Anyone still want to talk about how great the Eagles looked in that preseason game against Green Bay?
I didn't think so.
For the second straight year, the Eagles will need a ticket to see the playoffs.
They were eliminated Saturday night in a dispiriting blowout loss that featured everything that has been the emblem of this distinctly mediocre team all season.
Dropped passes, lack of pass rush, failing to get off the field on third down, taking bad penalties, poor coaching decisions, chief among them a failure by Chip Kelly to alter his vaunted system to fit the talent he assembled.
This season can be defined by a point in the third quarter as the Eagles rallied to draw within one score, then stopped the Redskins and got the ball back with a chance to take the lead.
The previous scoring drive was eye-opening because it marked the return of the prodigal son, also known as DeMarco Murray. Not only that but it marked something else, plays that allow Murray to do what he does best, run straight ahead. Murray put the Eagles on his back and carried them down the field.
So of course on the next possession, there was Murray in that God-awful spot standing beside Sam Bradford, instead of the power formation he had just used to show flashes of the guy everyone thought was coming here from the Cowboys.
It was almost as if Chip Kelly was saying - once again - "sure that was nice, but I'm a genius and my system will work regardless of who I put in there.
The result? An incredibly awkward attempted pitch to Murray, who bobbled it. Redskins defensive back DeAngelo Hall scooped it up and romped into the end zone.
Game, set and match.
The Eagles are not going to win the NFC Least. They are not going to the playoffs.
For the second straight year, they held their destiny in their own hands and came up woefully short. Last year it was that brutal tumble after leaving Dallas on Thanksgiving with that gaudy 9-3 record. They promptly lost three straight to fall out of the playoffs, even though they did win that meaningless game against the Giants to salvage a 10-6 mark.
This year will offer no such silver lining. The squad put together by Chip Kelly under performed all season, and once again had to watch as DeSean Jackson mocked the fans after the Redskins started the Eagles off-season early.
Washington wins the NFC East crown.
The Eagles sit at 6-9 with more questions than answers.
One question I can answer for them.
The fault for this season lies squarely in Chip Kelly's lap.
He put this team together. Clearly it was not good enough.
It now will fall to Chip Kelly to put it together again.
I'm not sure he's up for that job either.
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