More than three quarters of the way through a comforting bedtime story that would put to rest the bad dreams that have partially haunted the start of the season for the Eagles, someone flipped the pages Sunday afternoon and wrote a nightmare of an ending.
Despite holding a 17-0 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, the Eagles lost 21-17 to the Carolina Panthers and head into a long road trip to London next week with a 3-4 record and more questions than they have faced this year.
This was supposed to be a happy homecoming for the Eagles after getting back on track in their previous game on the road against the Giants. A nice win over the Panthers, whose quarterback Cam Newton has always struggled against the Eagles _ and who hadn't won a road game since last November _ would be just what the doctor ordered for the Eagles' so-called Super Bowl hangover.
Instead, the collapse intensified the concern over the issues that have been biting at their heels, and particularly since a home loss to Minnesota two weeks ago. If Lincoln Financial Field isn't the antidote, and if a 30-for-37, 310-yard, two-touchdown day for Carson Wentz isn't enough to lift them, then what will save the season?
It's possible nothing but time will heal them, and that's a direct correlation to their physical condition. Both of their offensive tackles are gimpy, their defensive line is thin in the middle, their secondary is mix-and-match every week and the laundry list of missing players is daunting. They all they got, but they might not be all they need.
When it ended Sunday, as the shadows from the west stands fell across the field, it ended with Wentz trying to engineer one desperate comeback to salvage the win. Getting the ball with just over a minute left, hope was kept alive twice _ once when Alshon Jeffrey drew a pass interference penalty deep in Carolina territory, and once when an apparent interception was overruled on review.
But Wentz was overwhelmed as he dropped back to pass on fourth down. He was sacked, he fumbled the ball, and Carolina fell on it to extinguish the last hope. The Panthers hugged and danced off the field, taking with them a win no one could have predicted at the end of the third quarter.
The difference between being 3-4 with the possibility of falling to 3-5 at the bye, and pushing above .500 on Sunday with the chance to go 5-3 at the bye, is enormous, of course. What it means in a larger sense to lose this game is that if the Eagles aren't good enough to hold onto that 17-0 lead at home, then they just aren't good enough.
Wentz looked capable of pulling them through most of the game. He was accurate on a blustery day in which accuracy can't be taken for granted. He certainly looked more settled than Newton, who missed receivers or found himself harassed into poor decisions. Neither quarterback had much of a running game to help.
What might have finally killed the Eagles in the end was that despite dominating the first half, they held only a 10-0 lead at halftime. They did add another score late in the third quarter, but after that the defense couldn't contain Newton, who got loose on runs and bought time roaming around the pocket. Three Carolina touchdowns and two Eagles punts later, what didn't seem possible was written in large numbers on the scoreboard and Wentz couldn't take the Eagles all the way home again.
That might be the lasting analogy for the season. Carson Wentz is great, but he can't do the job alone. It's too early to write that ending, but it wouldn't be any uglier than the one that was written on Sunday.
