Phil Sheridan: Eagles' loss leaves Reid sour

CHICAGO - Andy Reid was furious, which means one of two things.

Either he saw this messy loss to the Chicago Bears as a winnable game that got away from the Eagles, or he saw worrisome cracks in the foundation on which his team built its 7-4 record.

It was a little jarring. Reid has been patient, almost gentle in his approach to this young, still-impressionable team. Sunday's postgame vinegar marked a real change. It obviously represents a change in the way Reid views this team and its potential.

From the outside, this 31-26 loss was hardly a shock. Even in their best seasons under Reid, the Eagles have a game or two like this, usually on the road. The year they went to the Super Bowl, there was that 27-3 aberration in Pittsburgh. In 2002 and 2006, there were humiliating blowout losses in Indianapolis. It happens.

This game fit the pattern. The Eagles had won three demanding games in a row. They beat Peyton Manning for the first time, then put on that ridiculous offensive display at Washington, then battled the Giants for a big divisional win at home. The Bears, meanwhile, had a virtual bye week. They last played Nov. 18, a Thursday night game.

With both of their starting cornerbacks out - Ellis Hobbs for good and Asante Samuel for at least one game - the Eagles' defense was vulnerable to a veteran quarterback like Jay Cutler. To top it off, this was a measuring-stick game for the Bears, who were sick of hearing about how they hadn't beaten any quality opponents this year.

Near the end of the first half, the Eagles were about to score to take the lead. Michael Vick's first interception of the year led to a too-quick Bears touchdown at the other end, and the game was never really the same after that. Chicago had the ball for nearly the entire third quarter, scored twice, and it was 31-13.

"You can't have a team of that caliber with its back to the wall and have that interception take place," Reid said. "You can't do that and expect to come out on top. We've got to complete the ball. And we've got to rebound from that. When you're down, you've got to bounce back."

The Eagles did not. Although Reid said "it doesn't matter" that they were without their starting corners, it mattered very much. Cutler found mismatches all over the field, and the Bears receivers were able to break too many tackles. In that third quarter, Cutler led the Bears on a quick-strike TD drive, then orchestrated a 10-minute drive to a field goal.

The time hurt the Eagles more than the points.

"It's really frustrating," safety Quintin Mikell said. "For one reason or another, we came out and didn't play the way that we practiced. We came out ready to play. We were fired up. For one reason or another, I don't know, we weren't as aggressive as we should be. Maybe we were worried about making mistakes."

Left tackle Jason Peters was nearly as salty as his head coach.

"As bad as we played, we lost by five," Peters said. "They know that we're a better team, and we let the game get away. We should have won the game. We were frustrated. We should have won the game, point-blank."

If it was merely a case of a good team squandering an opportunity to remain in sole possession of first place in the NFC East, the Eagles have plenty of time to recover. They must play Houston Thursday night on a short week, but then they get that 10-day break before a big NFC East game in Dallas. They will have their destiny in their hands when they play the Giants again.

The more disturbing possibility - and this would explain Reid's mood - is that opponents have begun to solve the Vick puzzle. The physical pounding is beginning to show in some of his throws as well as his decision-making.

"Every time we've lost, everybody [on defense] is dropping [into coverage] and rushing four," Peters said. "That's what they were doing to us."

Their three-game winning streak bought the Eagles a little breathing room. They could afford to lose this game. What they can't afford is for this physical, frustrating game to cost them another loss Thursday.

"We have to get ourselves right in a short period of time," Reid said, "so that's what we're going to do."

"If we look at it the right way," Mikell said, "it will make us better."

That has been the pattern after those ugly losses in past years. Those were different teams, led by a different quarterback. The constant is Reid. Sunday's anger could be a warning sign to his team, or a warning sign about his team. We're going to find out which pretty quickly.