McCaffery

That’s how dominant the Eagles had been since September. They were so good that their wish list could include a shameless extravagance: A test, a challenge, a sparring partner willing to swing away at full speed, a chance to know now what they might face later. And later will come soon enough. Though their 24-10 loss to the Hawks meant they would not be able to prance around the locker room in NFC East champion caps, price tags still a-dangling, they are going to the playoffs, and they are going to be a high seed. They are contenders, and for the whole thing. They are good enough to win a Super Bowl.

So no matter what happened Sunday, the masterpiece of the Eagles’ season was not going to be scrawled with a moustache. They were good, and they acted like it, scripting celebrations and spilling Gatorade. But they were not perfect.

“We just have to stay humble,” Fletcher Cox had said. “We can’t go out and be a big rah-rah team. We have to keep everything about us and continue to show the league what we can do on Sundays.”

They’ve shown that already. They had a chance to show it again Sunday, but they failed to force a third-quarter tie when Carson Wentz fumbled at the goal line. The momentum shifted, and for the rest of the night, the Seahawks owned those rahrah rights.

Unusual circumstances having allowed them to avoid much of the NFL’s cream through the first 11 games, the Eagles were on the road Sunday and caught Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson on a good night. That would have been a tough spot for the best teams. So it was for the Eagles. If the Birds could be blamed for anything, it would be a departure from character. That was clear early when Pederson ordered a punt from his own 47 on a fourthand-one. What? Had that panel of sports-analysts who supply his down-anddistance actuary tables suddenly turned timid? If so, it was not the right time or place, they should excuse the scratchy calculation. Connected or not, the Eagles were without their usual swagger Sunday. Of course, it’s not easy to roll through a progression of end-zone dances when only Jake Elliott scores before the fourth quarter.

The under-emphasized truth about having a satisfying NFL season is that other teams can have one, too. That much, the Eagles had to realize Sunday as they loitered in Seattle, waiting to go to work.

In Atlanta, the Vikings would outlast the Falcons, 14-9, to run a winning streak to eight, improve to 10-2 and continue to hold a potential tie-breaker over the Birds should they finish with an identical record. The Packers won, 26-20, over Tampa Bay, to inch to 6-6 and remain just relevant enough that a potential Week 15 return of Aaron Rodgers from a collarbone injury continues to haunt. Inject him into the NFC playoffs, and the odds instantly wiggle.

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers, 31-21. At 9-3, with a coach and a quarterback who have won a Super Bowl, they have won nine of their last 10. So the NFC world was beginning to pinch the Eagles even before the Seahawks would improve to 8-4.

Though the Eagles would fall behind, 173, they would make the fourth quarter matter, largely because Wentz escaped trouble to hurl a 51yard pass to Nelson Agholor, the kind of play that will make the difference when the MVP voting rages. That was four plays before his 27-yard touchdown pass to Agholor that made it the kind of night that Pederson sounded like he’d almost wanted.

“A dogfight, and it comes down to the last possession, a whoever-hasthe-ball-last type game,” he’d said. “Something our guys have learned from a year ago is being able to finish football games. It would be a great test for us.”

The playoff-level road headache was a great December test for the Eagles. They lost. Every once in a supermoon, that might happen. Next: A week of practice in Southern California and then a game against the Rams, 9-3 team with a big chance to matter in January.

“I guess we’re just going to get on a plane and go to L.A.,” Pederson shared last week. “And we’re going to practice like normal out there.”

They will be hardened by the first part of the trip. They should be better, too.

To contact Jack McCaffery, email him at jmccaffery@21st-centurymedia.com; follow him on Twitter @JackMcCaffery