CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Malcolm Jenkins was blunt in his assessment of the Eagles seven games into the season.
And accurate.
“Hopefully, it lights a fire under some people,” Jenkins said in the quiet visitor’s locker room at Bank of America Stadium early Monday morning.
The Eagles, who had won two straight games to move into first place in the NFC East, thudded back to reality Sunday, losing, 27-16, to the undefeated Panthers (see Instant Replay).
Jenkins was asked about what needs to change during the next weeks, before the Eagles face the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, and the veteran safety with a Super Bowl ring answered honestly.
“Hopefully, guys take the opportunity during the time off to get healthy and to really evaluate themselves,” he said.
“Because we’re at the halfway point in the season and everything is in our control and we’re sitting in a decent spot, but there’s things we have to get better at if we really want to do something this year.
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“I think we’re a confident team, and I think we have what we need in this building to get it right, but we’re not going to just show up and start winning games.
“There’s things we need to correct and things we need to get better in order for us to be a good team. We have all the confidence in the world in the guys we have and you see it at times during games, but I think for whatever reason we shoot ourselves in the foot or we give up plays here and there that we need to make.
“So especially on this bye week, we need to start taking a hard look at ourselves from a coaching standpoint and from a players standpoint, and everybody’s got to be critical of themselves and figure out where they need to get better.”
The Eagles, 3-4, are just a game behind the Giants in the NFC East, and they own a head-to-head win over the Giants (see NFC East wrap).
But a loss like this one demonstrates just how great a disparity there is between the best teams in the conference — and the Panthers improved to 6-0 Sunday under one-time Andy Reid assistant Ron Rivera — and the Eagles, who haven’t won three games in a row since the first three weeks of last year and are 10-10 in their last 20 games.
The Panthers ran for over 200 yards, they sacked Sam Bradford five times, they limited the Eagles to no pass plays longer than 24 yards, and they held Eagles receivers to just one catch over eight yards (see 10 observations).
Jenkins was asked to expound on his comment about the loss lighting a fire under some players.
That’s strong stuff. He’s essentially saying some players need to wake up and start doing their jobs.
And considering what happened Sunday, that’s a fair assessment.
“I mean … I would say so,” he said at his locker. “I wouldn’t say it was on any individual, but you look at it throughout the game, there’s always a play here, a play there or a mental error here, and we just need guys to be able to lock in for the entire game and make the plays that they’re supposed to make for the team.
“Not for themselves, not for whatever but the team needs guys to make these plays, and I’m included in that.
“Nobody’s above that. And like I said, over these next couple weeks guys need to really take a hard look at what they bring to the able and what they need to get better at.”