INDIANAPOLIS − As it turned out, Dallas Goedert’s absence had the biggest impact on the Eagles in the first half.
The offense misfired in penalties, sloppy play and missed opportunities, and trailed the Indianapolis Colts 10-3 at halftime Sunday.
It was a little better on defense, as veteran defensive tackles Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh played right away in their Eagles’ debuts.
Joseph, especially, was effective in stopping the Colts’ running attack, even on the first drive, when Jonathan Taylor rushed for 49 yards as the Colts scored a touchdown. But Taylor’s biggest runs, for 28 and 9 yards, came with Joseph on the sideline.
It was remarkable that both played as much as they did in the first half. Joseph, 34, was signed Wednesday and went through two practices. Suh, 35, was signed a day later, and went through one practice. Neither had played for a team this season.
The Eagles needed them against Taylor, the NFL’s leading rusher last season. The Eagles had allowed an average of 160 yards per game on the ground the last two games without rookie Jordan Davis, who’s on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Taylor had just 15 yards rushing after that opening drive, and finished with 64 yards on 11 carries in the first half.
But the Eagles had trouble on offense without Goedert, both in production and in penalties.
Jalen Hurts completed 10 of 14 passes for 111 yards in the first half, while also running for 35 yards. Miles Sanders had just 5 carries for 19 yards.
But the Eagles committed 5 penalties for 40 yards. They had three in a row on one drive that left them with a 1st-and-35. They punted. All three backup tight ends were called for penalties during the first half.
Later, when the Eagles faced a 2nd-and-goal from the 2 midway through the second quarter, Jason Kelce snapped the ball over Hurts’ head and the Eagles lost eight yards. They settled for a field goal, cutting their deficit to 7-3.
The Colts added a field goal with 13 seconds left in the half.
Joseph, Suh used early
Joseph was on the field for the first two snaps of the game. And not surprisingly, the Colts didn’t have much success on the ground, gaining 4 yards. Joseph even made the tackle on the first play.
But Joseph came out on third down, a passing down, and Matt Ryan completed a pass to Michael Pittman for a first down. Then Jonathan Taylor gained 28 yards and 9 yards with Joseph on the sideline, taking the ball to the Eagles’ 10 yard line.
Joseph came back into the game at that point. Suh was in as well. But the Colts scored for an early lead.
The Colts had 50 yards rushing on that opening drive, but the majority of those yards came with Joseph on the sideline.
1st-and-35?
The Eagles haven’t helped themselves in the first half. On one drive in the first quarter, the Eagles got a 1st-and-10 on the Colts’ 35. On the first play, center Jason Kelce was called for being an illegal man downfield, pushing the Eagles back 5 yards. On the next play, guard Landon Dickerson was called for holding, pushing them back another 10 yards.
On the next play, tight end Tyree Jackson was called for offensive pass interference. That gave the Eagles a 1st-and-35 from their 40 yard line. The Eagles ended up punting.
Eagles, Colts inactives
The Eagles listed QB Ian Book, CB Josh Jobe, RB Trey Sermon, G Josh Sills and G Sua Opeta as inactive. As for the Colts, both Pryor and Foles are among the inactives.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
