Philadelphia Eagles: 2 Studs, 4 duds from loss to Falcons in Week 2

Dud: Miles Sanders

After electing to not bring Jay Ajayi back, the Philadelphia Eagles made two big moves at the running back spot this offseason. Not only did they use a second-round pick on Miles Sanders out of Penn State but they also traded with the Chicago Bears for Jordan Howard. And while Howard wasn’t good against Atlanta either, the focus here as a dud falls on Sanders given the hype that built around the rookie.

Sanders was expected to be a shot in the arm for the Philadelphia running game as a runner and pass-catcher. Against the Falcons, he was neither of those things, despite getting his chances. Sanders took 10 carries for just 28 yards and three catches for nine yards. In essence, the rookie back was a non-factor and that’s tough to watch when the offense was losing playmakers to injury left and right.

Duds: The Secondary

How can a unit that notched three interceptions in the game end up as a dud for the game? When you’re consistently getting burned and ultimately making opportune plays that would be bad if you didn’t make to pad your stats. And that’s exactly what the Eagles secondary did against the Falcons offense on Sunday night in Week 2.

Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley both topped 100 yards on the night and it wasn’t hard to see why. Ronald Darby struggled immensely in every matchup he faced and, when Ryan was actually given time to throw, he diced up the Philadelphia defensive backs throughout the night. If not for the performance of the defensive line (more on that forthcoming), this one may not have even been in the Eagles’ sights to win.