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.

2. More on the offense: A look at the running game

It was clear that the Eagles wanted to attack the Broncos through the air and had some good success doing so. But Denver did well to limit the Eagles' ground game to 45 yards on 11 carries. Saquon Barkley gained 30 yards on six carries, including a 17-yard gain, his longest of the season. Hurts, normally a producer in the running attack, had 3 yards on 2 carries. Denver blitzed the Eagles all game, and clogged the running lanes, but the Eagles also hurt themselves with penalties and mistakes that put them in fewer situations to establish the running game.

It didn't help that Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson left the game in the first half with an ankle injury, replaced by Brett Toth.

3. The Eagles were unable to hold the lead

Brown said something interesting after the game, that the lack of consistency on offense has put "too much pressure" on the defense, and it appeared that could be the case in this game. The Eagles dominated Denver through three quarters with a suffocating defense that allowed just 10 first downs through three quarters. And then it all changed.

Denver quarterback Bo Nix found his rhythm and hit the Eagles in some favorable matchups for Denver. The running game cranked up. The Eagles committed some key penalties along the way.

The Broncos also made a 2-point conversion and took control of the game to steal one in South Philadelphia.

4. Third downs were a killer for the Eagles

The Eagles were just 2-of-11 on offense and put themselves in too many third-and-long situations. Defensively, they did well to limit the Broncos to just 1-of-8 in the first half. But Denver was able to convert 4-of-8 in the second half in a couple of key spots that helped put points on the board. Denver was able to control the football for 34 minutes, 17 seconds.

5. Teams win games like this and lose games like this

In the context of the big picture, the Eagles lost to a quality AFC team. The Eagles have had a win like this – Los Angeles comes to mind – and it seems appropriate the way the NFL season plays out that they are going to lose a game like this. How they respond is the big question. A mature team, a winning team, a championship team responds in a big way with a strong performance against the Giants on Thursday night.

6. The Eagles need to get Saquon Barkley going

Barkley had 6 rushing attempts for 30 yards and 3 receptions for 58 yards – the big play a 47-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Hurts on a play when Barkley ran past linebacker Alex Singleton for the spectacular score to give the Eagles a 17-3 advantage with 1 minute, 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

How can the offense get more from Barkley? That is something to watch moving forward.

7. The attention to detail needs to be better

The Eagles committed 9 penalties for 55 yards and a couple of those penalties came in key situations that either led to points or kept points off the board. That's what Nick Sirianni is talking about when he mentions the importance of details. All of the players talked about it after the game. It is something, no doubt, that Sirianni will address this week.