Back to work. Learn from the past and correct for the future.

With five games remaining in the regular season, the Eagles understand that everything they want remains in front of them. What to do with an 8-4 record and a trip to Los Angeles for a Monday Night Football game against the Chargers?

"We have to definitely stay together. Stay committed to what the team is trying to accomplish," quarterback Jalen Hurts said. "In the end, no one ever said it was going to be easy, and we've got to embrace the challenge. We've got to embrace this time and respond to it the right way."

The players return to the NovaCare Complex this week knowing the Eagles remain in first place in the NFC East, knowing that nothing comes easily in the NFL, and knowing that there are things to correct.

This is the nature of the league, and the only way to correct the pieces that have gone offline is to keep working, look in the mirror and be critical, and understand that there is a lot of football still to be played this season.

"Keep fighting. Figure things out. Teams go through a lot throughout a season and that's where we are now," linebacker Nakobe Dean said following Friday's loss to Chicago. "Nothing you can do but get up off the floor and come back better and hungrier. This isn't a good feeling, so let's find a way to work and come together and correct the mistakes we're making."

The Eagles have some extra hours this week after the mini-bye weekend to get things back on track to prepare for a good Chargers team that has some adversity of its own – namely, surgery on the non-throwing hand of quarterback Justin Herbert. It's too early to tell what kind of impact that will have on the Los Angeles offense, but it's a factor to consider.

For the Eagles, the focus is internal. The external stuff doesn't mean a thing. The Eagles have been down this road before, so the lessons are there to be learned.

"Every person in this room knows that the only way to come back is to stay together and take care of your own business," defensive tackle Jordan Davis said. "We have the right coaches. We have the right guys. We have to play better as a football team. We're making too many mistakes, not playing the kind of football that we know we can play. That's what it is. We're making the kind of mistakes that you just can't make. So, we have to correct those mistakes and get back to playing Eagles football."

The NFL's mantra is to take things one day at a time, and that is the way the Eagles are approaching Los Angeles and a chance to maintain their hold in the NFC East and improve their playoff seeding. The stretch run is five games: at Los Angeles, Las Vegas, at Washington, at Buffalo, and Washington at home. But first, one day at a time.

"We have to find out what works moving forward and keep working at things and having the belief that it is going to click," running back Saquon Barkley said. "That's the thing about the NFL: You know it can all change fast and if you keep working, keep staying humble and hungry, you are going to be where you want to be. Everyone stays together, everyone works together, and that's what we're going to do.

"We have another challenge ahead of us and we have to shake off this loss and get back to work and play better football, play the way we play. That's how you get through this and move on. It isn't easy, but this isn't an easy league. Every team wants the same thing."

But not every team is in the position the Eagles are in – with all of their goals still in front of them.