The game was what the game was, a 25-14 loss for the Eagles that dropped Philadelphia to 2-4 on the season. There is a lot of 2026 yet to be played and, yes, the next three games are against the NFC East rivals, so there is that.

What we are looking at more than anything is the play at the quarterback position. Jalen Hurts is on Injured Reserve as he recovers from a superficial blood clot in his calf, and the most important thing is his return to full health. From a football standpoint, he won't be available for at least the next three games, so that leaves Tanner McKee at the helm of the offense.

In Sunday's start, McKee completed 26 of 45 passes for 215 yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers. Carolina didn't make it easy – the Panthers started the game with a well-timed blitz and continued from there with different looks, pressure up front, sticky coverage on the back end. McKee hung in there and made some really nice throws – some of which were called back by penalty, like a 20-yard shot to wide receiver Darius Cooper that was wiped out by a holding call – and the touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith was perfectly placed (and a great catch, too), so there is something to build upon.

And that is the theme here: What can the Eagles build on for the next week and the week after that? It starts at the quarterback position with McKee, who has played well in the limited time he's been on the field – in two Week 18 starts and in a backup role in the 2024 season win over Dallas.

"First thoughts, my team needs me to be better," McKee said after the game. "I need to be better. I am so much better and I'm looking forward to learning everything and becoming the player that I know I am, the player that I can prove that I am.

"A lot of things that were frustrating that fall on me and a lot of things we gotta get fixed as an offense for sure."

McKee cited areas that he needs to fix – poor communication, placement of players, settling down faster – "making adjustments on the fly."

The Eagles have a lot of adversity right now – that is another story entirely – but the focus has to be on figuring out a way to get the offense unlocked and to put McKee and Coordinator Sean Mannion in favorable positions. What progress can they make? What can they construct together?

Given the challenges the offense has absorbed through six weeks, the Eagles are looking for positive building blocks, anything the offense can hang its hat on and get back in the win column.

"We all have to do better," Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. "I think that's the whole consensus here is it's not just one thing. It's not just one player on an island. It's not just one coach on an island. This is a team game, an ultimate team game, and we all have things to get better. So, of course, we're going to go through that game and we're going to say, 'Hey, we've got to do this, we've got to do that. We could change to this; we could change to that. I mean, we could keep doing this, we could keep doing that.'

"That's what you go through in a weekly process. Again, the goal, I mean, offensively, you've got to score points and we're not doing that right now. There's a lot of reasons why that we've got to improve on."

The sample size with McKee will grow. He and the coaching staff will work together to mold the offense to his particular strengths and McKee will gain footing and confidence running the show. He was down on his performance – hey, the whole locker room felt the same way – and the importance of staying together, staying strong through tough times is really, really important.

"I feel like I have a good preparation process," McKee said. "Obviously going to meet a little bit more with Sean and (Quarterbacks Coach) Parks (Frazier) and Nick more than just doing it by myself, I guess. But yeah, I think stick to the process. Obviously stings a little more. There's things that are more frustrating and you make a mistake or something like that. But obviously it's another opportunity to learn, to grow, and to get better. I think that's something that's very positive about this team. We're all we have, that's all we need. And I think people underestimate how tight-knit we really are."

Keep it positive. Understand the big goal. Stay in the moment and be diligent and steadfast in fixing everything – starting at the quarterback position and the offense.