October 12, 2026
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Nick Sirianni and the Eagles aren't a good football team, and have been mediocre going back a full NFL season.
Please don't do this.
Please don't put lipstick on a three-game losing streak and act like the Eagles are a much better looking version of what they really, truly are. The only person you're fooling is yourself.
The Eagles are not – repeat, not – "two plays away" from being 4-1.
They are not "better than record suggests."
In the words of Bill Parcells – and perhaps with Dennis Green mixed in – they are what their record says they are, and they are exactly who we think they are, even after outperforming the Jaguars for almost all of Sunday's gut-wrenching 19-17 loss in London.
They're a sinking team that has been poorly coached, beset by a ridiculous number of injuries, still mired in an offensive malaise that surfaces every second half, and still puzzlingly ineffectual on third down despite some improvement there in Week 5.
To suggest that their entire outlook and public perception would be completely opposite if they didn't royally botch a 3rd-and-goal situation last Sunday against the Rams and vomit all over themselves during a long kickoff return against the Jags is just blissful ignorance.
And you can play the game with their two wins, too.
What if Drew Stevens doesn't have his point-after kick blocked by Jalen Carter in Week 1 and the Commanders don't have to attempt a two-point conversion after they nearly tied the game on an Antonio Williams TD catch with 61 seconds to play?
What if Robert Saleh doesn't elect to kick the ball into the end zone so the Eagles can get great field position for their comeback touchdown drive that let them barely scrape by a Titans team that STILL doesn't have a victory?
Every game the Eagles play has one or two swing plays that could go either way.
To try and see a brighter Birds future by conning yourself into thinking that bad fortune or one poorly executed play each week is the difference between them being an under-.500 club and one of the NFC's best is peak cognitive dissonance.
By that same rationale, the Earth could be flat if it just had some corners, one extra lane would alleviate all the traffic on the Schuylkill, and my aunt would be my uncle if ... well, you get the point.
If you haven't noticed, the Eagles have been dabbling in mediocrity – or worse – long before their recent meltdowns. Including last year's first-round playoff exit, they are 5-8 in their past 13 games. Going back 17 games – a full NFL season – they are 9-8.
They're in the midst of their second three-game losing streak in their past 12 games, and all the intended offseason fixes for their issues – a new offensive coordinator, a new offensive scheme, more depth on the offensive line and a better starting cornerback opposite Quinyon Mitchell – haven't made a single difference.
The offense has actually regressed, now ranking 31st in total yards, 22nd in third down, stunningly dead last on fourth down, and 28th in time of possession.
The defense has been mostly fine but vulnerable to fourth-quarter collapses, probably due to the offense's inability to get them some rest.
Coaching decisions have backfired left and right.
Of course, that doesn't mean the Eagles are bound to never get healthy, never improve offensively, never make another correct coaching decision and lose all of their next 12 games.
They will get Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith back, and maybe Landon Dickerson still has enough gas left to be a functional left guard when he also returns, and there were some encouraging signs in the first half in London that Sean Mannion and the offense weren't going to be predictable and could find ways to move the chains on third down.
Playing in the weakling NFC East, of course, means they'll be in the thick of a playoff berth for at least 10 more weeks. They might even get back to the top of it.
But do yourself a favor, don't squint just to see Nick Sirianni hoisting another Lombardi this season. Don't look back and play the what-if game for the past two or three weeks.
The Eagles are what their record says they are, and they have earned every bit of it.
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