Despite loss to 49ers, Eagles still high in NFC

Before this column begins, I would like to take the opportunity to say, “I know.”

I know the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the San Francisco 49ers 26-21 on Sunday after being up 21-10. I know the offense was responsible for exactly zero of those 21 points — two special teams, one defense. I know quarterback Nick Foles does not look like his godlike self we saw last year — nor does LeSean McCoy for that matter.

I’m not naive enough to not realize these things. I’m a human being with eyeballs. So if you’re reading the title of this column, your immediate response would probably be something along the lines of: “What the hell is he talking about!?! Why is he not pressing the panic button four weeks into this Eagles season?!?”

Even after watching the game on Sunday and watching the Eagles under-perform offensively, there’s still personal belief that the Birds are the third best team in the NFC. Say what you will about my beliefs, but they’re my beliefs. Everyone is entitled to their opinion — sensible or crazy.

Let’s look at that game for a second. The Eagles defense played as good as it has in at least two years. 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did a lot of running around (inside the pocket) because the Eagles were able to get pressure on him consistently and even record four sacks. Free agent steal Malcolm Jenkins logged his third interception since coming over from New Orleans, and has done his part in correcting the secondary issues — at least the ones he has control of, anyway.

Special teams were amazing again in this game. The Eagles special teams blocked one punt for a touchdown, returned another for a TD with the help of Darren Sproles, and the 49ers average starting position was favorable to the Eagles.

Offensively, the Eagles couldn’t move the ball for much of the game, but when they needed to, they did. The last drive in the fourth quarter proved such. Foles and company were able to move the ball past the 50 yard line (an event that led to much cheering, hooting, and hollering) and get into the danger zone. They couldn’t punch it in, but there’s no need to panic. With a healthy offensive line, we beat San Francisco in January should we have to play them.

We’re going to see how the Birds stack up against the other feared birds of the NFC when Seattle comes to town in December. Outside of those two teams, who are we even talking about as the other team that’s the third best in the conference?

I’m going to ask Dallas Cowboys fans to settle down. Settle down right now. I’m serious. Take that stupid hat off. Put the Tony Romo jersey away. You’ve beaten Tennessee — who isn’t as good as people thought — and St. Louis — who doesn’t have a quarterback. Sure, you beat the Saints, but I’ll touch on them later. The Cowboys are 3-1, but I ask you all to look at the calendar. It’s October. When the calendar turns to December, we all know what happens. Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over hoping for a different result. Come December, insanity will set in. It always does.

Alright, I see all of the cheeseheads and guys dressed up like Mike Ditka, so I’ll address you both at the same time. Neither, the Packers nor the Bears are the third best team in the NFC. As it stands right now, the Eagles would beat both of you because your defenses are mediocre. (I’m being nice about that. They’re down right awful.) The Bears had a 17-14 lead in the second quarter against the Packers on Sunday, and then proceeded to allow 24 unanswered points AT HOME. You also lost to the Bills on opening weekend at home, and that’s grounds enough for disqualification.

The Packers at least have the offensive firepower necessary to keep up with the Eagles, but they can’t stop anyone. It’s not encouraging at all seeing how bad Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were stifled by Detroit. If the Eagles play defense against the Packers the same way against the 49ers on Sunday, the cheeseheads can be beaten.

(I’m not even going to mention Detroit because they haven’t really played anyone that I’d consider a contender, so I’ll just move on.)

Is anyone in the NFC South a threat to the Eagles? The Falcons? They had to pull a win out of their rear-ends against Minnesota. Minnesota! The Vikings were starting a rookie quarterback getting his first NFL action and almost lost that game. In fact, they should have lost that game. If Teddy Bridgewater plays all four quarters, the Vikings win that game. The Falcons had not shown they could stop him.

The Saints? The Saints just let Dallas put 38 on the scoreboard against them. D A L L A S! At 1-3 in the NFC South, it’s possible the Saints can turn it around and make a run late, but that defense is not what they envisioned when they inked Jairus Byrd to all that money in the offseason.

The only team one could make an argument for is the Cardinals. Arizona is playing great football right now despite Drew Stanton being the quarterback because Carson Palmer is out with a shoulder injury. The Cards have already beaten two pretty good teams in San Diego and San Francisco. We’ll see just how good they are when they go to Denver this weekend. If Arizona wins that game (close or not), I’ll change my position to say they’re the third best team in the NFC. Hell, I would even consider them #2 behind Seattle and ahead of San Francisco.

The landscape of the NFC is not nearly as treacherous as we thought it would be since there’s a lot of “average” football being played by some of the top teams we all had pegged as contenders early (i.e. Packers, Bears, Saints, Falcons, Panthers). If you’ve already jumped off the Eagles bandwagon, I feel a little bad. (Actually, I don’t. Go ahead and get off. More room for the rest of us.) If you’ve stayed on, just grab hold tight and breathe deeply.

It’s not as bad as some would say. The Eagles aren’t in dire straits just yet. Lane Johnson comes back this weekend against St. Louis, and we won’t fully see this team whole again until Evan Mathis returns in November. As long as the Eagles can keep chugging along, everything will be okay in a conference that is more wide open than we thought in terms of whom the top teams are.

The Eagles are one of them until we have justifiable reasoning to believe otherwise.