Philadelphia Eagles: Super Bowl chances all but done after Cowboys loss
By Carl Naimoli
The Philadelphia Eagles’ 2018 season has been a disappointment. The season isn’t over after 10 weeks, but their Super Bowl chances are.
On Sunday night in Week 10, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted their most hated rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, with a national television audience watching. The 4-4 Eagles were expected to handle the struggling Cowboys from beginning to end. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that did not happen. They lost, 27-20, and ended all hope of repeating as Super Bowl Champions.
At 4-5 on the season, the Eagles still mathematically have a chance to make the playoffs. But math aside, they just aren’t good enough. This season has been full of its up and downs, but mostly downs. The blown leads against Tennessee and Carolina were bad, but the most recent loss stings the most.
The Eagles showed that they are a one dimensional offense without Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles healthy. When teams don’t fear the Eagles running game, opponents can pin their ears back and rush upfield directly at Carson Wentz. Even with Wentz doing his best to lead the offense down the field, his job is tough when he has almost no time to get the ball out of his hands.
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles defense has been shaky and unreliable. At times, they look like one of the top defenses in the NFL (i.e. the first three quarters against Carolina). Then there are times when they look tired and beaten (the fourth quarter against Carolina and the second half against Dallas).
The Eagles schedule has also been one of the most favorable in the NFL. Among their nine opponents, only three currently have winning records. The Eagles have gone 0-3 in all of those games.
When looking at the top teams in the rest of the league, the Chiefs, Saints and Rams, it would be unrealistic to think that the Eagles could compete with any of them. The Eagles were able to survive through injuries and setbacks last year, but 2018 isn’t 2017.
Le'Veon Bell: 5 Best landing spots in 2019. dark. Next
Obviously a 4-5 record won’t stop the Delaware Valley from tuning in each week, but it will definitely temper expectations. If the Eagles are able to put things together just to make the playoffs, that would be a great accomplishment. But when it comes to Super Bowl aspirations, the Eagles are going to have to wait until next year.