PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Andy Reid sees no difference in his team whether it’s playing a close game or enjoying a blowout.
It’s just that his Philadelphia Eagles have been losing a lot of the close ones.
Sunday night’s 20-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys left the Eagles at 1-8-1 in their past 10 games decided by a touchdown or less.
In the Eagles five wins this season they have outscored their opponents 172-72, winning by an average of 20 points per game.
Two of their three losses were decided in the fourth quarter, a 13-9 setback in Oakland and Sunday’s loss.
“That’s a pretty good stat,” Reid said regarding the numbers. “I don’t know if there is a link other than that stat. I don’t see a tightness, or pressing in the fourth quarter. I haven’t seen that. On the other side, maybe we’re trying too hard, because I see a maximum effort out there.”
Just as in the loss to Oakland, the Eagles had several chances to win against Dallas, but failed to convert critical short-yardage plays. Philadelphia was stopped twice on 3rd-and-1 and once on 4th-and-1.
plays of 50 yards or more. There were none of those against the Cowboys.
“Short yardage has been very good over the course of the season,” Reid said. “We were 12 for 15 on third-and-less-than-two. That’s pretty good. We have to get back to that.”
Safety Quintin Mikell thinks it’s a matter of focusing more when the outcome is in doubt.
“I think at the end of the day, when it’s a game like this, we just all got to play – I guess the word would be more focused,” Mikell said. “A lot of times we get caught in these games. We beat ourselves. I’m not going to take anything away from Dallas – I mean, they made a lot of big plays – but there are definitely some plays that we left on the field. We left some opportunities out there. And if we would have played more disciplined and played smarter, we probably would have been looking at a different game.”
The Eagles, 5-3 at the midpoint of the season and in second place in the NFC East, play four of their next five games on the road. It starts in San Diego on Sunday against the Chargers (5-3).
“We’re sitting here with a decent record,” Reid said. “And we have eight big games left.”
The Eagles may start a tough stretch without another linebacker, weakside starter Akeem Jordan, who hyper-extended his knee Sunday night and will be limited this week.
ong out last week with a hamstring injury, the ranks are thin.
“We’ll see, Sean (McDermott) and I have to talk about that,” Reid said. “First, we have to see how Akeem is.”
If Jordan cannot play, Reid has three options on his roster. He can start special teams ace Tracy White, who played the final drive of the game on Sunday but is not known as a run stopper. If Gocong is ready, he could flip Moise Fokou, who started last week on the strong side, to the weak side. The Eagles also could put Jeremiah Trotter in the middle and move Will Witherspoon to the weak side.
NOTES: Cornerback/kick returner Ellis Hobbs suffered a neck injury in Sunday night’s game, had a MRI Monday and saw a spine specialist. Reid said there would be further evaluation during the week. Left tackle Jason Peters and fullback Leonard Weaver both have sprained ankles, but are expected to play. Wide receiver Kevin Curtis, who had arthroscopic surgery on his knee, is expected back in town this week. Running back Brian Westbrook, who missed the past two games with a concussion, also had work done on his ankle, according to Reid, but is expected back this week.
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