In each of the Philadelphia Eagles' four losses this season the offense had the ball with the chance to tie or take the lead late in the fourth quarter. Each time they came up short.
"We, all around here, are kind of sick to our stomach where we're at right now with just all these close games," quarterback Carson Wentz said Wednesday of the close losses, via ESPN.com. "It's frustrating to not finish. We've had chances in every one of these as an offense to go down there and win the ball game or tie it up or whatever the case may be. It's frustrating, so we all have got to do a better job and that starts with me in those key situations."
In Sunday's loss to the New York Giants, Wentz threw an incomplete pass to Jordan Matthews in the end zone on fourth down that sealed the five-point loss. Coach Doug Pederson characterized the throw as just a "little bit" outside of where the rookie quarterback should put it.
In each loss, it's been one play here or one play there that the Eagles have failed to make. The thin line between stunning victory and slumping loss leaves Philadelphia at the bottom of the NFC East at 4-4 instead of battling for the division lead.
The Eagles sit second in the NFC with a +57 point differential, behind only the Dallas Cowboys (+83). Pro Football Outsiders surprisingly ranks Philadelphia No. 1 in their DVOA metrics -- thanks in large part to wicked-good special teams play.
Wentz hasn't been the reason the Eagles have lost four of their five games, but the rookie is sick that he hasn't been to pull out the wins either.
"I keep sounding like a broken record, but it's just executing and finishing down the wire," Wentz said. "It's some third-down moments, know when to take sacks at times, know when a play's not there. There's just things to learn all the time, and I think as a good team we've all got to learn from those. If we're not learning, we're just going to keep repeating those mistakes. So yeah, without a doubt, those are all learning experiences."
