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Eagles’ Sanchez not discouraged by latest turnover spree
PHILADELPHIA — The good news is the Philadelphia Eagles have won three of their four games since quarterback Nick Foles broke his collarbone and was replaced by Mark Sanchez.
The bad news is they have won those games despite a bunch of turnovers by the turnover-prone Sanchez.
Sanchez has completed 62.3 percent of his passes and is averaging an impressive 8.1 yards per attempt. But he has eight turnovers in the 15 quarters he has played since replacing Foles, including six interceptions and two lost fumbles.
He had two more interceptions in Sunday’s 43-24 win over the Tennessee Titans. For his career, he now has 97 turnovers (75 interceptions, 22 lost fumbles) in 66 games.
Before he got hurt, Foles was having the same problem with turnovers, which is why the Eagles currently lead the league with 27 giveaways. In the last 10 years, just one team – the ’04 St. Louis Rams — has qualified for the playoffs with 35 or more turnovers.
“Maybe a couple of years ago, those two interceptions (Sunday) would eat away at me,” Sanchez said. “But there’s no time to worry about it. There is time to fix it this week, and really work on some of those throws when you’re on the move, throws that I’ve hit a million times.
“That’s the most frustrating thing, I’m sure, for a golfer, when you make that easy four-foot putt all the time and one day, you lip out. It’s not cool. We’ll get it right. I know those guys are going to be open again and it’s my job to put it on them.”
The 8-3 Eagles’ next three games are against the Dallas Cowboys, who also are 8-3, on Thursday, the 7-4 Seattle Seahawks and then Dallas again. So they need to cut down on the turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Eagles defense feasted on Titans rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger, sacking him five times and holding him to a 51.3 completion percentage. But they know it’s going to be a lot tougher Sunday when they go up against the Cowboys’ Tony Romo, who is second in the league in passing to the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, who sliced and diced Philadelphia two weeks ago.
“He’s one of the elites,” cornerback Cary Williams said of Romo. “He’s very talented. He’s proven it. I think his statistics show that too.
Romo isn’t just an average quarterback out there. … He can run the ball. He can pass it. He can pass it outside the pocket. He can make plays outside the pocket. We understand that, and we understand the magnitude of this game and how crucial it is to our season.”
MEDICAL WATCH: QB Nick Foles is expected to have his broken collarbone examined this week, but he probably still is at least two or three weeks away from returning. … LB Casey Matthews, who had been splitting reps with Emmanuel Acho at one of the inside linebacker spots, will get a lot more work this week with Acho not expected to play because of a groin injury. Marcus Smith, the team’s rookie first round pick who has played sparingly, probably will be pressed into service Thursday as a backup to Matthews.
REPORT CARD VS. TITANS
PASSING OFFENSE: B — The good news is Mark Sanchez completed 69.8 percent of his passes and threw for 300-plus yards for the third straight week. The bad news is he threw two more interceptions, which brings his turnover total to eight in 15 quarters since replacing Nick Foles. He made some terrific throws and some butt-ugly ones. Jordan Matthews and Jeremy Maclin combined for 12 catches and 136 yards.
RUSHING OFFENSE: A-minus — LeSean McCoy rushed for 100-plus yards for the third time in the last six games, putting up 130 on 21 carries against an admittedly bad Tennessee run defense. McCoy and Darren Sproles both had rushing touchdowns.
PASS DEFENSE: D — The Eagles continue to give up big passing plays. Linebacker Emmanuel Acho gave up a 68-yard catch to Titans tight end Delanie Walker, and the secondary gave up a 40-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hunter. The Eagles did have five sacks and a pick, but cornerback Bradley Fletcher continues to struggle.
RUN DEFENSE: A — Even without run-stopping inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans, the Eagles continue to be strong against the run. They held the Titans to 2.7 yards per carry. Over the past six games, they’ve allowed 89.7 yards per game on the ground and just 3.6 yards per carry. Their front three is as good against the run as any 3-4 front in the league.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-minus — Josh Huff had a game-opening 107-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Cody Parkey made five of six field-goal attempts, including a 50-yarder. The Eagles gave up an early 44-yard kickoff return to Leon Washington, but otherwise did a good job in punt and kick coverage.
COACHING – A – Chip Kelly did a good job of keeping his team focused against the 2-9 Titans after last week’s ugly loss to Green Bay and with a critical Thanksgiving Day divisional showdown against Dallas coming up. Defensive coordinator Bill Davis’ pass rush notched five more sacks. The Eagles, who had just 37 sacks last season, have 38 in 11 games with essentially the same front seven personnel they had a year ago.
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