Inside the Numbers: Seumalo Struggles are a Concern
(973espn.com) — The offensive line was supposed to be a strength for the Eagles this season but for the second consecutive week, Carson Wentz was under siege with the main culprit being first-year starter Isaac Seumalo at left guard.
The second-year player allowed four of the Kansas City Chiefs' six sacks in a 28-20 loss on Sunday and was also credited with allowing five total pressures, according to ProFootballFocus.com. None of Philadelphia's other O-Linemen were responsible for allowing a sack with tight end Zach Ertz the culprit on one and Wentz himself being responsible for the other.
Overall, Wentz faced less pressure in Kansas City (32.1 percent of his dropbacks) than he did during Week 1 in Washington (34.1 percent). The Chiefs were just more effective with their pressure chances.
As for Wentz, Philadelphia continues to place an emphasis on the deep ball and the second-year signal caller has targeted receivers running go routes on 16 percent of his pass attempts. That's an uptick from eight percent a year ago.
Things picked up with Wentz and Alshon Jeffery in Week 2 as the receiver was targeted a game-high 13 times with effectiveness (a passer rating of 102.1) The deep ball is not there yet between the two, however, as they were 0-for-3 against the Chiefs and are now 0-for-6 overall.
Running back reps were: Darren Sproles (50), Wendell Smallwood (14), LeGarrette Blount (six) and Corey Clement (one). That's a significant drop for Blount, who had 24 in Week 1.
On defense, the Eagles' front continued to produce, pressuring Alex Smith on 35.3 percent of his dropbacks but the run support wavered in the second half when they allowed 7.0 yards per rush.
Middle linebacker Jordan Hicks is off to a slow start with five missed tackles in 116 defensive snaps through two games. He was credited with just nine misses in 971 snaps last season.
Rookie corner Rasul Douglas held up pretty well in his first NFL action, allowing for receptions on five targets but allowing only 22 yards.
Jim Schwartz, meanwhile, threw the kitchen sink at Travis Kelce as the star tight end had at least one reception against seven different defenders: Malcolm Jenkins, Jalen Mills, Douglas, Nigel Bradham, Jaylen Watkins, Hicks and even Tim Jernigan. It didn't work as Smith had a 152.4 passer rating when targeting Kelce.
-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen