We thought maybe wed seen the last of the hapless Eagles of late September and early October. The Eagles who lost four straight. The Eagles who couldnt protect the ball or hang onto a fourth-quarter lead or make a big play when they had to have one.
Those hapless, bumbling Eagles? Theyre back. Oh yeah, theyre back with a vengeance. And once again, the Eagles are on the brink of falling hopelessly out of the playoff race two weeks before Thanksgiving.
A week after an encouraging win over the Cowboys got them to the brink of .500, the Eagles took another huge step backwards Monday night, blowing a fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time in the last six weeks and falling three games behind the Giants with an unspirited 30-24 loss to the Bears at the Linc.
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It was another must-win, and the Eagles came up small. Real small.
This feels awful, Brent Celek said. We cant get where we want to go playing like this.
Whether it was DeSean Jackson fumbling a punt inside the 10, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie looking lost on big play after big play, Chas Henry underthrowing Colt Anderson by 10 yards on what should have been a successful fake punt, Matt Forte running wild against the Eagles defense or the defensive line failing to sack Jay Cutler even once, this was another roster-wide disaster.
Everybody stunk.
Halfway through the season, the Eagles are 3-5, a full three games plus a tiebreaker behind the division-leading Giants. Even if the Giants just go 3-5 the rest of the season, the Eagles would have to go 6-2 just to tie them.
We wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that we had to get back to .500, but you cant let opportunities like this slip away, Michael Vick said. We had a chance to win this game, and we let it slip away.
This is only the second time since 2000 and only the fifth time since 1987 the Eagles have had a losing record after eight games.
The Eagles trailed 10-0 in the second quarter, then scored 24 of the next 31 points to take a 24-17 lead late in the third quarter. The Bears then scored on their next three possessions, outscoring the Eagles 13-0 over the final 20 minutes.
Offense gave us the lead and we couldnt stop them, safety Kurt Coleman said. We have to shut them out or hold them to field goals, and we didnt do it. We didnt do it.
The Eagles have led entering the fourth quarter of seven of their eight games. Theyre 3-4 in those seven games.
This is the first time in franchise history the Eagles have blown four fourth-quarter leads in a season.
Theyve already tied an NFL record by blowing three fourth-quarter leads at home in one season.
It really stings, because all we need to do is stop them, Babin said. If I had the answer, Id definitely let everybody know.
The Bears 30 points are the most the Eagles have allowed at the Linc since a 48-22 loss to the Saints in 2009.
Vick, coming off his best game of the season, never got in any sort of rhythm, was unable to get the ball down the field, got picked off once, and finished a 21-for-37 for 213 yards. The Eagles big three receivers -- Jeremy Maclin, Jackson and Jason Avant -- combined for just eight catches for 99 yards.
I think I could have played a lot better in this game, Vick said. Against a team like that, you have to be precise. You have to be on point. You cant miss opportunities that you have to take advantage of.
LeSean McCoy did have a 33-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give the Eagles their first lead at 24-17 but was kept under wraps for the most part the rest of the night and finished 16-for-71 rushing after games of 126 and 185 yards in wins over the Redskins and Cowboys.
The Eagles, who entered the game on pace to break the NFL record for yards in a season, netted a season-low 330 against the Bears 23rd-ranked defense. The Bears outgained the Eagles 372-330.
We just didnt execute the way we know how, Celek said. We didnt play our game. It felt like we never got in a rhythm. And thats when we dominate. That starts with the first snap and it continues throughout the game, and when things arent going our way, weve got to pick it up. We cant just stay in a lull, and I felt like we did that the whole game.
The Eagles last-gasp drive ended with Maclin catching a fourth-down pass, losing his balance, and getting tackled at the 30-yard-line, one yard shy of the first-down marker with just under two minutes left.
I extended for the catch, and its one of those things that just happens sometimes, Maclin said. You have to make the catch first and foremost, and when I came down I kind of just lost my footing a little bit.
Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler looked awful at times but managed the game well and made some big throws on third down.
He finished 18-for-32 for 208 yards with two TD passes, no interceptions and a 96.9 passer rating. The Bears converted a season-high 50 percent on third down.
The Eagles and Bears have played five years in a row, and the Bears have won four of the five.
If my feet are clean and Ive got a good pocket and I can see whats happening down field, Im probably going to have a good day, Cutler said. And as the game progressed, that started happening.
Forte ran 24 times for 133 yards, becoming the fourth back this year to surpass 100 rushing yards against the Eagles defense. His 133 yards are the most against the Eagles since Clinton Portis had a 145-yard game in 2008. In all, the Bears piled up 164 rushing yards against the Eagles.
We had them on third down and long the whole game and couldnt get off the field, Coleman said. We just couldnt make the plays when we needed to.
For the first time in their last 15 games and only the second time in their last 42 games, the Eagles didnt record a sack.
They ran seven-, eight-man protections, they got seven or eight guys against four, and it takes us a while to get there and gave him some time, and he did a good job sliding around the pocket and avoiding us, said Babin, held without a sack for only the third time this year. Weve got to have an answer for that max protection.
The Bears took a 10-0 lead on Cutlers five-yard TD pass to tight end Matt Spaeth and a 51-yard Robbie Gould field goal.
The Eagles tied it on Alex Henerys career-long 47-yard field goal and Brian Rolles 22-yard touchdown on a fumble return after stripping Forte.
Marion Barbers two-yard run gave the Bears a 17-10 lead after Jacksons fumble before the Eagles went up 24-17 on TD runs by Ronnie Brown and McCoy.
After that, it was all Bears.
We just werent able to finish, Jackson said. We let them drive down the field, on offense we werent able to sustain drives.
Its frustrating, but weve just got to keep fighting, man. People have been counting us out all year, so its a familiar feeling. We cant keep doing the same things that have been causing us to lose. Enough is enough.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com.