It can all change in an instant, so that's the mindset the Eagles had on Monday when they landed back in Philadelphia from Dallas, intent on reviewing the mistakes made against the Cowboys and then addressing and correcting them and then, in rapid order, moving forward.
That's what you do in this league. You move forward. You find solutions. You bring your best the next week.
A 10-3 football team, the Eagles find themselves in a two-game losing streak with a tough road game at Seattle ahead. They were 10-1 after 11 games, having found ways to win in sometimes spectacular ways, creating a never-say-we're-out-of-it persona as they rallied to win games against Washington, Dallas, Kansas City, and Buffalo.
And that is the mentality now. The Eagles aren't out of anything, not by a long shot. The NFL turns around on a dime and with the upcoming game in Seattle, the opportunity to do a 180-degree turn from what has happened these last two weeks begins.
There is acknowledgement throughout this football team that a lot of things need to be improved upon, but that is always the nature of football. That's why players and coaches never get far in front of themselves, never trip over their accomplishments. They always fixate on the mistakes they've made and the corrections on their plates rather than the moments of success. In other words, the Eagles know what's up: They've taken it on the chin in losses to San Francisco and Dallas and they need to get back on the winning path right now.
We all looked at this 2023 regular-season schedule and paid attention to the stretch of six games the Eagles are currently engaged in, giving it the name of "gauntlet" and asking how in the world the NFL could do such a thing to our team?!?! Well, the football team doesn't look at it that way, of course, because every game is of maximum importance and requires precision football to win.
But it has been a difficult stretch, one during which the Eagles have compiled a 3-2 record with Seattle remaining before there are two home games against New York and Arizona, with a regular-season finale at the Giants to follow.
What would a win on Sunday mean? It would boost the Eagles to 11-3, of course, and that is what matters most. How do the Eagles beat Seattle, a team on the fringes of the playoff picture but very much still alive, a team with a potent set of wide receivers, a good running game, a physical and fast defense? They play Eagles football, that's what they do.
They take advantage of the extra day of rest this week and they get themselves prepared for what is going to be a physical matchup on Monday night. They get back to the core values established by Head Coach Nick Sirianni – particularly compete, accountability, high football IQ, and fundamentals on the field – and they play the kind of Eagles football we all know they can play.
As for Sirianni, he is going to do what he has done in the past that has provided success: He is going to "double down on what you know to be true." He did it in 2021 when the Eagles started his tenure 2-5, only to race out to 7 wins in the next 9 weeks. He did it in 2022 when two consecutive losses late in the season threatened the team's top status in the postseason, and the Eagles won that last regular-season game against the Giants, rested during the bye week, and won handily in playoff games against New York and San Francisco.
And he's going to do it here, too. Sirianni will rely upon his leadership group – as strong as any in the league – to keep the locker room focused, to have the urgency at razor's edge, and to make sure that everyone is moving in the same direction and taking personal accountability and not pointing fingers.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts said it best after Sunday's loss in Dallas, and these are words that will carry forth this week: "We all have to be better. That starts with me. That starts with me as a quarterback. That starts with me as a leader. The tone that I set. And so I embrace that challenge."
And that's what this is. A challenge for the team, every single person. One that a win on Monday night would go a long way toward solving, toward pointing this season back in the proper direction.
