In the rush of emotions following Sunday's 24-0 loss to the Cowboys, it's easy to forget that this Eagles offense was the most prolific from a scoring standpoint in franchise history.
So, exactly what happened on the turf at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday?
Wide receiver Jason Avant described it as a "wake-up call." Tight end Brent Celek said it was "kind of embarrassing."
The Eagles had 228 yards of total offense. It was the lowest output of the season.
"In big games coaches have to coach well and players have to play well. That's everybody. That's how that works, whether it's to win the NFC East or whether it's now in the playoffs," said head coach Andy Reid. "That's what we've done over the years, when we were in big games we played and coached well. We have to go back to that. That's the challenge for this week."
Looking back in the pivotal first half, the answer for the inability to get on a roll came down to two things - execution and missed opportunities.
It can be argued the Eagles left as many as 14 points on the field in the second quarter of Sunday's loss. That certainly would have made it a much more interesting game. And we're not talking crazy scenarios here.
On the Eagles' first productive drive, DeSean Jackson beat safety Ken Hamlin down the center of the field on a fly route. However, Donovan McNabb overthrew the ball and the two were unable to connect. That came on a second-and-8 play. McNabb hit Celek on the next play for a 22-yard gain to keep the drive alive.
The Eagles quickly got into another third down situation. The Eagles lined up in the tight formation with McNabb in shotgun. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin got wide open over the middle on an in route, but McNabb's pass to him fell incomplete. The pass was slightly behind Maclin, but still catchable.
No one was in the area and Maclin might still be running right now. Those are two examples of where the Eagles potentially left a touchdown on the field on the same drive.
At that point, the Eagles trailed only by a 7-0 score. The Cowboys got the ball back and scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Patrick Crayton.
The Eagles offense looked to answer and put itself in prime position to do so. McNabb hit Maclin on a deep slant for a 31-yard gain. The Cowboys defense was confused as the Eagles lined up in the trips formation on that play. Two plays later, McNabb hit DeSean Jackson on a square in for a 32-yard catch-and-run. The Eagles had the ball at the Cowboys' 14-yard line.
But on the next play, center Nick Cole's shotgun snap was mishandled by McNabb and was recovered by Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff.
"We had many opportunities that we did not capitalize on. A lot of mistakes were made," McNabb said. "We had a lot on the line, but we have an opportunity to go home and watch film and to reexamine our mistakes and come back next weekend after understanding what we did wrong. The Cowboys played well today. We will see them again next week and it will be a whole different game."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 7:40 p.m., January 4
