Dan Orlovsky Slams Matt Patricia’s Decision-Making In Eagles Loss
The defensive approach from the Philadelphia Eagles on the Seattle Seahawks’ game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter on Monday night baffled ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky.
And it seemed Orlovsky took most exception to the position Matt Patricia, who took over defensive play-calling duties for the Eagles, put Philadelphia in that allowed Seattle to march down the field in relative ease by executing a 10-play, 92-yard scoring drive that took just under 90 seconds to complete.
“Really again poor situational football, in specifically defensively if you go to the game-winning drive and some of the throws that Drew Lock connected with DK (Metcalf) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, just situationally bad,” Orlovsky said Tuesday on ESPN’s “NFL Live.”
Orlovsky broke down game film of Seattle’s final drive and thought Patricia’s biggest fault was his decision to repeatedly have the Eagles play man coverage.
Eagles cornerback James Bradberry got burned time after time playing man, including on Lock’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba with 28 seconds remaining.
That wasn’t the only thing that had Orlovsky scratching his head, and while the former NFL player didn’t call out Patricia directly, much of the blame can be put on the shoulders of the ex-Patriots staffer.
“I just think in that situation, one, I was shocked that they played man coverage in that many moments because they’ve been bad at it all year,” Orlovsky said. “Two, there’s no defensive line games or stunts to create rush. And three, Bradberry in all three of those situations just got beat in the ways that he could not get beat scheme-wise.”