2016 Philadelphia Eagles season

2016 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerJeffrey Lurie
General managerHowie Roseman
Head coachDoug Pederson
Home fieldLincoln Financial Field
Local radioWIP-FM
Results
Record7–9
Division place4th NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
4
AP All-ProsEDGE Brandon Graham (2nd team)
Uniform

The 2016 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 84th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the first under head coach Doug Pederson. The Eagles named 2nd overall pick Carson Wentz the starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. The Eagles started 3–0 including a 34–3 win over their intrastate rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following their Week 4 bye week, the Eagles went 4–9, including a 2–4 record against their divisional rivals. Following a 27–26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15, the Eagles were eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season and the fourth time in five seasons and suffered back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1998—1999. This was the last season the Eagles missed the playoffs until 2020.

Roster changes

Free agents

Position Player Tag 2016 Team Notes
WR Seyi Ajirotutu UFA TBD
CB E.J. Biggers UFA New England Patriots Signed 1-year deal
QB Sam Bradford UFA Philadelphia Eagles Signed 2-year deal/$36 million deal
CB Nolan Carroll UFA Philadelphia Eagles Signed 1-year deal
DE Vinny Curry UFA Philadelphia Eagles Signed 5-year deal/$47.25 million deal
ILB Najee Goode UFA Philadelphia Eagles Signed 1-year deal
QB Thad Lewis UFA San Francisco 49ers Signed 1-year deal
C David Molk RFA None Player Retired
DE Cedric Thornton UFA Dallas Cowboys Signed 4-year/$18 million deal
S Walter Thurmond UFA None Player Retired
OT Matt Tobin RFA Philadelphia Eagles Signed 1-year /$1.6 million deal
Player re-signed by the Eagles

Free agent signings

Position Player Tag 2015 Team Date signed Notes
RB Ross Scheuerman UFA Free Agent January 21 Signed[1]
WR Xavier Rush UFA None February 18
CB Aaron Grymes UFA Edmonton Eskimos February 18
QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson UFA San Francisco 49ers February 18

Signed[2]

CB Leodis McKelvin UFA Buffalo Bills March 8 Signed 2 year/$6 million deal
S Rodney McLeod UFA St. Louis Rams March 9 Signed 5 year/$37 million deal
QB Chase Daniel UFA Kansas City Chiefs March 9 Signed 3 year/$21 million deal
OG Brandon Brooks UFA Houston Texans March 9 Signed 5 year/$40 million deal
LB Nigel Bradham UFA Buffalo Bills March 9 Signed 2-year deal
CB Ron Brooks UFA Buffalo Bills March 9 Signed 3-year deal
WR Chris Givens UFA Baltimore Ravens March 16 Signed 1-year deal
WR Rueben Randle UFA New York Giants March 23 Signed 1-year deal
C Stefen Wisniewski UFA Jacksonville Jaguars April 4 Signed 1-year deal
P Ryan Quigley UFA New York Jets April 18 Signed 1-year deal
WR T. J. Graham UFA New Orleans Saints April 22 Signed 1-year deal

Trades

Roster changes

The Eagles cut wide receiver Riley Cooper on February 8, 2016.[3] They later cut veteran linebacker DeMeco Ryans on February 24, 2016.[4]

Draft

Main article: 2016 NFL Draft
2016 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 2 Carson Wentz *  QB North Dakota State From Cleveland
3 79 Isaac Seumalo  OG Oregon State
5 153 Wendell Smallwood  RB West Virginia
5 164 Halapoulivaati Vaitai  OT TCU From Pittsburgh
6 196 Blake Countess  CB Auburn from Houston via New England, Miami and Minnesota
7 233 Jalen Mills  S LSU
7 240 Alex McCalister  DE Florida from Buffalo via Minnesota
7 251 Joe Walker  LB Oregon from Arizona
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Notes

  • The Eagles traded their second-round selection, along with a 2015 fourth-round selection and quarterback Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for the Rams' 2015 fifth-round selection and quarterback Sam Bradford.
  • The Eagles acquired an additional third-round selection in a trade that sent their 2015 fourth-round selection to the Detroit Lions.
  • The Eagles conditionally acquired an additional fifth-round selection in a trade that sent cornerback Brandon Boykin to the Pittsburgh Steelers; the condition could have upgraded to a fourth-rounder if Boykin played at least 60% of the snaps with the Steelers during the 2015 season, but he did not.
  • The Eagles conditionally acquired an additional seventh-round selection in a trade that sent quarterback Matt Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals; the Eagles were to only receive this selection if Barkley was on the Cardinals' 2015 roster for at least six games, which was fulfilled on October 17, 2015.

Undrafted free agents

Position Player College
LB Quentin Gause Rutgers
DT Connor Wujciak Boston College
WR Hunter Sharp Utah State
DE Aziz Shittu Stanford
CB CJ Smith North Dakota State
DT Destiny Vaeao Washington State
RB Byron Marshall Oregon
RB Cedric O'Neal Valdosta State
LB Myke Tavarres Incarnate Word
WR Cayleb Jones Arizona
C Bruce Johnson Maine
OG Darrell Greene San Diego State
LS John DePalma West Virginia
TE Dillon Gordon LSU
WR Marcus Johnson Texas

Staff

2016 Philadelphia Eagles staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – Josh Hingst
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Ben Wagner
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Keith Gray
  • Director of sports science and reconditioning – Shaun Huls


Final roster

2016 Philadelphia Eagles roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 8 reserve, 9 practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–9 1–0 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
2 August 18 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–0 2–0 Heinz Field Recap
3 August 27 at Indianapolis Colts W 33–23 3–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
4 September 1 New York Jets W 14–6 4–0 Lincoln Financial Field Recap

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 11 Cleveland Browns W 29–10 1–0 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
2 September 19 at Chicago Bears W 29–14 2–0 Soldier Field Recap
3 September 25 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–3 3–0 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
4 Bye
5 October 9 at Detroit Lions L 23–24 3–1 Ford Field Recap
6 October 16 at Washington Redskins L 20–27 3–2 FedExField Recap
7 October 23 Minnesota Vikings W 21–10 4–2 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
8 October 30 at Dallas Cowboys L 23–29 (OT) 4–3 AT&T Stadium Recap
9 November 6 at New York Giants L 23–28 4–4 MetLife Stadium Recap
10 November 13 Atlanta Falcons W 24–15 5–4 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
11 November 20 at Seattle Seahawks L 15–26 5–5 CenturyLink Field Recap
12 November 28 Green Bay Packers L 13–27 5–6 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
13 December 4 at Cincinnati Bengals L 14–32 5–7 Paul Brown Stadium Recap
14 December 11 Washington Redskins L 22–27 5–8 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
15 December 18 at Baltimore Ravens L 26–27 5–9 M&T Bank Stadium Recap
16 December 22 New York Giants W 24–19 6–9 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
17 January 1 Dallas Cowboys W 27–13 7–9 Lincoln Financial Field Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week One: Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Browns 0 7 3010
Eagles 7 6 9729

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

The Eagles kicked off the 2016 season against the Cleveland Browns. 2nd Overall pick Carson Wentz made his debut. The Eagles started off well. Wentz threw his 1st career TD to Jordan Matthews. Caleb Sturgis missed a field goal in the 1st Quarter but did made one early in the 2nd Quarter to extend the lead to 10–0. The Browns would respond early in the 2nd quarter with an Isaiah Crowell 1 yard TD to cut the Eagles lead to 10–7. The Eagles only managed to kick another Sturgis field goal in the 2nd Quarter which resulted in a 13–7 lead at halftime. The Browns then kicked another field goal to change the score to 13–10. Midway through the 3rd Quarter, a bad snap by Browns center Cameron Erving went over the head of Quarterback Robert Griffin III and into the end zone for a safety and it extended the Eagles lead to 15–10. Following that drive, Wentz and the offense went back to work. Wentz threw his 2nd TD to Nelson Agholor to change the score to 22–10. The Eagles mainly burned out the clock in the 4th quarter to weaken the Browns hopes of a comeback. Ryan Mathews sealed the game with a 1-yard TD to make the final score 29–10.

With the win, the Eagles opened the season 1–0.

Week 2: at Chicago Bears

Week Two: Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 3 6 13729
Bears 0 7 0714

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

Following their big win at home, the Eagles trailed to Illinois to square off Jay Cutler and the Bears in Soldier Field. The Bears scored a touchdown early in the 2nd Quarter by Jeremy Langford. The Eagles only got away with 3 field goals throughout the first half, leading 9–7 at the half. However, things turned around in the 2nd half. Cutler fumbled early in the 3rd quarter, setting up a Ryan Mathews 3-yard touchdown to increase the Eagles lead to 16–7. On the Bears' next drive, Cutler threw an interception to Linebacker Nigel Bradham to set up a touchdown from Carson Wentz to tight end Trey Burton to increase their lead to 22–7. (Kicker Caleb Sturgis missed the extra point.) Cutler left the game with a thumb injury. Backup Brian Hoyer came to relieve him. Early in the 4th quarter, Jeremy Langford fumbled, giving the Eagles the ball at the Bears 47-yard line. The Eagles mainly burned out the clock throughout the 4th quarter. Mathews ran for another touchdown to extend their lead to 29–7. Eddie Royal returned a punt for a touchdown with 5 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. However, the Eagles pulled away the game to end their chances.

With the win, the Eagles moved to 2–0 and tied the New York Giants for first place in the NFC East.

Week 3: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week Three: Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Steelers 0 3 003
Eagles 3 10 21034

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

The Eagles returned home to face their long time state rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Eagles blocked a Chris Boswell field goal to deny 3 points. The Eagles drew first blood with a Caleb Strugis field goal to make the score 3–0. Early in the 2nd quarter, Rookie Quarterback Carson Wentz threw a 12-yard touchdown to Jordan Matthews to add to their lead. The Steelers finally got on board with a Chris Boswell field goal which turned out to be the only scoring play for the Steelers. Strugis notched another field goal to extend their lead to 13–3 at the half. Then, early in the 2nd Half, Wentz threw a 73-yard touchdown to running back Darren Sproles to extend their lead to 20–3. After a Steelers 3 and out, rookie running back Wendell Smallwood scored his first career rushing touchdown and it extend to Eagles lead to 27–3. On the Steelers next drive, veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger fumbled the football which the Eagles recovered. The Eagles would score a Kenjon Barner rushing touchdown to create a stunning 31 point lead. The Eagles defense shut down the Steelers offense. Roethlisberger threw an interception to Rodney McLeod late in the game as the Eagles pulled away a huge 34–3 win.

With the win, The Eagles headed into their bye week with a commanding 3–0 record and 1st place in NFC East. (The Giants lost to the Redskins earlier in the day.)

Week 5: at Detroit Lions

Week Five: Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 10 10323
Lions 14 7 0324

at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Game information

Week 6: at Washington Redskins

Week Six: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 14 0620
Redskins 7 14 3327

at FedExField, Landover, Maryland

Game information

Week 7: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week Seven: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 3 0710
Eagles 0 11 7321

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

This was the Eagles first blackout game of the year.

Week 8: at Dallas Cowboys

Week Eight: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Eagles 3 10 73023
Cowboys 7 3 310629

at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Game information

Week 9: at New York Giants

Week Nine: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 3 7 7623
Giants 14 7 7028

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: November 6
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C), partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 80,309
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

After a heartbreaking overtime loss in Dallas, the Eagles traveled to MetLife Stadium to take on the Giants. The Eagles started off slow. Wentz threw 2 interceptions and the defense allowed 2 touchdowns by Eli Manning to Odell Beckham Jr and to Roger Lewis. The Eagles defense struggled all day especially Leodis McKelvin until the 4th quarter when the Eagles intercepted Manning twice. But, they weren't able to comeback as the Eagles failed to score a touchdown. The loss dropped the Eagles to 4–4 and 4th place in the NFC East. After this loss, the Eagles would not lose to New York again until Week 10 of 2020 (November 15, 2020), after 8 consecutive wins.

Week 10: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week Ten: Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 6 3615
Eagles 7 0 31424

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

The Eagles, with the win, stay alive in the NFC East and the wild card race as they take down the NFC South leaders and the NFL's best offense.

Week 11: at Seattle Seahawks

Week Eleven: Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 7 0815
Seahawks 6 10 7326

at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: November 20
  • Game time: 4:25 p.m. EST/1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), rain
  • Game attendance: 69,190
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Tracy Wolfson
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 12: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week Twelve: Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 7 7 31027
Eagles 7 3 3013

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: November 28
  • Game time: 8:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 69,596
  • Referee: Terry McAulay
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden and Lisa Salters
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 13: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week Thirteen: Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 0 7714
Bengals 10 9 10332

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Date: December 4
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 55,456
  • Referee: Jeff Triplette
  • TV announcers (Fox): Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Peter Schrager
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the loss, the Eagles fell to 5–7. They also fell to 0-4-1 all time in Cincinnati.

Week 14: vs. Washington Redskins

Week Fourteen: Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Redskins 0 7 14627
Eagles 3 10 0922

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: December 11
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 69,596
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 15: at Baltimore Ravens

Week Fifteen: Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 3 11 01226
Ravens 10 10 0727

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: December 18
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 71,223
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

The loss knocked the Eagles out of playoff contention for the third consecutive year. Despite a rushing touchdown by Carson Wentz in the final seconds, they failed the 2-point conversion; sealing a fifth straight loss and a playoff elimination.

Week 16: vs. New York Giants

Week Sixteen: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 3 10 3319
Eagles 14 7 0324

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

After a heartbreaking loss that knocked the Eagles out of the playoffs, they came back home to square off the New York Giants for round 2. Prior to this game, the Eagles were 0–4 against division rivals. Playing with pride, the Eagles knocked off the Giants including a pick 6 by Malcolm Jenkins. With the win, the Eagles snapped their 5-game losing streak and won against the Giants at home for the 3rd consecutive season. The win allowed the Cowboys to clinch the NFC East. This started an 8-game winning streak for the Eagles against the Giants, ending Week 10 of 2020.

Week 17: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week Seventeen: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 10 3013
Eagles 3 7 71027

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: January 1, 2017
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 69,596
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the win, the Eagles finished the year at 7–9. Furthermore, they won their first game against the Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field since 2011.

Standings

Division

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) Dallas Cowboys 13 3 0 .813 3–3 9–3 421 306 L1
(5) New York Giants 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 310 284 W1
Washington Redskins 8 7 1 .531 3–3 6–6 396 383 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 7 9 0 .438 2–4 5–7 367 331 W2

Conference

NFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1 Dallas Cowboys East 13 3 0 .813 3–3 9–3 .471 .440 L1
2 Atlanta Falcons South 11 5 0 .688 5–1 9–3 .480 .452 W4
3 Seattle Seahawks West 10 5 1 .656 3–2–1 6–5–1 .441 .425 W1
4 Green Bay Packers North 10 6 0 .625 5–1 8–4 .508 .453 W6
Wild Cards
5 New York Giants East 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 .486 .455 W1
6[a] Detroit Lions North 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 .475 .392 L3
Did not qualify for the postseason
7[a] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 9 7 0 .563 4–2 7–5 .492 .434 W1
8 Washington Redskins East 8 7 1 .531 3–3 6–6 .516 .430 L1
9 Minnesota Vikings North 8 8 0 .500 2–4 5–7 .492 .457 W1
10 Arizona Cardinals West 7 8 1 .469 4–1–1 6–5–1 .463 .366 W2
11[b] New Orleans Saints South 7 9 0 .438 2–4 6–6 .523 .393 L1
12[b] Philadelphia Eagles East 7 9 0 .438 2–4 5–7 .559 .518 W2
13 Carolina Panthers South 6 10 0 .375 1–5 5–7 .518 .354 L2
14 Los Angeles Rams West 4 12 0 .250 2–4 3–9 .504 .500 L7
15 Chicago Bears North 3 13 0 .188 2–4 3–9 .521 .396 L4
16 San Francisco 49ers West 2 14 0 .125 2–4 2–10 .504 .250 L1
Tiebreakers[c]
  1. ^ a b Detroit finished ahead of Tampa Bay for the No. 6 seed and qualified for the last playoff spot based on record vs. common opponents—Detroit's cumulative record against Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New Orleans was 3–2, while Tampa Bay's cumulative record against the same four teams was 2–3.
  2. ^ a b New Orleans finished ahead of Philadelphia based on better record vs. conference opponents.
  3. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

References

  1. ^ "Eagles sign former Lafayette running back, per agent". January 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "Eagles sign QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, three other players".
  3. ^ Sheridan, Phil (February 8, 2016). "Six weeks after Chip Kelly's firing, Riley Cooper cut by Eagles". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  4. ^ "Eagles release veteran LB DeMeco Ryans, will save $3.5M". February 24, 2016.