The Eagles felt much better about their current disposition when they left the NovaCare Complex on Monday and left for the bye week.
After enduring a four-game losing streak, last Sunday's win over Washington was needed. Not only did the Eagles need the win to improve their place in the standings, they needed it to prove to themselves that their hard work wasn't going unrewarded.
"It's something that was kind of long overdue for us. It's important that we kept at it and kept fighting and not giving up," defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said. "We get a week off here, but we've got to keep that momentum and not forget how much work it took us to get that win Sunday and just continue to build on that."
The Eagles insulated themselves last week as criticism mounted from the outside. High expectations did not mesh with the team's 1-4 start. Wide receiver Jason Avant called a players-only meeting last week in what he hoped would be a "wake-up call." He said the "problem has been focusing and concentrating on small details." But one play in particular during last Sunday's win showcased a change - tight end Brent Celek's juggling catch where he tipped the ball in the air to himself and held on while falling down on his back.
"(It) was a great way to describe the concentration we had in the first half out there. I think that we could do a better job in the second half offensively, but the defense did a great job and played the best game they had this year and it was encouraging for our team," Avant said. "There is so much more that we can do offensively. We haven't nearly played our best game yet. We're looking to be more consistent this second half of the season."
The Eagles are 2-4 and still sit in last place in the NFC East, but they are only two games behind the division-leading Giants. The Eagles do have three straight home games after the bye week and the first of those games is against the NFC East-rival Cowboys.
"If you look at our division, we're not far off from it. We have to look at that and be happy we still have that opportunity," Jenkins said. "Everything we want is in front of us. We've just got to take it week-by-week and not try to overlook things or try to do too much.
"If we come back and we don't keep that up or improve upon that, everything will go right back to where it was."
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