The Eagles have suffered their third loss in a row. While this loss doesn’t take them out of contention for the number two seed, it does make their path difficult as now they have to win out. This loss came to many as a surprise as they controlled the clock in the first half but after that, it seemed to all go downhill.
With this loss comes the inevitable period of finger-pointing. Who’s to blame for the sudden downfall of the Eagles? Where’s the accountability? Where are the fire and the pride?
I’ll tell you where it is. It’s back in Arizona buried under several pieces of red and yellow confetti. No, this isn’t a Super Bowl hangover. I wouldn’t blame this level of play on fatigue either. This is a pure indication that the Eagles lost their humility. It all went downhill when that flag was thrown in favor of the Chiefs.
Was it the loss? Partially. But mostly it was the attention that they received after that loss. The Eagles were expected to be the juggernauts of the NFC and as the famous Spider-Man saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
The Eagles got lost in the clouds
Maybe the national attention has gotten to their heads and they lost their hearts in the process. Nick Sirianni himself has shown that he’s gotten lost in the stardom that comes with being the head coach of a great team. From the moment he was questioned about every other team’s inability to execute the Brotherly Shove where he mocked and stated, “If everybody could do it, everybody would do it”.
To the moment last night where he mocked Pete Carroll by asking “What are you doing?!” When Caroll called a timeout that led to the Eagles winning a challenge.
It could also be the national attention that their QB has received. There’s no question that when Jalen Hurts is on point he is a top 5 quarterback but he hasn’t been on point at all this year. He went from being not good enough to elite in one year, signed a huge contract that made him the face of the franchise and was even given an offensive coordinator that has seen him grow since he was a kid.
When did the hard coaching stop? The yelling when players needed to be held accountable. Where did the humility go? Shane Steichen has moved on and has found success with Gardner Minshew, who last season wasn’t good enough to win a game.
Well, I’ll tell you what Shane Steichen did that Nick Sirianni seems afraid to do. He adjusted. He lost his franchise QB and hasn’t consistently had their franchise RB but somehow Gardner Minshew and the offense are dropping 30 points while the Eagles can’t stop getting stuck on 3rd and longs.
It’s ok to love this team from top to bottom. But there are always tough moments that need to be followed by tough love and constructive criticism. Is this team good enough to reach the Super Bowl? No. Do they have superior talent? Absolutely. Unfortunately, though, there seems to be a huge disconnect on both sides of the ball that no one seems to want to acknowledge. And until then, the Eagles will continue to free fall if they can’t commit to changing for the greater good.
AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth
