After a tremendous 10-1 start to the season, the Philadelphia Eagles fall to the Wild Card with a record of 10-3 after two consecutive losses to the San Fransisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, arguably two of the best defenses in the NFL.
The Eagles first of two losses came in embarrassing fashion against the Niners in their week 12 matchup at Lincoln Financial Field. In a game that was anticipated to be the “game of the year,” the Eagles biggest lead was in the first quarter after scoring two field goals and holding the Niners scoreless. That did not last long, as the Niners took off from that point on. The Eagles defense let up 42 points and three touchdowns to Niners wide receiver Deebo Samuel alone. The Eagles went scoreless in the second quarter, and only scored two touchdowns in the second half.
Similarly to the Niners game, the Eagles struggled offensively against the Dallas Cowboys on the road. They went scoreless in the first and fourth quarter, and they only scored one touchdown in the entire game and it was by the defense after forcing a Dak Prescott fumble. The Eagles lost that game 33-13, dropping them to second in the NFC East, and into the wild card at the fifth seed in the conference.
Since their first loss of the season to the struggling New York Jets, the Eagles have went 5-2 with victories against contending teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Miami Dolphins. They also had wins against the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Commanders, which are not easy teams to beat. Their only two losses in that stretch came in the last two weeks against the 49ers at home and the Cowboys on the road, which is a long night for any team in the NFL considering that the Cowboys had a 6-0 home record heading into the Sunday night matchup.
Part of me believes that the Eagles and their fanbase should have nothing to worry about. They just finished arguably the roughest stretch of games on any NFL schedule and should breeze through their last four games. On top of that, they just got their tight end Dallas Goedert back after missing 3 and a half games after fracturing his right forearm.
However, I am worried about the fact that they are struggling against teams that they will have to face in the playoffs to get another shot at a Super Bowl title. One thing I have noticed is that A.J Brown has been struggling over the past few weeks. Over a six game stretch earlier in the season, Brown was playing out of his mind and was averaging over 120 yards each game. However, over the past five games, Brown has only gotten close to 120 yards in one game with 114 yards in the Niners blowout loss. Granted, this may just be because they played the Cowboys twice, and the Niners, Bills and Chiefs in that five game stretch, some of the best defenses in the NFL.
Although the Eagles fanbase is frustrated with their play recently, the Eagles still stand at 10-3 overall and are in a 3-way tie for the best record in the NFC alongside the Niners and Cowboys.
The Eagles will get a chance at redemption on Monday in Seattle against the Seahawks in their Monday Night Football matchup, which was originally scheduled to be played on Sunday December 17 before it became the first-ever NFL game to be flexed.
Overall, the Philadelphia Eagles are in good shape and I am confident in their abilities to go 4-0 in this stretch of games. They play the 5-8 New York Giants at home on Christmas, and once again in New York in the last game of the regular season on January 7. In between those games, they face the 3-10 Arizona Cardinals at home.
The Eagles definitely have some issues they need to solve before the post-season, however, I am faithful in their ability to do so over the next four weeks and I am excited to see what they do in this years’ playoffs.
