They could feel it all slipping away. Everything they had worked for. Everything they were trying to build.
Their coach was being doubted for the first time since he got here. Their $13 million quarterback was unable to put together a complete game. Their defense was wilting under the weight of 37½ minutes of playing time per week. Their kicker … well, we won't even go there.
A month into a season that carried such huge expectations, the Eagles were one more loss from seeing the whole thing implode.
“You hear it,” Riley Cooper said. “You try not to, but you’re human. You know what’s being said.”
And most of it, the Eagles deserved.
They were among the worst teams in the NFL the first month of the season, losing three of their first four games in the wake of losing three of their last four last year.
You can certainly make a case Sunday’s home game against the Saints was the biggest game of Kelly’s three-year tenure in Philly.
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The Eagles didn’t just need a win. It seemed like they needed to validate Kelly’s entire way of operating a franchise. The offseason moves, the no-huddle offense, the sports science. All of it.
And the Eagles responded, hammering the Saints, 39-17, at the Linc (see Instant Replay).
It was the Eagles’ first home win since last November and their first complete team win this year, and it propelled the Eagles right back into the thick of the lackluster NFC East race at 2-3.
“Everybody knew that this was a very important game,” center Jason Kelce said. “Especially where we’re at — 1-4 is drastically different than 2-3, especially the way the division is with the Cowboys, Redskins and Giants.
“We knew this was important. I don’t want to say it was a must-win but it kind of was, and we prepared like it. Now we just have to prepare like this every week.”
It sure didn’t come easily.
For the fifth straight game, the Eagles failed to score a first-quarter touchdown. They trailed until early in the second quarter. Sam Bradford threw two first-half interceptions in the Saints’ end zone (see 10 observations).
But gradually, the Eagles took command. They scored 29 straight second-half points until the final play of the game and scored on seven straight possessions.
“You look at the final score and maybe forget the adversity we had, but to come down and throw an interception and be down in the game early again and come back, there were some things when you talk about working through a season and team building that we can definitely build on,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said.
“The first couple weeks, it didn’t work out so well. In this case, we did some things early we didn’t want to do, but we were able to overcome them and that was big.”
The Eagles piled up 519 yards of offense, 16th-most in Eagles history, 11th-most ever against the Saints and second-most among all NFL teams this season.
Considering that the Eagles ranked among the worst teams in the NFL in every major offensive category going in, it was quite a breakthrough.
“It just felt familiar to what we had been the last few years,” Lane Johnson said. “It hadn’t seemed right, us going out there and not doing what we do. Finally got a sense of things now that we’re executing and getting our job done. It felt good.”
The Eagles’ only other win this year came at the Meadowlands against the Jets two weeks ago, but this was a far more complete effort on both sides of the football (Chip Kelly on the win).
“This game was huge and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Cooper said. “When everyone’s backs are against the wall.
“Going into this game, anything and whatever it takes to win this football game, we have got to do. Just to get this offense going.
“Sam brought the whole offense together before the game started and he said, '60 minutes of football, just relentless effort, and let’s show the world how good this offense can be.' It was really cool and it was a lot of leadership from Sam,” (see story).
Cooper said everybody in the locker room knew what was being said about the Eagles over the past week and just what falling to 1-4 would have meant.
“That’s just how this game is,” he said. “You’ve got to roll with the punches and you can’t let that outside stuff affect your play. And it’s hard. You’ve got to let that slide and just keep playing your game. That’s the way it is. The fans are passionate just like we’re passionate. You try not to pay attention, but it’s out there.
“So awesome that all the guys just rallied together this game. It was like, ‘No way we’re going to get beat. We’re rallying around the players, around the coaches, around Chip.’ The whole thing was an awesome feeling.”
If the Eagles can beat the Giants next Monday night at the Linc, they will be tied for the NFC East lead in wins.
If that happens, and if they are able to do something with this season, no doubt we’ll all look back at the Saints game as the turning point.
“I think that really the mindset of the players was the biggest difference,” Kelce said. “I think everybody ... was frustrated with the play, and you either go one or two directions. You hunker down and you make sure you're making yourself better, because really that's all you can control, or you can be a poison and start screwing up the locker room.
“I think we had a lot of great leadership. We had a lot of guys who really bought in. We didn't fray. We came in with a great mindset to work every single day, and that was really huge for us.”
The Saints are awful, so everything has to stay in perspective. That is not a good football team right now.
But the fact that the Eagles could get rolling in all three phases just when they needed it most is encouraging.
“It just shows we’re resilient,” Johnson said. “I think it’s better to peak in the end. Not making any excuses for losing, but I feel confident that we can make a run here if we just stay consistent.
“We know we have the ability. We know if we just go out there and do our jobs that good things will happen.
“We just had an edge. You get tired of losing around here.”