Mathews’ 128-yard performance was the third-best mark of his career and is the best single-game rushing performance for an Eagle since LeSean McCoy in 2014. Sunday was just the 12th time in franchise history a Eagle averaged 6.4 yards per attempt with at least 20 attempts.
“It’s getting on a roll,” Mathews said. “Guys were excited to run the ball. It’s a tough challenge. It sucks we came up short though.”
The Eagles’ offensive line was very good in the run game on Sunday, even with rookie Isaac Seumalo making his first start at tackle.
Perhaps the most important thing the run game and finding balance on Sunday did for the Eagles was take some of the pressure off of Carson Wentz, who came into the game on pace to crush the Eagles’ single-season record for pass attempts.
Wentz still threw 42 passes on Sunday, but it's still his fewest in the last three weeks (see breakdown of Wentz's day). And the Eagles squeezed in a season-high 81 plays.
“I thought we were really balanced,” Wentz said. “I thought coach did a great job of play-calling. I thought in the passing game, I could have been better, especially in the first half. I think it was a little slow. But coach, I thought he did a great job calling the plays. And the run game, really that second quarter, we were rolling. We were rolling and that was good to see.”
Aside from Mathews, Kenjon Barner had just six yards on three attempts before leaving the game with a hamstring injury. And rookie Byron Marshall had 22 yards on nine attempts.
While those numbers for Marshall weren’t eye-popping, his jump cut on a first-down run in the third quarter was impressive and he seemed to get better after a rough start.
“Once I got settled, the game came to me,” Marshall said. “I felt like I made the right reads and the right cuts. So, I thought it was a decent day. It could have been a lot better, but not a bad day. The blocks were there. The O-line was trying real hard today. They had a real good game.”
