MIAMI — For the last month, it really seemed like Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby had solidified the Eagles’ secondary.
Forget all that.
On Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, the Eagles lost 37-31 to one of the worst teams in the NFL thanks to an absolutely pathetic performance (see Roob's observations). And Mills and Darby were burnt up and down the field.
“Every dog has its day,” Mills said. “It’s part of the game. Those guys get paid too. At the end of the day, gotta watch the film and come back. Next week, we got the Giants. Big game on Monday night, just come out and play hard.”
It’s a good thing that these cornerbacks are known for their short memories.
Because Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins is one they’ll want to forget as quick as humanly possible.
NFL journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Mike Gesicki had five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
NFL
But DeVante Parker was the star. He had a career game, catching seven passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Most of those came on big plays down the field against Darby and Mills.
“He had a day,” Mills said. “That guy gets paid too.”
Parker on Sunday had two 40-plus-yard catches and now has six on the season. The Eagles, as a team, have just five.
On some of the plays to Parker, the Eagles’ defensive backs had good position, but Parker is 6-3 and simply beat Mills (6-0) and Darby (5-11) on 50-50 balls. Same goes for the 6-foot-6 Gesicki. The Eagles’ tallest cornerback, Rasul Douglas (6-foot-2), stayed on the bench.
That they were in position to make plays and didn’t was no consolation to Mills and Darby after that loss.
“I just have to finish,” Darby said. “It goes like that sometimes. I just have to find a way to finish and make a play on the ball.”
Mills and Darby at least talked to reporters after the game; several big-name Eagles declined interview requests as they left the locker room.
Parker is now the eighth receiver to go over 100 yards against the Eagles this season, but he’s the first since Oct. 20, when Amari Cooper did it. Because with Darby and Mills back in the lineup together beginning in Buffalo, the Eagles’ defense had looked really good.
With Mills and Darby together in the previous four games, the Eagles’ defense had given up 15.25 points per game. Coming into this weekend, that made them the NFL’s second-best defense since Week 8 and their two starting cornerbacks seemed to be a big part of that.
Well … that all changed in Miami. On Sunday, they were a huge reason why the Eagles got embarrassed by one of the worst teams in the league.
For Eagles fans, this is definitely the low point of the season.
Darby claims he doesn’t rank them.
“A low is a low,” Darby said. “Any loss feels horrible, especially when you give up plays. Like, you feel bad, you feel me?”
Yeah, Ronald, we do. We all do.
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.