The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off a very disappointing loss to the Carolina Panthers and must try to fix the issues during their bye week before meeting the Dallas Cowboys the following week. Injuries are not helping the Eagles try and make improvements as several players are banged up which might have been why there were so many mistakes in Week 6. With Ryan Mathews and Jordan Matthews hit with injuries, the Eagles have to hope rest heals everything.
Many wondered why Ryan Mathews has not gotten more carries over DeMarco Murray. Mathews had 121 yards from scrimmage on Sunday despite only touching the ball nine times. That put his production well ahead of what Murray did. However, head coach Chip Kelly did not give him the ball more. According to Kelly, the reason is that Mathews is dealing with a groin injury. Kelly told 97.5 The Fanatic via Pro Football Talk that Mathews is hurt and that is why his carries were low. That is a different story from the one Kelly told on Monday where he blamed the run game on the running back coach. Mathews told the media he is simply waiting his turn.
"I don't ever second guess what the coaches tell me," Mathews said, via CSN Philadelphia. "I've just got to wait for my turn and when it's my turn to be called, I go. There's only one ball and we've got three good players. We've got to make the most out of each opportunity we got and I think that's what we did."
Jordan Matthews is also dealing with an injury which could explain the number of dropped passes he had one Sunday. The wide receiver struggled much of the night and according to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News, it is because Matthews suffered a hand ligament injury three weeks ago. The former second -round draft pick continues to disappoint in his second season and now the hand injury is not helping as mistakes were running high on Sunday.
"Our defense plays lights out every week. You can't tell me we don't have a championship defense," Matthews said, via CSN Philadelphia. "You can't tell me we don't have a championship quarterback. I believe whole-heartedly in Sam. We just have to make the plays around him on offense."
The bye week is critical for the Eagles. With the injuries to Matthews and Mathews, the Eagles must also do some hard evaluating of Sam Bradford. The quarterback is not playing well right now, but would Mark Sanchez be any better. Both quarterbacks have been prone to interceptions and right now Bradford knows the offense better. According to Kelly, no quarterback changes are coming. All Kelly would say was, "I think our quarterback's playing well," via Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com.
