2-6, and the Birds Have Hit a Place South Jersey Hasn’t Seen Since 1999

LANDOVER, Md. — For one quarter Sunday night, it looked like the old Eagles. Saquon Barkley punched in a short touchdown, the Eagles tacked on a field goal, and Philadelphia walked to a 10-0 lead on the road in prime time against a division rival. Camden kids watching with their dads had every reason to believe the thing was finally going to turn.

Then Washington scored the next 27 points, and nobody in midnight green scored again.

The Commanders beat the Eagles 27-10 on Sunday Night Football, and the number that matters this morning isn’t the final — it’s the record. Philadelphia is 2-6. That is the franchise’s worst start through eight games since 1999, back when the stadium was still the Vet and Andy Reid was a rookie head coach nobody had heard of yet. It is also six losses in a row, something this team hadn’t done since 2012. I was a lot younger the last time I had to write a sentence like that, and I didn’t like writing it then either.

No Hurts, and not much Saquon

Let’s be honest about how we got here, because South Jersey doesn’t need its sports page to blow smoke. The Eagles played Sunday without Jalen Hurts, and Tanner McKee got the start under center. McKee is a fine young quarterback with a future, but you could see the offense tighten up the way an offense does when the franchise guy is out. The bigger worry is Barkley. The man the region fell in love with during the Super Bowl run two seasons ago carried the ball 13 times for 30 yards. Thirty. Reports before kickoff had him fighting through injuries, and watching him Sunday, you didn’t need the reports. The burst wasn’t there. The cuts weren’t there. You hate to see it, because when Saquon is right, this whole team is right.

Here’s the hard part, and the part that stings worst in a town built on football: Washington didn’t beat a good team that had a bad night. Washington beat a mistake-ridden team that has now had a lot of bad nights in a row. The Commanders improved to 2-4-1 — a club that, a month ago, you’d have circled as a get-right game — and they jumped Philadelphia in the NFC East standings. Read that again. The Eagles are now looking up at the Commanders.

The Eagles are now looking up at the Commanders.Samuel Banks

Slump or collapse

I grew up on Admiral Wilson Boulevard listening to this team on the radio, and I’ll tell you what my old man used to say when the Birds went into the ditch: you find out who people are when it’s ugly. We’re about to find out. The schedule doesn’t get kind. Hurts’ status is the whole season. And a locker room that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy less than two years ago now has to answer the only question that counts — whether this is a slump or a collapse.

Two and six. Six in a row. South Jersey has sat through worse Novembers than this, but not many, and not for a long time. The Birds have a week to remember who they’re supposed to be before the next one. After Sunday night, that’s starting to feel like a long time.

Based on reporting from NBC Sports Philadelphia, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, and the Philadelphia Eagles.