Is Getting a Loss Out of the Way Good for Eagles?
We’ve had 11 days since the Eagles last played a game. Plenty has happened during that span. We became the first city ever to lose 2 Championships in the same day, we watched James Harden get hurt, Joel Embiid absolutely dominate on the basketball court, a midterm election, beginning of the baseball hot stove season and the Phillies seemingly in on big named free agents again… but on Twitter, and some in sports chatter around the city, people are asking if it would be good for the Eagles to lose a game before the playoffs.
As a fan base we’ve never been 9-0. We’ve gotten close, but never this far. So it’s new territory for all of us. It’s difficult not to look ahead, and imagine what if! Good what ifs and bad what ifs. What if this is a team of destiny? What if the pressure of not losing builds into the playoffs where there is no safety net and as fans we get hurt again. The bad what ifs are no fun, but it’s something we have lived through too many times. It’s a sort of sports PTSD.
A loss might be good for certain teams, but this Eagles team seems different. The leadership on this team seems to have everyone even keel, and nobody is smelling themselves. A lot of credit has to be given to Jalen Hurts, who last week when asked about being 8-0 said it didn’t matter to him. “I’ve been 8-0 before, and we lost the National Championship.” “We haven’t accomplished anything yet.” The guy just gets it, and his work hard attitude is like he was born to play here à la Bryce Harper.
In years past, when the Eagles were on a long winning streak I used to think that a loss would be a good way to bring them back down to earth, make sure they’re feeling high and mighty only to lose in the NFC Championship game 4x. I don’t feel that with this team. Maybe it’s because of their leadership, or maybe it’s because I think they’re so good that they’ll lock up the #1 seed in the NFC in week 15 or 16 and play a bunch of backups at the end of the season. Boom 1st loss. Pressure release button hit. Super Bowl 57 here we come.
Go Birds!
The John DeBella Show
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