PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A 10-1 record. Best team in the NFL. Surging to the top of oddsmakers' Super Bowl lists while ripping off a five-game winning streak against stiff competition.
Yes, at the end of November, the Philadelphia Eagles were rolling.
Then December hit. The Eagles hit a bump in the road. Followed by another. And another.
Three straight losses, each in different ways, more brutal than the one before.
Now, the Eagles are staring a cold, hard question smack dab in the face: Do they have what it takes to save their season?
Not the regular season, which features only three more games against subpar opponents. All eyes are on the playoffs, and whether the Eagles are cut out to make another deep run after surging to the Super Bowl last season.
At the moment, the Eagles don’t resemble anything close to a serious contender.
This represents a telling sign — for, as uneasy as the current mood is around the team, it apparently wasn’t all that great when the Eagles were winning.
“The most miserable 10-1 team,” a team source was quoted talking to Philadelphia Inquirer Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane prior to Monday’s 20-17 last-minute loss to the Seattle Seahawks. “Imagine now.”
Why weren’t the Eagles happy when the going was good?
According to McLane’s reporting on the latest episode of the “unCovering the Birds” podcast, reasons vary.
Offseason coaching defections brought changes to a staff that, 14 games into the year, still haven’t been resolved, specifically on defense.
Jalen Hurts, cemented as the franchise quarterback over the summer, hasn’t performed up to the level that propelled him to second place in MVP voting in 2022. He appears to be adapting to the leadership demands that go hand-in-hand with his new contract as well.
Not entirely unrelated to that issue — but also its own, separate matter, the offense has struggled. The Eagles have been held below 20 points in three straight games — a first since head coach Nick Sirianni was hired three years ago.
His scheme, which produced 28 points per game last year, has recently come under fire for being too predictable.
And then there’s the roster. Some of General Manager Howie Roseman’s moves didn’t pan out, leaving the Eagles handicapped at certain spots.
Can the Eagles get back on track in time to make another deep postseason push?
Through team-sourced reporting and insider analysis, McLane examines some of the biggest problems confronting the Eagles, and whether or not there’s a fix.
Listen to “unCovering the Birds,” a production of KYW Newsradio and The Philadelphia Inquirer, free on the Audacy app, or wherever you get podcasts: