Opinion: Eagles need to make a trade to become contenders in 2019 NFL season

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – OK, Howie Roseman, the proverbial ball is now in your court.

The Eagles held up their end of the bargain, beating the Buffalo Bills 31-13 on Sunday. They’re 4-4 and a half game behind the idle Cowboys in the NFC East.

There are eight games left, including another game against the Cowboys in the penultimate game of the season.

So now it’s worth making a trade for a player who can make a difference over the second half of the season, like at defensive tackle or wide receiver.

“We’re going to make sure whoever he brings in, or whatever happens, we just adjust to it and keep it moving,” said defensive end Brandon Graham. “I’ve been here long enough to trust what we got going on upstairs. I never question it. I’m always excited for what they’re thinking.”

That thinking was very likely influenced by the Eagles’ win over Bills, with the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday afternoon.

It could have gone either way.

The Eagles came into this game reeling. They had lost two straight games, and were in danger of dropping to 3-5 with a loss to the Bills.

Buffalo came into the game at  5-1, with the third-best defense in the NFL, allowing just 15.2 points per game.

The Eagles were also awash in turmoil over these last two weeks, with one player anonymously ripping Roseman, the offense and quarterback Carson Wentz; and another – Orlando Scandrick – going on national television to rip Roseman and safety Malcolm Jenkins.

The Eagles had to overcome all of that, and the winds gusting to well over 35 mph, to determine what would happen at the trade deadline.

And the Eagles knew it.

“I mean, I’d say it’s pretty close to (a must-win),” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “To keep us in the hunt, I guess in the conversation. It would have been a lot harder had we lost this football game to come back and try to make a run.”

The Eagles answered with a running game led by Jordan Howard bulling his way to 96 yards on 23 carries, and a speed running game, led by Miles Sanders outracing everyone with a 65-yard touchdown run on the second play of the third quarter.

In all, the Eagles rushed for 218 yards, the most since Pederson became coach in 2016.

The much-maligned defense sacked beleaguered Bills quarterback Josh Allen four times. Graham forced Allen to fumble when he tried to run, giving the Eagles the ball at the Bills’ 24. That led to a critical touchdown just before halftime.

The Eagles insist that it wasn’t hard to block out the distractions.

“(Expletive), go to the house, put on some Netflix,” right tackle Lane Johnson said with a laugh when asked how he did it. “Obviously, there was a lot of stuff going on. But all we can control is going to work, going to these meetings, going to practice, getting on this plane and flying here and go play.”

Which is what they did.

“It’s easy when losses come to want to point fingers,” said Wentz, who completed 17 of 24 passes for 172 yards and ran for 37 more. “Just trying to make sure everyone is on the same page with everything going on. Guys did a good job responding.”

The question is, where do the Eagles need the most help? There are many spots to choose from.

DeSean Jackson, the speed receiver the Eagles desperately needed and counted on this season, is still out after leaving in Week 2 with an abdominal injury. Pederson keeps saying he’s “getting close” to a return, but he has yet to practice.

The Jets’ Robby Anderson could be the answer.

On the defensive line, the Eagles rotated in three players next to Fletcher Cox who were on practice squads at the beginning of last week in Anthony Rush (signed off the Raiders’ practice squad), Albert Huggins (Texans) and Bruce Hector (Eagles). 

Defensive tackle Tim Jernigan, who suffered a foot injury in Week 2, could be close to returning.

But they could still use more depth. How about the Bengals’ Geno Atkins?

The need at defensive back might not be as pressing after Ronald Darby returned Sunday after missing four straight games with a hamstring injury. He had a crucial pass breakup on 3rd down in the third quarter.

Jalen Mills returned last week against the Cowboys and played well for a second straight week.

The Eagles are also expecting to get back nickel corners Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc in the next week or so.

At least now there is hope, something that wasn’t as certain after it seemed like the team was imploding under poor play, the anonymous critic, and Scandrick’s comments.

“At this point in the season, we feel like we had to make a decision,” Jenkins said. “We came together this week and just worked.”

Still, in their third straight road game, they had to beat a 5-1 team on the road with the wind and innuendos swirling around them.

“We’re not people that get lost in all this outside noise,” wide receiver Nelson Agholor said. “We’ve heard it. It’s not like it’s anything new to us. We understand. There’s always going to be noise when you’re not perfect.

“You just gotta keep on fighting and stay in the ring.”

Now it’s up to Roseman to make sure the Eagles stay in the ring.

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p id=”article-body-p-last”>Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.

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