Instant Replay: Bengals 32, Eagles 14

Share

BOX SCORE

CINCINNATI — The Eagles are circling the drain. 

The 2016 season that started off with so much promise has quickly turned into a disaster. 

In a game that had no juice coming in, the Eagles couldn’t score, couldn’t stop the Bengals and lost, 32-14, at Paul Brown Stadium in front of half-full (half empty?) stands. 

The Eagles won the coin toss Sunday afternoon; that was the last thing for a while that went their way. They quickly went three-and-out and the Bengals took their first lead on the ensuing drive. The Eagles then got down big. 

With the loss, the Eagles fell to 5-7 on the season as their playoff hopes have all but completely evaporated. They have now lost seven of their last nine games. 

After last week's loss to Green Bay, head coach Doug Pederson said he thought the Eagles were heading in the right direction and he based that theory on the effort his saw on the field. 

Five days later, the Eagles were blown out by a team that entered Sunday with three wins. 

Sure, the Eagles put up two touchdowns in the second half, but they let the Bengals build a 29-0 lead beforehand. 

Turning point
The Eagles went three-and-out on their first possession and never got anything going. 

Key stat
The Bengals’ lackluster offense scored on their first six drives Sunday. 

First half
After winning the coin toss, the Eagles switched things up and elected to receive the ball. They promptly went three-and-out and the Bengals, after a bad punt, moved the ball into field goal range and went up 3-0. 
 
And the game was virtually over. 
 
The Bengals tacked on 16 more points in the first half and out-gained the Eagles, 242-104, in the first half. They also doubled them in first downs, 14-7. 
 
Wentz had a tough first half, completed 8 of 18 passes for 67 yards and was lucky he wasn't picked off. Wendell Smallwood had eight carries for 19 yards in the first half. 
 
The Bengals got their first touchdown by marching 81 yards in the first quarter. The big play of the drive was a 50-yard bomb from Andy Dalton to Cody Core, who beat Nolan Carroll in coverage. 
 
After adding a field goal in between, the Bengals went on a 93-yard drive just before the end of the half to go up 19-0 heading into the locker room.

Offensive stud
Paul Turner had his first NFL catch and ended up leading the Eagles in receiving yards. He finished with six catches for 80 yards. 

His day Sunday is better than any receiving day Nelson Agholor has ever had in the NFL. Agholor was a first-round pick a year ago; Turner was an undrafted rookie this year who spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad. 

Offensive dud
Wentz didn’t have his best performance. He overthrew plenty of his receivers and should have been picked off several more times than he was. Wentz completed 36 of 60 passes for 308 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Sunday was the first three-interception of his young career. 

His 60 passing attempts are a record for an Eagles rookie in a game. It’s the second-most ever for a rookie in NFL history. 

Defensive stud
Bennie Logan and Nigel Bradham each forced fumbles. 

Defensive dud
Nolan Carroll had another bad outing. He gave up the 50-yard bomb and just hasn’t looked very good recently. But he of course wasn’t alone. The Eagles’ defense, once heralded as the strength of the team, has completely collapsed. 

Injury report
Jordan Matthews (ankle) missed the first game of his career after being listed as questionable. Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Ryan Mathews both missed their second straight weeks with MCL sprains. 

Up next 
The Eagles return home next week to face Washington at the Linc. They lost in Washington, 27-20, in Week 6.

Contact Us