By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia Eagles lost their 2nd game of the NFL season Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys and now the roof is ready to fall in. Not exactly, but if you let some of the media and fans tell it, the Eagles are worthless. Losing is frustrating no matter when it happens and losing to a division rival, especially the Cowboys is a hard pill to swallow. But this team and the situations are different than before.
The Eagles, after their latest loss, are still 13-2. Not 2-13 or 7-7 but 13-2. Their record is still the best in the NFL and yet, fans are showing hostility toward the team. I can understand some of the frustration but what exactly transpired Saturday in which the team deserves a lack of support and respect?
Jalen Hurts did not play and yet, the Eagles managed to score 34 points. Hurts did not play and yet Gardner Minshew still passed for 300+ yards and AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith both reached 100 yards receiving. As far as the ground game, that’s where there was a slight difference in production.
OK, Minshew threw 2 Interceptions, but looking back, both passes were well-defended. Would Hurts have made those throws? Who knows. And still, Minshew had the Eagles in a position to win the game in the closing seconds. He did all he could do and he did not let anyone down in the process.
With the loss did for the Philadelphia Eagles was what? What exactly did they lose ground on? Maybe in some eyes, they will fall to 2nd in some Power Rankings. But since when did Power Rankings determine Super Bowl champs? Ok, losing the game did not allow the Eagles to clinch the NFC East Division or the No.1 seed in the NFC, but guess what, there are still 2 games left and the Eagles control their own destiny. So, why all the hostility?
No Need To Panic For The Philadelphia Eagles
Their 2nd loss came against the Dallas Cowboys is all I could come up with the Eagles and Cowboys played twice this season and have split their games. But what’s missing is that each team has won while facing backup QBs. We have yet to see what a game with Dak Prescott and Hurts looks like.
The Philadelphia Eagles can still clinch the division and the No. 1 seed with a victory Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. It doesn’t matter what the Cowboys do, the Eagles control this.
Now, if the Eagles would have won Saturday and clinched the East and the 1st round bye, they would have had an important decision to make as far as playing time go. With nothing else to play for in their last 2 remaining games, would they have sat Hurts and most of the starters against the Saints and Giants and waited until the playoffs, or would they have risked injuries just to keep players sharp heading into the playoffs?
That’s why that loss was not as big as some are making it out to be. There is no way the Eagles could afford to sit their starters for almost a month. Yes, a month. The Saints, then the Giants, then would have a bye as the top seed followed by their first playoff game. That’s close to 4 weeks with no games for starters if they were to go that route.
With the loss, the Eagles, hopefully with a healthy Hurts can get the win against the Saints, clinch the division and the No. 1 seed and sit their starters against the Giants to close the season out. In a perfect world, this all makes sense. But this 2022 NFL season has been anything but perfect. Eagles’ fans need to relax. What happened against the Dallas Cowboys was not the start of some tragic event. They lost a game they could afford to lose. That’s what happened.