Just in: Kellen Moore Explains Smith’s Quiet Day
The Eagles beat the Giants 28-3 in Week 7, but the team’s box score contained one glaring oddity.
Receiver DeVonta Smith finished with two targets, one catch, and -2 yards.
On a day where Philadelphia picked up 269 rushing yards and Jalen Hurts completed just 10-of-14 passes for 114 yards, it stands to reason that someone in the passing game might get lost in the shuffle — particularly because the Eagles finished just 1-of-13 on third down.
But it still is notable when one of the team’s best receivers has the lowest yardage output of his career.
“Yeah, those are never ideal,” Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said in his Tuesday news conference. “You know ‘Smitty’ is one of the premiere players for us and sometimes unfortunately goofy things happen like this where he only ends up with the one catch for minus-2 yards because it was kind of a bubble screen.
“Obviously, we had different visions as we go into the game of getting him involved and sometimes it just doesn’t happen. But you know, he was in it the whole time which is a testament to him, just his run blocking ability. He made some excellent blocks downfield to spring our running backs on some plays.”
In five games this season, Smith has caught 25 passes for 301 yards with a pair of touchdowns. With Philadelphia headed to Cincinnati for Week 8, the club is likely going to need Smith’s targets to be back up to par to keep up with the Bengals’ offensive output.
“Sometimes the ball doesn’t go his way,” Moore said. “We feel very comfortable and confident that things naturally will correct itself over the course of the next week or two, and he is certainly right there.”
