Eagles' defense implodes again in fourth

Another fourth quarter lead, another spontaneous combustion.

I dont know what it is weve got to or how weve got to do it, but were too good to be letting all these games getting away like this, defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said Sunday after the Eagles allowed leads of 14-7 and 17-14 to disintegrate in a 21-17 loss to anemic Arizona (see story).

Its a little mind-boggling. Weve got so much talent, so much potential that its frustrating. Especially the way were going out hereits frustrating because you know, one, we shouldnt even be in the situation were in, in these games being that close at the end. And two, when you get in these situations, you need to find a way to pull it out, and were not doing it.

The Eagles in the fourth quarter somehow let John Skelton pile up 166 yards passing, or 17 more yards than he threw for in the first three, and were outscored 14-3.

Their fourth-quarter gap for the season grew to 74-27.

It just seems that once were getting down there, things are going goodits almost like were expecting it to stay that way. I dont know, Jenkins said. We just cant seem to get ourselves out of a funk when we get in one. I dont know what it is we have to do or how we have to do it, but were too good to be letting all these games get away from us that way.

Thats why they added Jenkins and Nnamdi Asomugha and Jason Babin and Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie. So disasters like this wouldn't happen. For that matter, theyre too good to even be in a close game in the fourth quarter against a team led by Kevin Kolbs backup.

What's more, the Eagles added these guys because good defenses can overcome an ugly offensive performance. Like Sunday's. Good defenses can help teams overcome obstacles like DeSean Jacksons truancy (see story) and Marty Mornhinwegs perplexing play-calling. With Jackson out, LeSean McCoy rushed just 14 times for 81 yards. In the fourth quarter McCoy was handed the ball only twice.

The Eagles opened the fourth with a 14-7 lead, and after a 14-yard run by Michael Vick, they called three straight passes: two-yard gain, incomplete, incomplete.

We thought we could do what we needed to do to add points on the board, head said coach Andy Reid, who thought he had a defense that could keep points off the board when it mattered most.

By now he knows he doesn't.

Were not making the plays, and opposing teams are, Jenkins said. Every game, its coming down toward the end, and were not making the plays. You cant win like that. Youve got big-time players. Its got to be on all of us to step up and make plays.

Where to begin

Third-and-10 on the Eagles 48, 11:20 left. John Skelton throws an incompletion. But moments before the snap, Asomugha for some reason took two steps upand entered the neutral zone.

What happened?

I have no idea. I dont know, Asomugha said. I went to the sideline and asked Coach Reid, and he said call upstairs. Theyre saying you did lineup offside. I just cant catch a break. That was crazy.

On third-and-five, Skelton hit Larry Fitzgerald for 10 yards. Two plays later, Skeltons pass deflected off Joselio Hanson to Fitzgerald for the tying touchdown.

Its not even my play. I came off my man. I ran full speed, turned and looked and the ball was in the air. I was going full speed, so I had to reach backwards, Hanson said. I tipped it, and it went right in his hands.

Fitzgerald finished with seven catches for 146 yards and the TD

He made some plays, embattled defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said. I think one time we had a chance for an interception, we had him double-coveredit bounced off our hands and into his hands. It seemed like it bounced right to him.

After an interception by Asomugha led to a go-ahead field goal, the Eagles had another chance to end it. An easy chance. Defenses want to force third-and-long, and this was third-and-19 with 3:57 left. Yet the Eagles let Chester Taylor turn a shot pass into a 17-yard gain and give Arizona a manageable fourth-and-two.

Then they gave them much more than two. Running back LaRod Stephens-Howling ran a wheel route for a 30-yard catch-and-run.

That was my man. He ran a pick play, and he got outside, linebacker Jamar Chaney said. On my end, I should have done a better job what they were trying to do because we practiced that in practice.

Thats not the only play they work on in practice that was messed up. More on that in a minute. Back to the thirty-yard gain on fourth-and-two.

They went for it and converted. Youve got to give them props, Jenkins said. They made the plays they needed to make.

It was a good call.

Three plays later, its third-and-10 on the Eagles 38, 2:55 left. Flash back to the NFC Championship in Arizona. Remember when Fitzgerald beat rookie safety Quintin Demps for a 62-yard touchdown? That was a flea-flicker, so the fact that Fitzgerald was matched up on Demps was understandable.

How Fitzgerald was matched up on rookie safety Jaiquawn Jarrettmaking his first NFL start no less (Nate Allen has a concussion)is, to quote Jenkins, mind-boggling. Reid said it was the correct matchup.

We had a pressure there, and we were trying to blitz them, so that is the matchup, Reid said.

Rodgers-Cromartie, who was having a good game after last weeks mess, was out with an ankle injury. But still.

I dont think we were blitzing, but it was a zone that was stack, cornerback Asante Samuel said. We had one guy on the inside, one guy on the outside, and one guy over the top. So we played the coverage.

Whatever it was, it was bad coverage, and it put the ball on the one. Defensive tackle Derek Landri threw running back Beanie Wells for a four-yard loss to bring up yet another third down, but Skelton hit receiver Early Doucet for a five-yard score.

I cant even lie. It was a play we worked on all week, cornerback Joselio Hanson said. Thats the play we know they run.

Safety Kurt Coleman could have stopped Doucet but missed the tackle.

It was a formation that Ive seen, but I couldnt myself in position to make the play early enough because of what we were doing, Coleman said. I tried to get there as fast as I could and I just couldnt get him down.

Asomugha admitted the coverage was different because Rodgers-Cromartie was out.

In practice we had done it with the four corners, Asomugha said. Now weve got a linebacker in, so we cant run the coverage that we know can stop it. Its a unique play. We didnt have all the guys in there, so we had to go to a different coverage.

Good defenses should be able to overcome that. But the Eagles cant. And now they almost certainly have to win out to make the playoffs.

Oh my goodness, 3-5 was ridiculous. That was going to be the biggest climb a lot of guys here would have had to go, Asomugha said. And now 3-6, youre making it so muchyou never want to be at this point looking at other teams. Now were at a point where a lot has got to happen and we must win. It needs to be stressed. Theres no two ways about it. We came into this game with we must win, but I think it will be stressed beyond any limits.

E-mail Andy Schwartz at aschwartz@comcastsportsnet.com