We Eagles fans are very passionate, so when our once promising team begins to spiral downward in the weeks leading up to the playoffs, fans are filled with stress, anger and frustration.
For the most part, the Eagles started this season off well winning our first five games.
After a disappointing and pathetic loss to the New York Jets in week six, the team picked themselves back up and won five more games against difficult teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.
However, it was the week 13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that started our negative decline.
Excluding our slim win against the New York Giants in week 16, the Eagles have been on a losing streak right before playoffs begin, taking us from being the second-seed team to the fifth.
So what happened from the beginning of the season to now to create such a drop-off?
Fans don’t know and to make things worse, it doesn’t seem that the team knows either.
With a lack of much visible improvement between weeks 13-17, our regular-season finale against the Giants was a hail mary for fans. However, any confidence we had in ending week 18 with a win was lost when key players like DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift, Darius Slay and Fletcher Cox were all listed inactive. Things only got worse when wide receiver AJ Brown exited the game due to a knee injury.
Our 17-point loss left many fans with low hopes going into the wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sadly those low expectations were confirmed with a 9-32 loss knocking us out of the playoffs week-one. Even with Brown sitting out and Jalen Hurts having a jammed middle finger, their performance did not match their potential talent.
The loss became even more heartbreaking with rumors of Eagles center Jason Kelce possibly announcing his retirement. The fan-favorite could be seen tearing up as he walked off the field for potential the last time.
With this disappointing end to the season, fans expect big changes within the team during the off-season. After a rough go this season, once-star defensive players Darius Slay and James Bradberry are likely to go. And while wide receiver Julio Jones stepped up to make a few good plays, his age is showing too much for him to realistically stay.
It was also evident this season that our secondary lineup needs to be strengthened. Throwing an interception on his first play this season, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota is likely due to walk, especially with third-string quarterback Tanner McKee showing high potential.
Overall, a major revamp is necessary if the team wants to avoid another 10-year drought.