The big, bad Eagles are gone. They know it, and the rest of the NFL plans to rub their faces in it.
The Eagles' opponents smell blood in the water from an injured and flailing team. They have been gleefully getting their payback.
LANDOVER, Md. — The telltale moment of the Eagles’ 27-10 loss Sunday night to the Washington Commanders, the moment that said everything about the team they are and will likely be for the rest of this long and painful season, came late. It came with less than two minutes left in regulation and with the Commanders, having just scored a touchdown, ahead by 15 points. It came with the Eagles dead and buried, pretty much. It came when Washington coach Dan Quinn had his team go for two.
» READ MORE: Eagles grades vs. Commanders: Tanner McKee, offensive line struggle in sixth straight defeat
The remaining crowd at Northwest Stadium loved it. They loved the decision, and they especially loved when tailback Austin Ekeler powered into the end zone. Everyone understood the math — now the Commanders were up by three scores instead of just two — but this was about more than the math. Anyone could see it.
“I feel like teams are taking shots on us, yeah,” running back Saquon Barkley said. “That’s how it works. That’s how it goes. We’re not the big, bad Eagles anymore, I guess, right? We’ve got to understand that.”
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Now, they’ve got to suffer through it. They are 2-6, losers of their last half dozen games, with no end to the awfulness in sight, and Barkley’s right: The Eagles need to understand what’s coming for them. It’s not just that they’re outmanned and getting outcoached. It’s not just that, when you look ahead at the rest of their schedule, it’s tough to see where they’ll scratch out more than a couple of victories. It’s that the entire NFL will revel in giving the Eagles some comeuppance. Yes, these opponents are going to put their boot on the Eagles’ throat, smile a diabolical smile, and press down with all their weight. What’s coming is payback.
Payback for the 2024 season and its culminating victory in Super Bowl LIX. Payback for the five straight playoff appearances. Payback for all the praise showered on Howie Roseman for supposedly being so much smarter than all the other executives around the league. Payback for the dominance and impertinence of the Tush Push. Payback for an organization that didn’t mind letting everyone believe that it was the NFL’s new standard-setter. And payback for a head coach, Nick Sirianni, who has never been shy about screaming and showboating and taunting opponents and fans — on the sideline, in his postgame news conferences, anywhere.
“I know nobody feels sorry for us,” Sirianni said. “That’s for damn sure. Everyone’s going to give us their best shot. Everyone’s always given us their best shot. And I know nobody feels sorry for us, and it’s our job to do everything we can to fix it so we don’t have this feeling [we’ve had] for the last six games. Obviously, it sucks. We’ve got a lot of great competitors in that locker room, coaches and players, and it’s somewhat uncharted territory for us. It sucks, and we’re pissed, and I know all we need to do is continue to fight.”
That fighting will take them only so far. They don’t have the talent: too many injuries, too many mistakes in building this roster, too many players who either aren’t ready yet to be contributors to a respectable team or never will be. They don’t have the coaching: Offensive coordinator Sean Mannion and offensive line coach Chris Kuper have no answers for the myriad questions and problems on their side of the ball, and whatever defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been saying or trying hasn’t worked, and Sirianni spoke after Sunday’s game of scrapping his core approach, of being harsher with his players for the sake of doing something different. They don’t have the depth, not at quarterback without Jalen Hurts, not at wide receiver without DeVonta Smith, not at running back with a hobbled Barkley, not along the offensive and defensive lines.
Sure, they had that quasi-collapse in 2023, when they lost six of their last seven games. And they had that 18-game slog last year, when the offense putted along like a Beetle with a flat. But they still qualified for the playoffs in each of those seasons. They still could hold themselves above most teams in the league, including the ones in their own division. But now the Dallas Cowboys and Commanders have dismantled them in prime time in back-to-back weeks. And no matter what Quinn’s true intentions were — maybe he wanted to make certain that even his lousy squad couldn’t possibly lose this game, maybe he wanted to remind Sirianni and the Eagles that they had gone for two in a similar situation last season — the message he sent was unmistakable.
“Part of me thinks they knew the game was won and they wanted to get a rep in a two-point situation,” tackle Jordan Mailata said. “This is an NFC East rival, so maybe there is something to it, what you’re insinuating. Shoot, we’ve just got to play better, man.”
Better, at this rate, still won’t be good enough. Better won’t temper the resentment that has been building for these last few years and the desire among this team’s opponents to unleash it over these nine remaining games. What Saquon Barkley said is true: The big, bad Eagles are gone. The rest of the NFL wants its pound of flesh and plans to take it. Get ready, and get used to it.
When Jalen Carter is at his game-wrecking best, he’s as unstoppable a force as there is in the NFL. Such was the case during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run two years ago. But since then, between injuries and uneven play, the defensive tackle’s contributions have been inconsistent. On the heels of general manager Howie Roseman signing Carter to a historic contract, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane looks at the costs of the extension — both in terms of dollars and cents, as well as roster construction. Plus, Jeff advances storylines for the Nov. 10th NFL trade deadline, and, in his weekly mailbag, addresses some reporting about the Eagles’ salary cap situation. Listen here.
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