Could the Philadelphia Eagles simultaneously be one of the best and one of the worst teams in the NFL?
In a game that was actually meaningful for the Eagles (they had a chance to win the NFC East), the entire team appeared to mail it in and give up. They lost to an abysmal New York Giants team 27 to 10, and will now limp into the playoffs with a record of 11 wins and 6 losses.
That seems like a pretty good record, right? Well, when you know that the Eagles started the year winning 10 of their first 11 games, that changes things. Philadelphia closed out the regular season dropping 5 of their last 6, and though reports of the locker room being divided have been disputed, it certainly looks like something is going on in Philly.
To make matters worse, they Eagles will be limping into the playoffs both figuratively and literally. During the clash with the Giants, their star wide receiver A.J. Brown went down with a lower leg injury early in the first quarter, and never returned:
And to pile onto that, Philadelphia’s starting quarterback and the NFL’s most famous “tush-push-ee” (as opposed to “tush-push-er”) Jalen Hurts suffered an injury to his middle finger on his throwing hand after he hit it on an opposing player’s helmet:
Hurts suffering an injury that permanently puts his middle finger up into the air is quite possibly the most “Philadelphia injury” I’ve ever seen. Nothing like an unintentional flipping of the bird while representing the city of brotherly love.
The Eagles were already facing some injury woes before they played the regular season finale (their other star WR DeVonta Smith is dealing with an ankle sprain), and the way they wrapped things up against the Giants isn’t giving off a “let’s make a run for the Super Bowl” vibe.
Early on in the season, Philly seemed like a lock to return to the Super Bowl and avenge their loss there against the Chiefs last season. Now, the Eagles will be one of the more popular picks to be knocked out of the postseason early.
But is anyone feeling sorry for them right now? If you check social media, the answer to that question is a resounding “NOPE.” Just check out some of the best memes that football fans have put out there celebrating Philly’s epic end-of-the-year implosion:
live look at the philadelphia eagles pic.twitter.com/Zw7Agu7FRp
— nick (@nick_pants) January 7, 2024
The Philadelphia Eagles are on their way to a 2-5 record and losing the NFC East after this moment. The football God’s are always watching… pic.twitter.com/fizLgnjQMK
— Payton Peterson (@Payton1Peterson) January 7, 2024
My Philadelphia Eagles the past month….. pic.twitter.com/Kx8wj3St0t
— Double B (@Beezer1971) January 7, 2024
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) December 19, 2023
Only one more “we still have everything right in front of us” bullshit spiel from Sirianni before he has to at least approach the answer as to how an offensive system run by an NFL team can be so awful and how the defense got considerably worse *after* the decision he made that…
— Honest NFL (@TheHonestNFL) January 7, 2024
Jalen Hurts without AJ Brown & the ass push pic.twitter.com/09ni06mrLO
— Beerly Kerry 🍻 (@BeerlyKerry) January 7, 2024
