The Eagles definitely had their ups and downs this season.

Things have seemed to have turned around in a major way the last few weeks, at least defensively. Too bad we can’t say the same about the offense. 

In fact, without their ferocious defense, where would the Eagles be right now?

The Eagles most certainly would not have defeated the Buffalo Bills 13-12 on Sunday in a matchup many people billed as a potential Super Bowl matchup.

The victory was massive for the Eagles, regardless how the game played out. 

The Eagles endured a tough three-game losing skid, then beat below-average teams in the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders.

Despite dominant wins against those two teams, it just wasn’t enough to show they were capable and fully ready for another playoff run.

The main topic of discussion was whether or not the Eagles were really back, or were those wins just a fluke. After Sunday, we can all agree that the Eagles are legitimate contenders to win the NFC, at least defensively.

The Eagles played in Buffalo, a hostile environment to begin with, against one of the best teams in the league, and didn’t give up a touchdown until 5 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Then they blocked the Bills’ extra-point attempt to keep it a seven-point game, which proved to be crucial.

The Bills scored with seconds left, which isn’t that surprising. The Bills have one of the best offenses in the league. Instead of playing for overtime, the Bills went for two, and the defense stepped up yet again. The Eagles rushed Josh Allen and forced the reigning MVP to miss a wide open Khalil Shakir. 

The Bills average 29 points per game, which is the third-best in the league. Buffalo’s 12 points Sunday was a season low and the fewest at home since the last game of the 2022 season.

Jalen Carter returned after a three-game absence following a procedure on both shoulders, and made an immediate impact. Carter clogged the middle, posted a sack and blocked an extra point.

Jalyx Hunt finished with two sacks, including a 19-yard sack on third-and-8 early in the fourth quarter, which knocked the Bills out of field-goal range and forced a punt. That was massive in what turned out to be a one-point contest. The Eagles led 13-0 at that point, so a potential Bills’ FG could have been disastrous. 

Hunt now leads the team with 6 1/2 sacks.

This game should have instilled more confidence among not only the team, but fans and the national audience, at least defensively.

The offense did not play a bad game in the first half, but they had just 16 net yards and zero pass completions in the second half, which is just terrible. You simply cannot win games like that, unless you have a stellar defense. 

And from having a big goal-line stand, to key sacks (fine of them) and a fumble recovery that led to Jalen Hurts’ touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert, the defense stepped up in multiple ways.

That’s a great sign for the playoffs.

Allen is a threat, and the Eagles contained him for almost the entire game. The Eagles held him to 262 yards and no touchdowns.

James Cook has been one of the best running backs in the league this season, and he finished with just 74 rushing yards. The Eagles’ defense has not been great against the run, so neutralizing Cook was great.

On that goal-line stand, the Bills had a first-and-goal at the Eagles’ 7-yard line. Adoree Jackson had great coverage on Gabe Davis to force an incompletion on first down. Marcus Epps made two great tackles on second and third down. On fourth down, Zack Baun took down Allen inches short of the goal line.

This defense is just dominant. Very thrilling to watch. 

But the offense just is never consistent, and that may be what sends the Eagles hoe early in the playoffs. 

They scored13 points and netted 174 yards in the first half. They were looking pretty good. Again, on the road and in a tough place to play, I don’t think we could ask for a better start.

But what happened in the second half?

To me, it’s all on Kevin Patullo. He cannot make adjustments.

However, Buffalo did. The Bills figured out what was going to happen and were ready to stuff the play. Instead of making adjustments, Patullo called the same predictable calls, and that led to four three-and-outs and five punts. 

The Eagles also seemed tentative after halftime. They seemed to play conservative and were hoping to just run out the clock. Were they content with just 13 points on the road? If so, that’s not a good look for Patullo or Nick Sirianni. 

The positive would be the offense had no turnovers, which is always a key to success. It’s even better to not have any while playing in awful condition. So, that also helped the Eagles get the win. Hurts protected the football, and that was very important. 

The Eagles didn’t win pretty (again), but a win over Buffalo is still nothing to laugh at. Hopefully that gives the Eagles extra confidence and momentum heading into the playoffs.

Now, the Eagles have a shot at the NFC’s second seed if they defeat the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears. 

So, hopefully they do not rest their starters. The Eagles need to have that potential extra home game. They are better at home, so the starters need to play.

Also, the offense doesn’t deserve a week off. Not with the way they have been playing. Get them out there before the playoffs start to keep the game-ready. Yes, the Eagles don’t want injuries. However, they should also not want to have rust to start the Wild Card round.