Lions upset Eagles, 26-23, in overtime
There was no bravado in a quiet Eagles locker room on Sunday. There was no insisting that the Eagles are better than their record or that an embarrassing collapse in Sunday's 26-23 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions was anything other than an indication of the state of this team.
There was no bravado in a quiet Eagles locker room on Sunday. There was no insisting that the Eagles are better than their record or that an embarrassing collapse in Sunday's 26-23 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions was anything other than an indication of the state of this team.
"Sick and disappointing" running back LeSean McCoy said. "That's how I feel."
The Eagles enter their bye week on a two-game losing streak and have two weeks to digest what has became unmistakably apparent. They are 3-3, a .500 football team on pace to finish to 8-8 - just like they finished last season, just like what owner Jeffrey Lurie said was unacceptable before this season.
"Hopefully, we'll come back with the realization after this bye week that nobody cares how many people we have [at] the Pro Bowl. Nobody cares what somebody's done in the past," wide receiver Jason Avant said. "If we don't step up and play our best football, we'll get beat."
So the players quietly filed
out of the locker room after, for the second consecutive week, watching the opponent's game-winning field goal sail through the uprights. But the gripes of Eagles fans will not be relegated to overtime. This loss was the result of much more than Jason Hanson's 45-yard field goal.
The Eagles held a 10-point lead after wide receiver Jeremy Maclin caught a 70-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. After that play, quarterback Michael Vick pumped his arms, and the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field erupted in elation. Some even headed for the exits. They were not the only ones who thought that was all the Eagles needed for a victory.
"After the touchdown to Maclin, I thought it was a great position for us to be in to win the game," Vick said. "Before I knew it, we were in a fight."
From that point until Hanson's final field goal, the Lions won the fight as their offense ran 24 plays for 180 yards during 6 minutes, 32 seconds and scored 13 points. The Eagles offense ran six plays for minus-15 yards in 2:43 and failed to score. That is statistical evidence of a collapse.
Of course, there were key plays along the way: a 57-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to tight end Tony Scheffler that put the Lions in scoring position, an Eagles three-and-out late in the fourth quarter and Vick taking two sacks to begin overtime. The carnage was widespread and the fault of an Eagles offense that could not move the chains and wind down the clock and a defense that could not hold a lead and failed to maximize opportunities.
"There were times and places where everyone needs to look themselves in the mirror and get better. Me included," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.
Once again, the Eagles teased with potential but were ultimately inconsistent and flawed. Vick was at times brilliant and at other times maddening, finishing 28 of 46 for 311 passing yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Maclin ended with six catches for 130 yards, but McCoy was held to 22 rushing yards on 14 carries.
The defense held the Lions without a touchdown for three quarters before crumpling in the fourth quarter. The defense allowed Stafford to throw for 311 yards, and running back Mikel LeShoure rumbled for 70 yards on just 15 carries. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson had six catches for 135 yards, including a 17-yarder on the game-winning drive.
When the Eagles offense needed one more first down, or when the defense needed to keep the Lions from getting one more first down, they failed, and players were left lamenting opportunities squandered.
"It's a bad loss," said Maclin. "A bad loss."
Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who blanketed Johnson for much of the game and had an interception, said heads hung in the locker room after the game because the bye week will carry a different mood considering the Eagles "are behind the eight ball." He said Reid was "embarrassed that we lost the way we did, that the fight wasn't there at the end of the game like it had been all year."
There was a locker room full of players who are realizing that a good roster does not always equal a good record or a good team.
"I think we all need to look in the mirror and figure out what we can do individually to maximize our opportunities to win football games," Vick said. "At the end of the day, you can say whatever you want to say. But the only thing that matters is winning and losing."