That stung.

The Philadelphia Eagles forced five turnovers Sunday, but a fourth-quarter collapse resulted in a 36-33 loss to the Washington Commanders.

The Eagles could have clinched the NFC East with a win. Instead, the Eagles’ 10-game win streak ended. The last time the Eagles forced five turnovers and still lost was in 1999.

To add salt to the wound, their chances for a first-round bye are pretty much over as the Vikings and Lions both won, improving to 13-2.

A lot of factors contributed to the Eagles’ heartbreaking loss, the biggest being the defenses

But before anything, let’s just clear something up for all the Jalen Hurts doubters out there. Hurts was doing well until he suffered a concussion on the Eagles’ 11th play of the game when they had a 7-0 lead. He led the Eagles to the Washington 34-yard line before leaving, and Kenny Pickett finished off the drive with a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. 

However, Pickett did not do a ton after that. He took three sacks for a loss of 25 yards and did not have the most accurate passes. Some were good, but he definitely wasn’t the greatest. Was he the reason the Eagles lost? Nope! The loss gets pinned on the defense. Pickett wasn’t bad, he was just OK.

The offense was not as dynamic as it usually is with Hurts, just showing his importance to the Eagles and their success.

Hurts’ running ability, as well as his arm strength, mean a lot to this offense. His play was definitely missed after being ruled out. You can debate that all you want, but the offense did not look the same without him.

Hurts has been very efficient and explosive this season, especially over the last 11 weeks. During that span, Hurts has thrown just one interception. Pickett threw an interception on just his second drive of the game Sunday.

Again, Pickett wasn’t perfect, but he did make some good throws. Saquan Barkley dropped a pass on a field goal drive, which would have been a crucial first down. DeVonta Smith made a horrible drop on third-and-5 with 2 minutes, 07 second left, which would have also been a first down and basically put an explanation mark on the game. You could argue the pass to Barkley should have been caught, but it was a tad behind him. Barkley had to stop in his route to attempt to catch the pass. However, the pass to Smith was perfect and should have been caught. Brown even dropped some passes that should have been completed. But he also caught two huge fourth-down passes from Pickett, so the latter wasn’t totally horrible. 

Pickett also got lucky on some passes, including from the three defensive interference calls on Marshon Lattimore. However, Pickett’s interception and fumble deep in Washington’s territory were terrible. His interception led to a Washington touchdown, and disaster was avoided on his fumble as Lane Johnson recovered it. But, overall, Pickett clearly wasn’t the answer. 

More than likely he will start against the Cowboys, unless Hurts can clear the NFL’s concussion protocol this week. However, Pickett was spotted after the game going into the X-ray room and later said he sustained a rib injury. He will undergo further testing Monday. Assuming he will be fine, and if Hurts can’t play against Dallas, Nick Sirianni and Kellen Moore need to come up with a good plan to make the offense work with Pickett, who has a much different skillset than Hurts.

Still, Hurts is the best quarterback for this team, and Sunday proved that. After he left, Washington focused on Barkley and took him out of the game. The Commanders blitzed more because they knew Pickett is not the runner that Hurts is. When Hurts is in the game, defenses have to guess whether he is handing off to Barkley, throwing the ball or running it himself. Hurts is just a dynamic playmaker, and the debate whether or not he is good enough or a vital part of the team should have ended Sunday.

But the main reason the Eagles lost was because of the defense. Since the bye week, the Eagles have not allowed more than 23 points. The defense allowed 22 points in just the fourth quarter. The defense gave up 36 points, 368 total yards and five touchdowns. They have not allowed 36 points in any game this season. 

They just fell apart in the fourth quarter, allowing touchdown drives of 61, 87, and 57 yards, including Jayden Daniels’ game-winning TD to Jamison Crowder with six seconds remaining. Daniels rushed for 81 yards and threw for 258 yards. He was dominant, no doubt about it. In the fourth quarter, Daniels threw for 139 yards with three TDs. Yes, Pickett wasn’t great and the Eagles may have won the game had Hurts been healthy, but the defense was not any help. The defense has been one of the top units in the league, but they failed the Eagles on Sunday. After losing the starting quarterback, you would assume the defense would step up. However, that was not the case at all. It didn’t help with injuries, such as Josh Sweat, or C.J. Gardner Johnson getting ejected after two unsportsmanlike conduct calls. 

And forcing five turnovers was great, but it means nothing when you can’t finish in the fourth quarter. There were no answers down the stretch. The coverage and tackling were poor, and the pass rush just disappeared. All they needed was one stop, and they couldn’t do it.

Also, off those five turnovers, the Eagles scored just six points off the last four. Two of them resulted in a punt and a missed field goal. You need to take advantage of those opportunities. Yes, Jake Elliott missing another 50-plus yarder was not good at all, but no matter who the QB is, you need to score and capitalize on those opportunities with TDs. The Eagles did not, and that proved costly. Again, 10 points off five takeaways is embarrassing. Most teams do not lose after forcing five turnovers. 

But there is a bright side to all of this. One thing that worried me was, if the Eagles won Sunday, they might also beat the Cowboys and Giants, ending the season on a 15-game winning streak. While that would have been awesome, it’s kind of hard to keep winning in the NFL. I would rather lose now than next month. There is absolutely no reason to lose any faith in this team.  The Eagles will probably be the No. 2 seed and, realistically, could see Washington again in Philadelphia in the Wild Card round. 

Beating a team three times in a season is hard. 

So, look at it that way. 

If the Lions or Vikings grab the top seed, they could lose before the NFC Championship game, assuming the Eagles can make it that far. 

The Eagles have played great football since Week 6, aside from Sunday, so we all know what this team is capable of. They need Hurts back and, hopefully, the defense can return to its recent dominant style of play. This has been one week. There is absolutely no reason to push the panic button.