Broncos hand Eagles their first loss with 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter

The Eagles’ inconsistent play finally came back to bite them on Sunday afternoon.

Despite taking a 14-point lead in the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles conceded 18 straight points in the fourth quarter, earning them a 21-17 loss. The Eagles got the ball back with just over one minute remaining, but Jalen Hurts failed to connect with a receiver in the end zone on a Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game.

The Eagles were particularly incensed on that attempted comeback drive, as Dallas Goedert appeared to draw a defensive pass interference infraction near the goal line, but the referee didn’t call a penalty.

Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ first loss of the season:

After an inconsistent start to the season for the Eagles’ passing game, the group sought to get right against a Broncos defense that entered Sunday ranked No. 8 in opponents’ passing yards and No. 6 in net passing yards per attempt against.

That didn’t matter to the Eagles. The offense leaned into the passing game heavily, attempting 38 passes to just 11 runs. Saquon Barkley had just six carries for 30 yards, his lowest output in an Eagles uniform, and just nine touches total. Hurts’ 38 pass attempts tied for the fifth-most in his career.

But the offense followed a similar script as the Week 4 win over the Buccaneers when it started hot, then petered out. Hurts came out strong, going 13-for-19 for 138 yards and a touchdown.

Then the Eagles slipped on three consecutive drives to end the third quarter and begin the fourth. They went three-and-out on each possession, totaling minus-21 yards of offense. Four offensive penalties in that span — a false start on Brown, holding on Brett Toth, an ineligible man downfield on Tyler Steen, and an illegal shift on Barkley — hamstrung the Eagles for a combined loss of 24 yards.

Hurts lamented the Eagles’ “lack of execution” in their loss, but he also expressed a sense of confidence that the offense could clean up its self-inflicted wounds.

“We don’t have a capability issue,” Hurts said. “We know what we’re capable of. We’re just not doing those things yet. But we will.”

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Their offensive shortcomings coincided with the Eagles defense conceding 136 yards and two touchdowns (plus the go-ahead two-point conversion) to the Broncos on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter.

Hurts was impressive on his deep balls, although he did not connect on one intended for A.J. Brown late in the third quarter, which wound up being a major missed opportunity. He was successful in the second quarter on a 52-yard dot for DeVonta Smith on third-and-17 from the Eagles’ own 22-yard line.

While the Eagles had a quiet day on the ground, Barkley also got involved in the deep passing game. On second-and-4 early in the fourth quarter, Hurts connected with his top running back on a wheel route down the right sideline. Barkley gained 22 yards after the catch on his 47-yard touchdown reception to give the Eagles a 17-3 lead.

Barkley’s touchdown catch was the longest by an Eagles running back since Darren Sproles scored a 73-yarder in 2016 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Entering Sunday’s game, the Eagles offense had been a flawless 11-for-11 in the red zone.

The group slipped in that area for the first time this season. On the Eagles’ second possession of the game, they sputtered at the Broncos’ 13-yard line. Hurts had been sacked on second-and-7 by former Eagles linebacker Alex Singleton for a loss of a yard.

On the following play, Hurts’ pass to Smith in the end zone fell incomplete. Jake Elliott made a 31-yard field goal to tie the score, 3-3.

The Eagles defense also had uncharacteristic struggles in the red zone, having entered the game third in the league in that area of the field (36.4%). The Broncos were successful on their first trip to the red zone early in the fourth quarter, which was capped by a 2-yard touchdown run from Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins.

On the previous play, Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell was called for holding wide receiver Courtland Sutton, giving the Broncos a fresh set of downs. The second-year cornerback also was in coverage against Sutton halfway through the fourth when the 29-year-old receiver caught a 34-yard pass on third-and-15 to bring the Broncos back to the red zone.

Nix completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Broncos tight end Evan Engram, then threaded the needle to wide receiver Troy Franklin on the two-point conversion to take an 18-17 lead.

The Eagles defense tightened up in the red zone late in the fourth quarter, stopping the Broncos at the Philadelphia 18-yard line and holding them to a 36-yard Will Lutz field goal. But the Eagles offense couldn’t pull off the comeback.

“If you make mistakes, and you habitually are making mistakes, then they’re going to come back to bite you in the butt,” Zack Baun said. “If we don’t get those corrected, it’s going to hurt us, and today it did.”

The Eagles’ edge rushing corps has been decimated over the last two weeks, with Nolan Smith going on injured reserve with a triceps injury on Sept. 25 and Ogbo Okoronkwo (triceps) joining him four days later.

Especially with Smith out until at least the Week 9 bye, the Eagles have needed the rest of their edge rushers to make up for his impact. Azeez Ojulari heeded that call early on Sunday for his first game on the Eagles’ active roster.

Halfway through the first quarter, the 25-year-old outside linebacker shed his block — Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles — and wrapped up running back RJ Harvey for a loss of 3 yards. His run stuff played a role in the Broncos sputtering around midfield, settling for a 55-yard field goal to go up, 3-0.

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Ojulari wasn’t finished against Bolles. The Broncos were down, 10-3, late in the second quarter. On third-and-8, Ojulari beat Bolles off the edge, then hit quarterback Bo Nix to force an incompletion and a punt.

Za’Darius Smith also made his presence felt off the edge. On third-and-8 early in the second quarter and the Broncos looking to break a 3-3 tie, he and Jalen Carter executed a stunt, with Smith looping inside up the A gap and past Broncos right guard Quinn Meinerz. Smith brought down Nix for a sack, marking the 33-year-old edge rusher’s first full sack in an Eagles uniform.

However, the pass rush failed to step up as the Broncos surged for a comeback on those two scoring drives. Nix was not sacked in the second half until Baun notched one late in the fourth quarter, long after the Broncos pulled ahead.

Jalyx Hunt nearly added one in the fourth, too, but Nix got the ball out for an incompletion. Initially, the official threw a flag for intentional grounding, but he later picked it up and declared no penalty.

Landon Dickerson limped to the sideline in the first quarter, which required Toth to enter in relief at left guard. Trainers heavily taped Dickerson’s left ankle, but he was ruled questionable to return and remained on the bench. He was ruled out in the third quarter.

Grant Calcaterra (oblique) exited the game in the first quarter after he took a hard hit to the back on a reception. He also was ruled out in the third quarter.