After they had managed to kick off their title reign with a 4-0 start to the regular season, one that included wins over the Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys, it started to seem as if the Philadelphia Eagles were well on their way to establishing a dynasty of their own. Unfortunately, the birds have found themselves struggling to maintain their form in recent weeks.
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Having lost in each of their last two outings while winning just four of their last eight games overall, the Eagles now find themselves in a bit of a fork-in-the-road match-up against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football in Week 14. They could either crash or soar; no one can be certain, but according to their former starting center, Jason Kelce, the pedigree of this team suggests that they will “peak at the right time.”
“I just think, at the end of the day, the Eagles have great coaches and they have great players and eventually they’ll be peaking at the right time. I’ve got faith in that… We’re 8-4, we’ve got time to figure this thing out. It’s just going to take some concerted effort from everybody and I know these guys are going to be hard at work to get this done.”
In alluding to the clear-cut rankings that the league had at this time last season, Kelce argued that this season has featured perhaps the most parity that the league has ever seen. After seeing the Rams drop one to the Carolina Panthers in Week 13, it’s clear that the NFC Championship is still on the table, and that could help this middling Eagles team find a path.
To Kelce, “every team has shown a weakness at this point,” and even though both the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots have been “consistently good” there are some legitimate concerns about their strength of schedules. It is worth noting, however, that while this all helps to make a title defense for Philadelphia a bit more plausible, it also means the same for the rest of their conference members.
At 9-3, the Rams and the Chicago Bears currently head the conference standings, but there are seven teams, including the Eagles, that trail them by two games or less. With only five more weeks left in the season, it truly is anyone’s ballgame.
Although conveniently enough, Philadelphia figures to have one of the easier schedules to end the year. They’ll have a pair of dates with a hobbled Washington Commanders team, as well as a matchup with the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, so unless something catastrophic happens, it seems as if the birds may be able to flock towards the postseason after all.
