Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers.
Try six by the Philadelphia Eagles, including three on three straight drives in the second half and two on the first two series of the game that led to all 34 points by the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night.
Actually, in five plays the Birds turned it over four times.
With the Birds leading the Bengals 13-10 after a second-quarter comeback in which they had trailed 10-0, the wheels came off this roller coaster of a season once again in the second half.
That led to a Bengals' victory, 34-13.
In the second half, Quarterback Nick Foles threw an INT. Then Bryce Brown yet again fumbled (can't he hang onto the football??) for a Cincy score. Next, tight end Clay Harbor dropped the ball after catching a pass and then the Birds muffed an onsides kick.
In the Birds' first series of the game, wideout Jeremy Maclin was stripped of the football. In the next series, punter Mat McBriar kicked into his own player, giving the Bengals the ball for another score.
But then the Birds' defense kicked in, holding the Bengals to no more points after the first two turnovers.
Who needs the Wide Nine?
After watching the defense, several words not even whispered in these parts were heard.
This word would come as a shock to anyone who watched the Eagles defensive front all year: Dominating.
Another word that Birds fans never heard much this year: Pressure.
And those two words equaled another word that was pretty much never uttered this year: Sacks.
Pressure and Sacks from a Dominating defensive line.
The Birds wracked up the sacks, having almost more in one game that in their entire season in getting stellar efforts from Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, Cullen Jenkins and two straight from rookie Fletcher Cox.
Safety Colt Anderson provided a spark too with some tough playing and hard hitting.
Foles got the Birds back in the game with a strong comeback in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 13-10 lead with a touchdown to Riley Cooper and two field goals by Alex Henery.
But it didn't hold once the wheels fell off with all the turnovers in the third quarter, giving the Philadelphia Eagles their 10th loss of the season.
The defense didn't lose this game. Turnovers were the killer.
Expect more turnovers when the year ends: Try the coaching staff and most of the roster.
10 losses by a combined 128 points says a heck of a lot more.
http://crankymanslawn.com/2012/11/28/andy-reids-eagles-legacy/ Vick will NEVER be anything other than a running quarterback. Even with all the protection issues the Eagles faced this year, he never once looked to throw the bal away, something Foles was doing in his very first NFL start. That being said, Foles has a long way to go to prove himself. But he does seem to have composure, good downfield vision, and a strong arm. Now if you could figure out how to put Foles' head on Vick's body ...