Eagles closer to last place than repeating as champions
PHILADELPHIA (AP) >> The Philadelphia Eagles are closer to being the eighth defending Super Bowl champion to follow up with a losing record than becoming the ninth team to repeat.
A season that began with promise has been a major disappointment. The offense is inconsistent, the defense has wasted several leads in the second half, and a slew of injuries has left the team short-handed in key areas.
Still, the Eagles (4-5) are in the mix in a mediocre NFC East.
“There is a level of frustration, but listen, we’re very close,” coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday. “We’re so close in a lot of areas. You look at our output and production offensively, we’re very similar to where we were last year.
“The difference is creating turnovers on defense and then scoring in the red zone. That’s kind of what’s staring at us right in the face. We have to finish better, and we have to score more points.”
The Eagles have lost three straight games at home, including 27-20 to the Cowboys (4- 5). They have four games remaining against division opponents, including two ver- sus first-place Washington (6-3). Next up is a difficult game on the road against the New Orleans Saints (81). Philadelphia is a 9-point underdog.
“I never want to throw around the word desperate,” quarterback Carson Wentz said. “We realize where we’re at. We know where the division is at. We don’t want to overthink anything. We have a tough matchup against a great team. We’re cognizant of it. We’ll go there and give our best effort.”
Pederson spoke to the team’s leadership committee before practice to get a sense of morale and came away optimistic.
“They’re all disappointed obviously in the performance the other day,” he said. “They’re eager to get back on the practice field and they’re excited for this week and this opportunity. I think they understand what’s in front of them.