Eagles' running game going nowhere

Sep 19, 2017 - 12:39 AM PHILADELPHIA -- Doug Pederson declared the Philadelphia Eagles' running game broken Sunday after their 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and said they have to figure out a way to fix it.

The Eagles are averaging 4.0 yards per carry through the first two games, but that includes quarterback Carson Wentz's 61 rushing yards (on eight carries), including a career-high 55 yards against the Chiefs.

Eagles running backs are averaging only 3.1 yards per carry. They have rushed for 104 yards on 33 carries in the first two games.

"Obviously I was not pleased with how we ran the ball in, really, both of the first two games," the head coach said. "It is not one individual (at fault). It's a team effort. But we've got to fix it going forward.

"We're going to roll up our sleeves and get it corrected and we will make sure that the next time out, we do a better job."

The Eagles signed LeGarrette Blount in the offseason. Blount led the NFL in rushing touchdowns last season with New England. He rushed for 46 yards on 14 carries in the Eagles' Week 1 win over Washington.

But on Sunday, Pederson barely played Blount, using 34-year-old Darren Sproles and second-year man Wendell Smallwood to carry the ball, which wasn't often.

Eagles running backs ran the ball only 13 times against the Chiefs, even though the Eagles never trailed by more than three points until late in the fourth quarter.

While the ground game hasn't been effective, Pederson barely has given it a chance. In the Eagles' first two games, 101 of their 134 offensive plays have been pass plays. Their run-play percentage through two weeks is 30.6 percent.

"We had some good plays," right tackle Lane Johnson said. "I mean, we threw the ball a lot today, and part of that is because we weren't very effective (in the running game).

"It's really hard to see or talk about right after the game because you really can't see what happened (until you look at the film). Obviously, it comes down to execution and we're not doing our job right now."

--For the second straight week, the Eagles found themselves in way too many third-and-longs. Last week against the Redskins, quarterback Carson Wentz was able to dig the offense out of a good many of those third-and-long holes.

But the Chiefs have a much better defense than Washington, both up front and on the back end, even with the loss of safety Eric Berry.

A staggering 12 of the Eagles' 15 third-downs Sunday were seven yards or more. The final numbers show that they converted 8 of their 15 third-down opportunities, which is very good.

But that number is skewed since four of those third-down conversions came late in the game after the Chiefs took a 27-13 lead and were playing the ever-popular prevent defense.

Before that, the Eagles had managed to convert only two of nine third downs of seven yards or more. Wentz's passing numbers on those nine third downs: 1-for-7, 12 yards, one sack, one passing first down and an interception.

--Wentz had a costly fourth-quarter interception that set up the Chiefs' go-ahead touchdown. He tried to throw the ball away after an aborted screen pass and hit Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston on the helmet with the ball. It ricocheted off his helmet right into the hands of defensive end Chris Jones.

Wentz on his thoughts on the fact that 101 of the Eagles' 134 offensive plays in their first two games have been pass plays: "Obviously, more balance is usually the way to go. But it was just the nature of the game (Sunday) and the way they were playing some things; the things we thought we could take advantage of that kind of led us down that road (to throw so much)."

NOTES: S Rodney McLeod sustained a hamstring injury in the first half and didn't return. The Eagles had no update on his condition Monday, listing him as day to day. It's unlikely he'll play this week against the Giants. ... CB Jaylen Watkins injured his hamstring early in the game Sunday. No word on the severity or whether there is any chance he will play this week. Watkins started in place of Ronald Darby, who is out for at least four weeks and probably longer because a dislocated ankle. ... LG Isaac Seumalo had a rough game against the Chiefs. He was responsible for at least three of their six sacks and also had a costly false start penalty in the red zone. Head coach Doug Pederson said Monday the Eagles weren't considering benching Seumalo. ... K Jake Elliott could be in jeopardy of losing his job after missing a 30-yard field-goal attempt against the Chiefs on Sunday. Elliott, a rookie, was signed last week to replace injured Caleb Sturgis, who was placed on injured reserve with a hip injury. ... RB LeGarrette Blount, who had a team-high 14 carries last week against the Redskins, didn't have any Sunday against the Chiefs. But head coach Doug Pederson said it's no indication of how the team will use him going forward.