Eagles' 0-2 not fatal in NFC East

WITH THE POPE heading to town, this is no time for despair.

We . . . Must . . . Believe . . .

So let's try this:

Nine of 32 NFL teams have lost their first two games this season. Six, including the Eagles, are in the NFC. Four of the six were projected by many to make the playoffs. If you include the three winless teams in the AFC, that list swells to six.

So is there hope? Sure. The Colts were only the latest team to prove it can be done last year, after dropping to 0-2 with a home loss against the Eagles.

As for faith . . . Well, let's just try to get to agnostic first.

But there is charity, plenty of charity. It's called the NFC East, where the only team without a loss is that team from down below: Dallas.

That is likely to change in a hurry. Dez Bryant and Tony Romo are each sidelined for at least the next two months, and Jason Witten is now reportedly hobbled with two sprained ankles and a sprained knee. The Cowboys' next five games are as follows: Atlanta, at New Orleans, New England, at the Giants and home against Seattle.

Three of those teams, projected as playoff teams, are winless.

Which means they will be playing for their playoff lives.

The Patriots are playing like defending Super Bowl champions. And we all know about Atlanta.

So there's your base to building faith. The Eagles' two early losses are nowhere near as fatal as they felt after Sunday, provided they dispel rather quickly the alternate story lines already developing - the league has caught up to Chip Kelly, the personnel doesn't fit the scheme, and the coach's quest for culture is college stuff, full of the kind of hubris that chased Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier and many other NFL wannabes back to where they belonged.

Kelly dispatched Evan Mathis and Brandon Boykin because he felt neither was necessary to win. So far, he's been dead wrong. By dead wrong, I mean there doesn't seem to be anywhere for him to go from this if Allen Barbre does not improve his play, and the Eagles' secondary doesn't reflect the added investment made to eliminate X-plays.

As for the quarterback trade: Any measurement of that right now connects to the Mathis decision, and the decision not to use one of their first two picks on an offensive lineman. Bradford's advantage over Foles is supposed to be a quick release, better accuracy and a quick run-through of progressions. There have been flashes, but, as offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur noted yesterday, "There were a couple times, I think, he rushed his footwork just a little bit.

"But I don't think that had anything to do with being nervous."

I hope he's wrong. Nerves calm down. Something else to mull though is this: Bradford and his agent cut off talks about a contract late in training camp, meaning he must emerge from the season with no major injury issues to get the high-paying long-term deal he was seeking.

And while he needs to perform well to procure maximum dollars, his continued health, I would argue, is the more important factor of the two. There are plenty of teams with so-so quarterbacks - the Jets, the Browns, the Redskins, the Lions, to name a few - that would likely be willing to give him a deal close to what he's seeking, even after a so-so season here. As long as he emerges relatively unscathed, he and his agent can even argue this was the season in which he shook off the rust.

He has said repeatedly that he does not think about his contract status while playing, and I believe that. But does he think about it while not playing?

After missing most of the last two seasons with two ACL tears, it's hard to believe he doesn't. Who wouldn't?

Does that affect his play on game day? Does he dump the ball quicker to avoid the hit, not scramble when it's there, etc.? Of his four picks so far, two have been horrific. Both changed the tone of the game, if not the final outcome.

The interception just before halftime in the 26-24 loss to Atlanta - after the defense held the Falcons to a field goal on a drive that began inside the 50 - led immediately to a touchdown and turned a 13-3 deficit into a 20-3 deficit.

The third-quarter pick Bradford threw to Sean Lee in the back of the end zone Sunday - besides being so ill-advised - destroyed the Eagles' best momentum of the day, built by a sack of Romo and a fumble recovery. They could have trailed, 13-7, entering the fourth quarter, and awakened the crowd, too.

Both were poor decisions. On the Lee pick, Bradford had Riley Cooper and Josh Huff open on one side of the field. And his explanation for gifting the ball into Lee's gut - that Lee's back was turned when the ball was thrown - defied reason.

And tested your faith, and your charity.

As for hope? Well, look around you. Eli Manning. Kirk Cousins. Brandon Weeden.

As long as they're part of your congregation, you still have a prayer.

On Twitter: @samdonnellon