It is safe to say "new norm" has had its bumps in the road.
A debacle in New Orleans last season. Back-to-back blowouts in Minnesota and Dallas this season. A loss in Miami.
Throughout the drama that has surrounded this team since they captured the Super Bowl, however, one thing has remained consistent — when this team needs a win, Doug Pederson finds a way to get it.
Which is why heading into Sunday's must-win against the Dallas Cowboys, Eagles fans should trust that somehow, someway, Pederson will get the job done.
Yes, Pederson has his flaws as a head coach, but one thing he has absolutely shown is that each season, no matter how bad things looks, he knows how to rally his team when it is needed.
In 2016, when the team wasn't expected to compete for a playoff spot, the first sign of trouble really came after a blowout loss to Cincinnati. Many people questioned the team's effort, and at the time, the result was Pederson being questioned as a head coach. To say his seat was heating up wouldn't be an understatement. The result? The team went 2-2 over the next four games and was competitive in each, rallying for their coach. Pederson's ability to end the season on a high note helped this team get off to a hot start in 2017.
In 2017, Pederson flawlessly guided them to a 9-2 record before losing at Seattle. The loss was the first sign of a potential downfall as their game against the Los Angeles Rams the next week suddenly took on a ton of meaning. Two losses in a row would not only hurt the team's playoff seeding, but bring some real questions about how good the team actually was. Pederson, of course, silenced the potential critics and guided the team to one of their best performances of the season — using two quarterbacks in the process. Even with Carson Wentz going down, the Eagles wouldn't lose another game on their way to a Super Bowl.
In 2018, with Wentz on the sideline, Pederson went to Los Angeles with Nick Foles (again) and saved the team's season with a win. The next must-win game Pederson would win would be the following week at home vs. Houston. His team wouldn't lose again until Alshon Jeffery let a pass sail through his hands in New Orleans.
Pederson's track record of getting his team a win when they need it has only grown stronger this season. The Eagles won at Green Bay to avoid 1-3. They won at Buffalo to avoid a three-game losing streak. They rebounded from a terrible loss to Miami to win back-to-back divisional games that they absolutely had to have.
In fact, if you look at the final four regular season games in each of the last three seasons, Pederson's Eagles are a combined 8-4 in those games. Take away the meaningless loss to Dallas in 2017, and add in the last two wins from this season, and Pederson has gone 10-3 in the 13 meaningful December games the Eagles have played since becoming head coach.
Have their been bad losses during Pederson's time as head coach? Of course. But time-and-time again, since taking over as head coach, when the Eagles' backs have actually been against the wall late in the season, Pederson has found a way. No matter who the opponent is, who is on the sideline injured or what the circumstances are, Pederson has found a way to win.
That reality should gives fans a ton of confidence heading into Sunday's matchup with soon-to-be fired Jason Garrett and the Cowboys. The Eagles' don't have many favorable matchups on the field on either side of the ball. They don't have it on offense, they don't have it at defense and they might not have it at quarterback.
What they do have, however, is a massive advantage at head coach — a matchup that is going to be tough for the Cowboys to overcome, and going to give the Eagles a great chance to win the game.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
