Back To Earth

The elation from six days earlier became a distant memory on Sunday, when players packed their bags in a locker room, humiliated by the worst loss since Chip Kelly became the Eagles’ coach.

The Green Bay Packers’ 53-20 win over the Eagles escalated into a rout before halftime, and the Eagles were left swallowing an embarrassing defeat just days after what was perhaps their best performance of the season.

“With the way we played today, it wouldn’t have mattered if we played Oakland, who hasn’t won a game yet,” wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said. “They would have beat the hell out of us, too.”

It is not an embarrassment to lose to the Packers, who are among the best teams on the Eagles’ schedule and are especially tough to beat at Lambeau Field. What will resonate was how noncompetitive the Eagles appeared. They committed four turnovers, allowed a special-teams touchdown, and could not disrupt Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“We just got out-executed: offense, defense, special teams, coaches,” quarterback Mark Sanchez said. “We’re all in on this. Now we’re going to find out who we are, what kind of team we have. It’s easy when you’re on the other end of this thing like we were last week, and you’re on national TV and everything’s going great. . . . But now it’s tough. And this is going to be a really good test for this team.”

Players did not overreact to one loss, however lopsided, and the Eagles maintain an impressive 7-3 record, tied for first place in the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys. When safety Malcolm Jenkins was asked how the Eagles could go from the way they looked last Monday to the way they looked Sunday, he noted that it’s a different opponent and a different matchup.

The Packers entered the game averaging 41.5 points at home this season, and even that was a modest total against the Eagles. It was the second time the Eagles allowed more than 50 points since Kelly became head coach in 2013. The other time was a 52-20 loss to the Denver Broncos last September, and the Eagles won their next two games.

“Just because you lose to a quality opponent one time in the season, doesn’t destroy you,” Jenkins said. “Regardless if you lost by 50 or lost by two, the loss counts the same.”

Sanchez, who made his second start with the Eagles, threw two interceptions and was charged with two lost fumbles. One fumble was on a mishandled exchange with running back LeSean McCoy, and the other came on a poor snap from Jason Kelce. Of those four turnovers, two were returned for scores.

Sanchez also threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns, but 198 of those yards and both scores came with the Eagles trying to avenge a 24-point halftime deficit. McCoy finished with 23 carries for 88 yards against a defense ranked No. 30 against the run. Maclin had nine catches for 93 yards and one touchdown, while Jordan Matthews finished with 107 yards and a score.

The statistics that were most impressive came from the Packers. Rodgers dominated the Eagles with 341 passing yards, and Green Bay had two receivers – Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb – top 100 yards. Rodgers finished with a passer rating of 120.3, did not turn the ball over, and was sacked only once.

“He was as advertised,” Kelly said of Rodgers. “He’s as good as they get.”

Rodgers led three first-half touchdown drives, with one stretching 88 yards and two going for 80 yards. With a 75-yard punt return touchdown sprinkled in, the Packers entered halftime holding a 30-6 lead. The Eagles settled for two field goals in the red zone.

“I think the game got out of hand real early, so we became a little bit one-dimensional,” Kelly said. “We moved the ball, we just didn’t execute. . . . Our offense didn’t help our defense at all, and then we obviously had a special-teams breakdown. It was all three phases contributing to it.”

If the first half wasn’t bad enough, the second half was even worse. All four turnovers came then, and the Packers continued inflating the score.

“A lot of us have been in these situations, and we know in this kind of situation, it’s a wake-up call,” linebacker Trent Cole said. “We need to get this off our minds, put it behind us, and move on and win these next games.”

The Packers are the type of team the Eagles will need to beat if they make the postseason, but the schedule becomes a bit easier when the lowly Tennessee Titans visit Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. Regardless of the quality of the opponent, the Eagles know they cannot play the way they did at Lambeau Field.

“With the way we played today,” Maclin said, “we wouldn’t have beaten anybody.”