NFL
It was a sad Monday morning. The birds weren’t chirping like they usually do and my Philadelphia Eagles are 2-3.
It is nothing new for Eagles Nation to see the team lose a game they should’ve won. That actually is normal…
Two years ago, in Doug Pederson’s fourth game as a head coach, Ryan Mathews fumbled late and the Detroit Lions snatched a 24-23 victory from them.
But things are different now since the Philadelphia Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions.
Sunday’s loss was a doozy. The Eagles led, 17-3, in the third quarter. They had chances to win the game with a touchdown, both late in the fourth quarter and in overtime and settled for field goals both times. They pushed the Tennessee Titans to fourth down in overtime three times and gave up three conversions and, later, the game-winning touchdown with just seconds left.
It sounds odd, but personally – I welcome this type of adversity because I come from the life and I have skin in the game.
Sunday’s loss was the punch in the gut – after months of nothing but good feelings about the Eagles – that we needed.
Now that the bandwagon is empty from the front-runners, Philly fans will have to adjust to what we always do. Cheer unconditionally for our team as they get back to work. Sure, they’re 2-3, but there’s a lot football left to play and in the games they’ve won, the opposing team that they beat had the ball down to the goal line with a chance to win in the final seconds each time. Sure, they’ve injuries. But they were injured last season and still won the Super Bowl. This year however things are more magnified.
Any Eagles Nation fan would had traded a lifetime of ensuing mediocrity for a Super Bowl win, especially the weird, unbelievable run through last year’s playoffs the Eagles made.
But I am sure I am not the only Eagles fan who was thinking this the whole game: What if that was it? What if Carson Wentz is Joe Flacco, with an early championship and a lifetime of questions on whether or not he’s an elite quarterback?
And even worse questions, since Wentz didn’t even play in the Super Bowl the Eagles won.
But Carson Wentz was one of the Eagles who looked good Sunday. The offensive line was awful. The secondary was even worse.
Some Eagles Nation fans spent the offseason celebrating the Super Bowl win, pretending that we were the new Patriots: The team everyone loves to hate, the team that’s going to dominate every season, the team that’s fun to root for most weeks. Even if they were briefly mediocre and fell back to earth. Plenty of good teams have started 2-3.
The Eagles are still missing guys due to injury, they have played a relatively tough schedule, but were a few plays away from being 3-1.
They will turn it around, especially with NFC East looking very weak this season.
But Eagles Nation fans have to come to the realization that the team is struggling and you can not any longer take winning lightly.
Written by Julio Olmo – The Voice of One!
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