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Eagles fall to Panthers as drops continue

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The story is getting old. Sam Bradford is frustrated about the same problems, Jordan Matthews is embarrassed by them, and the Eagles are left searching for answers about their inconsistent offense after a 27-16 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night.

Bradford's pass bouncing through Miles Austin's hands was a fitting way for the Eagles to accept the finality of the loss. Drops were a problem for the Eagles throughout the game — and have been for the season.

So when Austin missed a fourth-down pass late in the fourth quarter, it would have been more devastating if only it was a surprise. The Eagles dropped seven passes, and they also dropped their fourth game of the season on a night when left tackle Jason Peters was carted off the field with back spasms.

"I think inconsistency is probably the word that comes to mind," Bradford said. "I think we've shown some flashes in about every game  ...  running the offense where we want to, and there's other times, whether it be a various assortment of self-inflicted wounds, we just kill ourselves. And it just happens too often."

Their two-game winning streak was snapped, and the Eagles enter the bye week at 3-4. That's only one game behind the first-place Giants, so the Eagles are not in an insurmountable hole. But problems from the first loss remain problems in the fourth loss.

"We missed an opportunity to win a football game," coach Chip Kelly said. "The self-inflicted wounds — the drop, the penalties  ...  you can't do that against a good football team like Carolina and expect to beat them."

One of the most head-scratching plays might not have been an interception or a drop, but rather a questionable play call and poor execution on a key third down in the fourth quarter.

With the Eagles trailing by five points early in the quarter, they faced third and 9 from the Panthers' 31. A first down would help the Eagles' chances for a lead, but any positive yards would have made it an easier field-goal attempt for Caleb Sturgis. Instead, they tried a screen pass to Josh Huff in the flat. Huff was stuffed for a 1-yard loss, and the Eagles were left with a fourth down and a 50-yard field-goal attempt. Sturgis missed, and the Eagles' deficit remained at five.

Kelly said the Eagles tried taking advantage of man-to-man coverage and missed blocks on the play.

"It wasn't the best play because we didn't execute," Kelly said.

Carolina responded with a field goal on the ensuing drive, and the Eagles could not put together a late drive. Austin's fourth-down drop sealed the loss, but even if he had caught it, the Eagles still would have needed to drive almost the length of the field and succeed on a two-point conversion to tie it. Instead, Carolina's Graham Gano kicked a short field goal for the final score.

The loss came even though the Eagles forced two more turnovers than Carolina. Bradford finished 26 of 46 for 205 yards and one interception, while Cam Newton went 14 of 24 for 197 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Ryan Mathews led the Eagles' rushers with six carries for 97 yards and a score. Zach Ertz caught five passes for 63 yards.

The Eagles' first-half woes continued. It was their fourth game this season without a first-half touchdown. After they were forced to punt on their opening possession, the Panthers drove 72 yards on four plays for the 7-0 lead. Bradford's interception came on the next possession, although Jordan Matthews also shares responsibility. The pass deflected off his hands for Bradford's 10th interception of the season, and one of seven drops on Sunday.

"It's something that needs to be fixed. It's embarrassing," Matthews said. "I feel like I'm No. 1 on that list of guys who will take the responsibility on my shoulder to get it fixed. It's not who we are as a team, it's not who I want to be as a player. It's got to get fixed."

Kelly said he thought Bradford "played well" and "put the ball on people," but too many passes were not caught.

The Eagles' first points did not come until nine minutes into the second quarter, when Sturgis connected on a 52-yard field goal. They received a scoring chance before halftime when Malcolm Jenkins jumped in front of a Cam Newton pass for a highlight-worthy interception at the Panthers' 39 with 65 seconds remaining to set up a 29-yard field goal.

After Carolina built a 21-6 lead, Ryan Mathews burst through the middle of the Panthers defense for a career-long 63-yard touchdown run to bring the Eagles back into the game.

The momentum appeared to continue in the Eagles' direction when Byron Maxwell intercepted Newton on the next possession and returned it 22 yards to the Panthers' 18. They were within striking distance of tying the game, but Huff dropped a pass in the end zone. The Eagles needed to settle for a 24-yard field goal to make it 21-16.

"If we could have converted a couple of those field goals into touchdowns, the game might be a little bit different," Bradford said.

That was the score when Kelly called the screen pass for Huff that netted negative yards. It was part of a long list of problems with the offense. The Eagles have two weeks to try to fix them before playing the Cowboys in Dallas on Nov. 8.

"I think when we play the way we're capable of  ...  I feel like we're capable of beating anyone," Bradford said. "But we've got to eliminate the mental errors, the self-inflicted wounds. We've got to stop beating ourselves."

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm