They have all been down this road before and the next step, they know, is the critical one: After dominating the Denver Broncos for three quarters, the Eagles allowed 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter on Sunday and fell to the visitors at Lincoln Financial Field, 21-17, their first loss after four consecutive victories to start the season.
The next step, directly in front of them, is on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants in a nationally televised game. And everyone will be watching to see how the Eagles handle the quick turnaround.
"It can go one of two ways," running back A.J. Dillon said. "That's how you handle it. For me, I'm going to look at how I can be better, what I can do to help the team get back on track. I think that's what you will see from this team."
Said cornerback Cooper DeJean: "It's a division game ahead of us and we know how important those games are. Things didn't go our way today and that's disappointing, but we know it's a long season and we need to work on getting better and better. Today, though, it hurts. We didn't finish the game the way we needed to finish."
Here are some observations from the loss, the team's first after 12 straight home wins dating back to September of 2024 at Lincoln Financial Field ...
**1.** **An inconsistent day from the offense**
Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo challenged the excellent Denver secondary vertically and had success. Quarterback Jalen Hurts connected with wide receiver DeVonta Smith for 52 yards in the second quarter and then followed with a back-shoulder throw to wide receiver A.J. Brown that drew a pass-interference penalty on cornerback Patrick Surtain II. Hurts also took shots that narrowly missed to Brown, one to wide receiver Jahan Dotson, and some deep seam passes to tight end Dallas Goedert.
The Eagles scored on three of their first six possessions (not including a kneeldown to end the first half) but missed on a number of opportunities to keep drives alive and close out the game. They were hurt by a few penalties and self-inflicted wounds. One final opportunity ended with a Hurts pass from the Denver 29-yard line into the end zone that fell incomplete.
"It's frustrating, but we're going to keep working on it and building on the things we did well," said Smith, who had 8 receptions for 114 yards on 10 targets.