Eagles Can Really Use Some Time Off

One thing we can all agree on is that the Eagles badly need the upcoming bye week.

So do their fans.

It’s been hard to watch a team that was considered a potential Super Bowl contender in the preseason lose its seventh straight game.

At 2-7, this season is over as far as contending for a postseason berth, even though a two-game win steak can move a team rapidly up the standings in the woeful NFC East Division.

The Eagles started Joe Milton at quarterback in Sunday’s 19-11 home loss to the New York Giants. Milton earned the start after being with the team less than a month. Let it be known, this reporter endorsed the move of putting him in the starting lineup.

There is a reason Milton hasn’t become a regular NFL starter before this chance with the Eagles despite having one of the best arms in the league.

Still, the Eagles loss to the Giants was yet another lackluster offensive performance, but don’t pin it all on the new QB, although his warts were readily exposed.

We saw the reason Milton has struggled for playing time in the NFL after seeing him overthrow open receivers, but the Eagles also didn’t help his cause, by dropping several passes.

And playing behind that substandard offensive line, Milton, who was sacked seven times, was running for his life when the Giants didn’t bring him to the ground.

He also was the Eagles leading rusher with 64 yards on nine carries for a hefty 7.1 average.

If Tanner McKie were still playing quarterback, the Giants might have had double-digit sacks. McKie isn’t known for his mobility.

Milton was in a difficult situation, and some suggest it was a desperate measure to put him in the lineup.

No kidding.

These are desperate times when a team entered the game 2-6 and departed 2-7.

Besides playing Milton behind such a weak offensive line and not having the most well-coached unit to begin with, the fact that the two leading receivers DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, are still sidelined, makes quarterbacking the Eagles much harder, if not impossible.

Now Milton has the bye week to learn the offense better, but it won’t help much if he has to guide the team without his two leading receivers.

Milton entertained the fans when he did a back flip in the endzone after scoring on a two-point conversion.

That looked a little dangerous, but Milton likely isn’t going to be performing too many end zone celebration back flips during the rest of the season.

Eagles fans haven’t been used to having the season (competitively) over before Halloween but that was the case this year.

Right now, many Eagles fans are counting the days until April 29.

That is the beginning of the three-day NFL draft.

Right now, there is very little to look forward to from an Eagles perspective, before then.