Eagles defense fails to show up in loss to Bears

Apparently not having Asante Samuel on the field turns the Eagles defense into one of the worst in the league. Despite a late rally by Mike Vick and the offense, the defense put the Birds in too big of a hole as they fell, 31-26, to the Bears. It was a tough loss for the Eagles as it drops them back into a first place tie with the Giants.

The lack of defense was the story of the game for the Eagles as the Bears consistently shredded them for big plays all game long. From huge gains on the ground by Matt Forte to Jay Cutler slicing up the secondary to Devin Hester and Danieal Manning returning kicks for big yardage, the Eagles simply had no clue how to stop Chicago. They couldn't tackle, couldn't keep up and, somehow, couldn't get Jay Cutler, the biggest turnover machine in the league, to turn the ball over. Despite the 4 sacks they racked up, it was a day to forget for the Eagles defense.

The Eagles offense played well but didn't exactly light up the scoreboard. With Michael Vick constantly feeling pressure from the Bears four man rush, he struggled to find anyone open and held on the ball for longer than he has in recent weeks. Vick even threw his first interception of the season, which happened at the worst possible time as the Eagles were closing in on the endzone and looking to take the lead in the second quarter. It took the Eagles until the 4th quarter to realize that the Bears were basically playing prevent defense for the entire game and they finally started going underneath on shorter routes. Unfortunately, it was all too little, too late for a comeback after the Eagles failed to recover an onside kick in the final minutes.

With a quick turnaround to Thursday's game against the Texans, things aren't going to get any easier for the Eagles. While the Eagles certainly aren't in must-win mode yet, if they lose another game and drop to 7-5, they are going to have a hard time earning a playoff spot in the crowded NFC. Of course, if they continue to play defense like they did today, you can forget about the playoffs.

Doom and gloom aside, though, the Eagles are still a good team that is capable of beating anyone in the league. Expect the defense to come out looking for redemption against a Texans team that will probably be without their best offensive player.
(AP Photo)