A YEAR AGO, the Eagles' offensive line was the picture of health. The five starters answered the bell for all 17 games. They collectively missed a total of 90 snaps.
You knew it couldn't last.
The unit entered yesterday's season opener against the Jaguars already missing right tackle Lane Johnson, who is serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Then, with 4 minutes left in the second quarter, things got worse, a lot worse.
First, running back LeSean McCoy fell on the back of the left leg of All-Pro left guard Evan Mathis. Mathis had to be helped off the field with a knee injury that, at the very least, will keep him sidelined for several weeks, and possibly much longer than that.
"I don't know anything right now," a frustrated Mathis said as he hobbled out of the locker room after the Eagles' come-from-behind, 34-17 win. He likely will have an MRI on the knee today or tomorrow.
A few plays after that, Allen Barbre, who was filling in for Johnson at right tackle, went down with a left ankle injury.
Suddenly, one of the Eagles' greatest strengths appeared on the verge of becoming a season-costing liability. Particularly for a team that was desperately trying to dig itself out of an unexpected, 17-0 hole.
Backup Andrew Gardner, who had taken most of his practice and preseason reps at left tackle, first replaced Mathis at left guard, then moved to right tackle after Barbre got hurt.
David Molk, the backup center who had taken no practice reps at guard here or anyplace else, was sent in to play left guard.
Three plays after Gardner went in at left guard, he was beaten for a sack by defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks. Molk also initially struggled.
"The pass rush is totally different at guard than it is at center," Molk said. "At center, it's literally right in your face. All you have to do is get on it and it's there. I tried to do that at guard the first play I was in and the guy just blew past me."
After rough starts, though, Gardner and Molk ended up turning in very solid second-half performances to help the Eagles win a game that seemed lost at halftime.
In the first half, the Eagles' offense managed just 129 net yards, including 37 rushing yards on 12 carries. They were 2-for-8 on third down. Nick Foles was sacked five times. And, oh yeah, the Eagles trailed, 17-0, to a team Las Vegas had them favored to beat by 10 points.
In the second half, with Gardner at right tackle and Molk at left guard, the Eagles racked up 291 yards, including 108 on 20 carries by McCoy and Darren Sproles, converted six of 11 third-down opportunities, and didn't give up another sack.
"I thought [Molk and Gardner] did a good job," head coach Chip Kelly said. "That is the fear when you have a 46-man roster. We had two offensive linemen up. When Allen went down and Evan went down, obviously, you've got to play with those guys.
"Most of Gardner's practice time has been on the left side. But we've got enough reps for him on the right side and felt good about him. Molk has been at center almost exclusively since Julian [Vandervelde] went down. So, to have him thrown in there at guard, obviously, it was not the way you wanted it. But I thought those guys went out there and competed."
The Eagles finally got on the board early in the third quarter when they used their tempo offense to catch Jacksonville flat-footed on a fourth-and-1 at the Jaguar 49-yard line.
They lined up quickly and ran an inside zone play with Sproles against the unprepared Jaguars. Sproles got a big block from center Jason Kelce and raced down the middle of the field for a 49-yard touchdown. The Eagles put up 34 unanswered points in the second half.
"I thought our backups on the line did a tremendous job," said Kelce. "If you look at the way our No. 2 line played in the preseason, they did a great job for us. They went up against the Steelers' No. 1 defense and were going up and down the field.
"Those two guys have played well since they've been here. And obviously, they did a good job today. We have a lot of corrections to make. But it was good we were able to push through this and win this game."
All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters said he was impressed by the job the 6-1, 290-pound Molk did, considering his lack of experience at guard.
"I told him, 'Hang in there, man. I got you. Just don't get beat inside real quick,' " Peters said. "I told him to get on his man quick and hold his ground. Because he's so small. Those big guys will try to push him back in the backfield.
"He came in and held his own. We needed some momentum. The first half, we played horrible. The second half, we regrouped and just started executing there."
It's one thing to beat Jacksonville with a pair of backup offensive linemen. But they'll be facing a much more difficult test next week when they play the Colts in Indianapolis on Monday night.
Evan Mathis definitely won't play. Best-case scenario for him is an MCL sprain, which, depending on the severity, could mean being out from 4 to 8 weeks. Worse-case scenario is a season-ending ACL tear.
Considering the way Barbre was limping out of the locker room after yesterday's game, there's a good chance he won't be able to play either.
The Eagles' top backup offensive lineman, Matt Tobin, who sat out yesterday's game with an ankle injury, may be able to play against the Colts.
"I don't know," Kelly said when asked what he would do if Mathis and Barbre can't play next week. "We'll figure that out. Right now, it's Molk [for Mathis]. We only have seven [offensive linemen] up on game day, so we'll make adjustments in terms of if he's out for an extended period of time what we have to do. We have two other guys who were down today - Dennis [Kelly] and Matt Tobin. Word is Matt will [be able to] come back [this week]. So I don't know. It doesn't help anybody to speculate."
Even before Mathis got hurt yesterday, the offense was out of sync. The receivers struggled to get open and Foles hung on to the ball far too long. He fumbled the ball away on both of the Eagles' first two possessions, which equaled the total number of lost fumbles he had in 10 starts last season. The Jags converted both of those turnovers into touchdowns.
Both of the pass-rushers who forced the fumbles - Chris Clemons and Andre Branch - came around Foles' blind side, which is Peters' side.
"I just have to block them longer," the six-time Pro Bowler said. "The receivers, I guess, were getting covered up. I just have to hold my block longer. I just got a timer in my head. If there's a certain protection, it's supposed to be this [length of time] and supposed to be that [length of time]. But I just have to block longer for Nick and keep them off of him. He was getting hit pretty good in there."
Said Kelce: "From an offensive-line perspective, we could've done a much better job of executing blocks. In the run and pass. Whenever an offense stalls like that, it's a pretty collective effort of everyone playing like crap.
"Luckily we were able to come back and get a win out of it. But you don't want to start games out like that."
Blog: eagletarian.com
