I wasn't surprised that the Eagles defense had no answers to the riddle of Peyton Manning and the high-flying Denver Broncos.
The Birds went into the Mile High City and suffered a Rocky Mountain low, getting thrashed, 52-20. It wasn't that close.
I knew the defense was going to struggle. They didn't disappoint. Mediocre would be a vast improvement for this unit. They don't put any pressure on the quarterback, and they don't cover particularly well. That's not a good combination.
Has the Eagles defense been able to cover a tight end in this decade?
But as I said, we knew all about the defense's shortcomings before the season started. They're not 1-3 and the defense has played just about the way everyone expected.
What was unexpected has been the play of the offense.
They put on a stunning, electric performance in that opening night showstopper in Washington. That was surprise No. 1.
Surprise No. 2 is that they haven't been seen since.
Once again yesterday the Eagles offense struggled to put points on the board. I expected the Broncos to put up a lot of points. But I also expected the Birds' and Michael Vick to make a game of it. That never happened.
Their special teams didn't help, suffering a kickoff return for a TD and also a blocked punt that was taken to the house.
But this offense bears little resemblance to what we saw in D.C.
Where is the frenetic pace that was supposed to be Chip Kelly's calling card?
Where is the gambler who goes for it on 4th down and always goes for the two-point conversion.
Yesterday there was even the ultimate ignominy, a forced timeout because of indecision and a player not lined up in the right spot, one of the trademarks of the Andy Reid era.
Oh, and the Andy Reid Era in Kansas City? It's off to a 4-0 start after the Chiefs blew away the Giants yesterday.
The only thing salvaging this season for the Eagles likely will be the fact that 8-8 just might win this lousy division.
But Chip Kelly needs to reinstall the offense we all saw on opening night.
Unless, of course, you want to think the unthinkable: That it took the NFL all of two weeks to figure Kelly's system out.
It might be another long year.
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