As the Philadelphia Eagles approach the playoffs, they’re still trying to find themselves.
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
ABOVE PHOTO: The 2023 Christmas day game between the Eagles and Giants.
Through the first 11 weeks of the 2023 season, all the struggles the Philadelphia Eagles have had in losing four of their last five games were visible during their 10-1 start.
The defense was shaky, and the offense was inconsistent, getting off to bad starts and turning over the football. Yet, the Eagles found ways to win, mostly on the strength of quarterback Jalen Hurts, especially in wins over the Washington Commanders, Miami Dolphins, the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Buffalo Bills.
During that streak, Eagles players and coaches kept saying that the team hadn’t played its best game, and they were working to get there. Even as the Eagles’ defense was giving up 472 yards to the Washington Commanders (Oct. 29); 406 yards to the Cowboys (Nov. 5); 336 to Kansas City (Nov. 13); and 505 yards to Buffalo (Nov. 19), the team’s players and coaches reassured fans that the team was getting its act together.
But all their shortcomings and “we gonna get it togethers” have the Eagles stumbling into the playoffs.
The 35-31 loss to the Arizona Cardinals was the epitome of all the Eagles’ troubles this season between an offense that is struggling to find any semblance of consistency and a defense that can’t stop anybody.
In stunning fashion, the Eagles blew a 15-point lead at halftime and created more worry and doubt about their chances of returning to the Super Bowl. The 11-loss, last-place team in the NFC West dominated the Eagles defense by rushing for 221 yards and they had three 70-yard-plus touchdown drives, including the game-winning drive. The Cardinals had a nearly 2-1 advantage in time of possession.
Not only did they lose the game, but they are also in danger of losing the NFC East and the opportunity to have a home playoff game. If the Cowboys defeat the Washington Commanders on Sunday, they will win the NFC East, regardless of what the Eagles do against the New York Giants.
And so, it’s what now for the Eagles? Sunday’s game against the Giants at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. becomes not only a fight for playoff position but a fight for their collective psyche.
That said, head coach Nick Sirianni is not offering any “magic” schemes or intricate solutions from the football gods for the Eagles to get out of their current funk.
“It’s just being locked into where we are,” Sirianni said during the team’s Wednesday press conference at Nova Care. “There’s no magic to this. It’s about going to work every single day and being locked into the details of the meeting and being locked into the walk-through and being full speed to the snap-in walk-through and having a high-intensity practice and to be committed to our core values.”
Meanwhile, A.J. Brown, who has been cast as the visible symbol of frustration for the Eagles’ current woes, met with the media on Wednesday and after not talking to reporters for the last three weeks.
Brown said he came out to speak because he didn’t want his teammates to speak for him. He said his frustration wasn’t with his teammates or his coaches but with the team’s current run of losing.
That said, Brown believes that the Eagles are on the verge of righting their ship and being the team, they were hyped up to be at the beginning of the season.
“I feel like we are close to continue to get better and continue to take that next step,” Brown said. “With all this freaking adversity, we’re right there. That’s what happens when you’re trying to get to that next step. Gravity pulls against you; everything pulls against you. I think that’s what this team is going through right now.”
If there is a solace for Eagles fans at this point of the season is that there have been other teams who have games down the stretch and then caught fire during the playoffs.
The 2012 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens not only fired their offensive coordinator but lost four out of their last five games and seemed to be going nowhere fast. But the team got hot during the playoffs and knocked off Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos squad and Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.
In 1995, the hated Cowboys lost three out of their five regular-season last games including a blowout at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, and ended up winning their Super Bowl title in three years. They came into playoffs as the No. 2 seed.
It can be done, but in the Eagles’ current state, it’s hard to imagine that it’s going to take place. But the way this NFL season has played out, you never what’s going to happen.
But before anything happens, the regular season has to come to an end. That will happen on Sunday when the Eagles and Giants take the field at 4:30 p.m. You can catch the game on CBS 3.
Related Posts
Leave a Comment