The Philadelphia Eagles have now lost four of their last five, and things have grown tense for the organization. After starting the season 10-1 following their Super Bowl run a year ago, the Eagles looked ready to repeat. Now, they’ve fallen to the fifth season and will likely fail to win their division, barring a Dallas Cowboys’ loss.
The Eagles offensive and defensive struggles have each played a role in their recent losing ways, highlighted by their most recent 35-31 loss after allowing an Arizona Cardinals comeback. The Eagles defense played a large role, allowing four touchdown drives as Kyler Murray and James Conner marched down the field. The Eagles pass defense has been leaky all season, ranking fifth-last in the NFL. However, the recent demise of their run defense has hurt the team. Philly ranked No. 1 against the run for much of the year, but have fallen out of the top-10.
While these kinds of struggles and losing in general is strenuous on any team, safety Kevin Byard noted that it’s especially noticeable in Philadelphia due to the amount of coverage the team gets, and leaks that come out of the building.
“I come from Tennessee, which is obviously a smaller market, I feel like it was very easy to keep in-house things in-house,” Byard said. “It’s very different over here. I feel like there’s leaks everywhere … it can be very divisive in a way. It can kind of force players or whoever it may be to almost protect yourself,” via Rob Maaddi.
There has been a lot talk coming out of Philadelphia, including rumors surrounding star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown and Byard both came to the Eagles after trades from the Titans, where there was notably less press attention. Given the Eagles’ overall success the past couple seasons, it’s not surprising the Eagles have more eyes, but it’ll be important for the team to not let things get out hand heading into the playoffs.