For the fourth consecutive week, the Eagles have suffered a loss in a game that appeared to be within reach in the final quarter. Trailing by 17 points at the end of the third quarter, the Eagles quickly scored a touchdown and dug their heels in on defense, not allowing a single point in the final 15 minutes.
Down a touchdown with just under a minute-and-a-half remaining, the Bills' offense lined up for a fourth-and-one at midfield, presumably to try to force an Eagle to jump offsides in lieu of having to punt the ball away. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was successful, drawing defensive end Juqua Parker over the line-of-scrimmage for a key, game-ending neutral-zone infraction.
After the game, head coach Andy Reid addressed the media, taking the blame for the Eagles' devastating loss.
"You can't turn the ball over five times in a game and expect to win," said the obviously distraught head coach. "There's nobody to blame but me. This is my football team."
Asked what changes the team has to make moving forward, Reid said that they key will be "limiting turnovers and not committing penalties in crucial situations." Quarterback Michael Vick threw four interceptions, although the last one was virtually a strip of wide receiver Jason Avant. It was Avant who also lost a fumble in the second half.
The 13-year head coach was adamant that he still has faith in this Eagles team.
"We're just going to take it one game at a time," he said. "Myself and the coaches need to put our players in better positions to make plays, and they need to go out there and execute. We're just not doing that the best we can, right now.
"We're going to look at the tape and fix the mistakes we made this Sunday and then move on to Washington. That's how we operate, one game at a time."
The Eagles have five remaining division games to play, starting with next Sunday's in Washington, meaning that they control their own destiny to a reasonable extent from here on out. Reid and his coaching staff will try to keep the Eagles' dreams for a playoff spot possible, one game at a time.
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