This was a wild week.

I’m a big fan of 94.1 WIP, and listen to the station when I can. I also pay attention (I try not to sometimes) to other national or local sport media outlets. Emotions have been all over the place this week stemming from the Eagles’ 42-19 loss to the 49ers.

People are questioning the Eagles legitimacy. People are saying they are not good enough. NFL Network’s David Carr saying the Eagles should start Marcus Mariota as Jalen Hurts may be too injured to compete at the level he normally performs at. ESPN called the loss to San Francisco “stunning.” It’s funny how one loss changes so much. Everyone goes into panic mode.

I get it! Trust me, I do. There are concerns, and I cannot deny that. Did I want to lose to the 49ers? Nope! Did I want to lose by a blowout? Again, that would be a no! I would have rather lost a close battle. But it didn’t happen that way.

Sometimes teams suffer setbacks, either by a blowout or a close loss. And we are acting as if they lost to a bad team. The 49ers are legit Super Bowl contenders. Losing to them was not great, but I would not describe it as stunning like ESPN. Zach Cunningham and Nakobe Dean were out due to injury, so the linebacker corps was very thin. And that really hurt the Eagles.

The offense also did not have Dallas Goedert (again), who provides not only great blocking but is a huge factor in the passing game. Goedert really is a key piece in this offense, and we have seen that when he is in the lineup compared to when he is out.  

I’m not going to make any excuses. The Eagles lost. It’s that simple. The defense is definitely an area of concern. But let’s factor in how the Eagles were coming off back-to-back tough wins against… wins they had to fight their way back to earn. The defense had to stop Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen to give Hurts’ and the offense a chance to come back, too. Let’s not forget that, now. The Eagles are in the final stages of a daunting stretch, and I am sure they are tired. This has been no easy schedule. But the Eagles are still the top seed with a big chance to stay in the driver’s seat with a win Sunday night. 

And let’s talk about the schedule. The Eagles had one of toughest strength-of-schedules in the league to start the season. But they are 10-2! We heard after a Super Bowl loss teams are not going to have as good of a record the next season, or even make it back to the big game. Well, they have the best record in the NFL. As for making it back to the Super Bowl, that is yet to be seen. To get there, they probably have to beat the Niners, and that will be a tough task. However, it’s hard to beat a team twice in one season, and the Eagles will probably not play like they did last week. 

The Eagles rank fourth in points per game (27.4), have a great offensive line, two of the top wide receivers in DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown and an MVP-candidate quarterback, despite not being perfect last week. The only concern I have is the lack of the run game. The Eagles need to start getting D’Andre Swift involved. The opposing defense is playing to defend the pass more. You can clearly notice that on film. Run more and keep the defense guessing. It was a one-possession game with  the Niners until late in the third quarter. Why weren’t they running more? If this offense becomes more balanced, the unit could be even more dangerous. 

I think the only real concern is the defense. But once they get healthy, the unit should be effective enough. It’ll be interesting to see how they do Sunday night. Dallas is a good team with a talented offense. Dak Prescott has been playing well, and the Eagles cannot let him get too comfortable. Dallas will be very desperate for a win, and will be under more pressure. They are at home, and if they lose they may just not win the NFC East. The Eagles will be two games up with four games remaining if they win. The Eagles would need to lose three out of their last four, and Dallas would need to have won three of their last four to win the division. I don’t think that will happen with Dallas’ schedule to close out its season. 

Going back on topic, every team has flaws. The Eagles have to remain strong the next two two weeks withDallas and Seattle. Then they get a more friendlier last three games. The loss to the Niners highlighted the Eagles’ flaws, like slow starts and defensive woes. But there is time to address them and get ready for January football.

Like Rocky Balboa said, “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.  It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”

The Eagles just need to rebound Sunday.

And if they do, hopefully we can all finally take a deep breath.