Oh, Philadelphia Eagles fans. We didn’t even get a week to enjoy a win. We endure more than two winless months, and then the victory that finally breaks the skid lasts for a mere four days.
Sigh.
The final Thursday night game of the NFL season saw a strong performance from the Eagles defense that was wasted by carelessness in the other phases of the game. Specifically, the Birds made five turnovers that the Bengals turned into 31 points on the scoreboard, with Philadelphia wasting away a 13-10 lead it took into halftime to lose the game 34-13.
Sadly, Jeremy Maclin’s fumble on the second play of the game should have told us how the story would ultimately end. Kansas City led the league in turnovers at the start of the game but no more. The title now solely belongs to the Eagles, who have committed 34 this season.
In a horrific series of events in the second half, the Birds managed to give the ball back to the Bengals four times in five consecutive plays. Foles threw an interception, Bryce Brown fumbled once again on a handoff that was never in his control, then Clay Harbor fumbled, causing Cincinnati to score 17 unanswered points in 5 minutes and 37 seconds.
Leave it to CSN’s Reuben Frank to break it down to an even more shocking perspective: That meltdown equated to almost three points scored per minute by the Bengals.
A repeat of Sunday’s rousing performance by Foles was not in the cards this game. The rookie struggled, completing 16 of 33 passes for 182 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception for a passer rating of 62.9.
The shame of it all is that the sloppiness and epic screw-ups of the offense and special teams covered up a stout performance by the defense. The d-line was all over Andy Dalton. In the first half alone, the D had 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox put in inspired performances, with Graham getting 2.5 sacks and Cox earning 1.5. Cullen Jenkins brought Andy Dalton down once, and get this — even Trent Cole had a sack.
This was the defensive line we were promised in the preseason. We were finally seeing what all of the immense talent we knew could accomplish. Unfortunately, it’s come far too late.
The good news for all of us — team and fans alike — is that we get a break. The Eagles won’t play again until the eve of Christmas Eve, when they’ll face the Washington Redskins. Our expectations will go back to being nothing. Perhaps we’ll see some great play by the defense again. Maybe the offense can put together another game like we saw in Tampa. Something to lessen the torture of seeing a team in total meltdown.
But, then again, it’s what we’ve witnessed all season.
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