It's not a dig at the Eagles to say that during the nine-game winning streak they brought into CenturyLink Field on Sunday night, they had not played anyone as daunting as the Seahawks.
But for certain, those nine teams didn’t resemble anyone the Eagles would have to go through to win a Super Bowl, or get to one. The Seahawks made that clear throughout their 24-10 win in which they never trailed.
The Eagles had no choice but to act accordingly. This score wasn’t going to be in the 30s, never mind the 50s as it was just three weeks ago against Brock Osweiler and the Broncos.
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Russell Wilson was not going to back down from a shootout, and the Eagles were going to have to have Carson Wentz keep slinging no matter what. That included their decision — with four minutes left in the third quarter, trailing 17-3 and on fourth-and-3 at the Seahawks' 25 — to go for it instead of trying an eminently makeable field goal.
The Seahawks stopped them.
The Wentz incompletion, under quick and heavy pressure, came in the middle of a rough sequence for him and his team: him getting stripped at the goal line, the Seahawks marching the other way, the Seahawks later answering a touchdown drive with one of their own. Going for it on fourth down there and then, though, left a significant impression about where they stood.
The risk-reward ratio for the Eagles made sense for them … but it reflected the obstacle they faced. This was a defense like they hadn’t faced so far, and field goals weren’t going to get it done. And their own defense was destined to run itself dizzy trying to slow Wilson.
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None of this was a situation the Eagles have been used to, and it was a wake-up call. Wentz did get the touchdown they needed on their next possession, with two ridiculous throws, both to Nelson Agholor, that rank with anything Wilson pulled off. If not for those plays, the game wouldn’t have been as close as it was.
But the fact that things looked fairly desperate with that much time left in the game reminded everyone of a pair of truths:
— The Seahawks, despite two brutal losses in recent weeks and the gutting of their secondary by injuries, were their usual dangerous selves.
— The Eagles weren’t as far and above the rest of the NFC as many had thought when they had just one loss, which came back in Week 2.
It seemed inconceivable that any team, even the Seahawks, could force them into such a dilemma — or, hold them to single digits for so long, keep them without a touchdown until the fourth quarter, limit Wentz and make them play catch-up.
The Eagles’ cushion always felt bigger than it was, but now it’s gone — the Vikings are also 10-2, the Rams and Saints are just one game behind, and the Panthers and, yes, the Seahawks are two games back.
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Wentz isn’t any less of an MVP front-runner. The defense isn’t any less formidable. But this was a test, and they lost by two touchdowns. And they left points on the field because they thought they couldn’t afford less than touchdowns.
Going for it on fourth down when they did opened a lot of eyes, even more than failing did.
Now everybody’s eyes are open to the once-unlikely notion that the NFC’s road to the Super Bowl could go through someplace other than Philadelphia.
