They led the Lions with 1 ½ minutes a half left, and they led the Cowboys with 3 ½ minutes left.
Loss and loss.
The Eagles’ inability to finish games has been glaring and damaging this year. They’ve led in the fourth quarter of six of their seven games, and in the one game they didn’t lead in the fourth quarter, they had possession down a touchdown in opposing territory in the final period.
Yet they take a 4-3 record into the Meadowlands this Sunday for a crucial showdown against the Giants.
“We’ve just got to find a way to win close games,” Carson Wentz said. “I don’t know if it’s so much a home or road thing, we just have to find a way to win close games.
“Obviously, it’s frustrating. We just have to execute down the wire. It’s pretty plain and simple. We can’t turn the ball over. We just have to execute late in games, and I think we’ll be fine once we do that.”
Philadelphia Eagles
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles and their NFL rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Eagles led the Lions 23-21 in Detroit in Week 5 and had the football near midfield when Ryan Mathews lost a fumble with 2:41 left. Matt Prater’s field goal five plays later gave the Lions a 24-23 win.
Then Sunday night in Dallas, the Eagles led the Cowboys 23-16 with 3 ½ minutes left before Dak Prescott’s game-tying TD pass to Dez Bryant with 3:04 left and game-winner in overtime.
“It is frustrating as an offense to have chances, whether you’re down or tied to win at the end and not come through,” Wentz said. “It’s definitely frustrating. It’s frustrating to have late-game chances and to not finish.”
The Eagles have scored just one fourth-quarter touchdown in four road games, and that was back in Week 2 in Chicago.
In three road games since, their fourth-quarter drives have produced three punts and three turnovers.
“I think sometimes it’s innate that when you think you have the game under control, everybody, kind of, ‘Hoooo,’ takes that deep breath, and that’s when you slip up,” Jordan Matthews said.
“That’s when there’s missed assignments. That’s when the ball gets put on the ground. That’s when guys just aren’t focused on the minor details, and those are the things that will kill you.
“So it’s just saying, ‘OK, when we come in the huddle, next time we’re in a game in that situation and we’re up late? Whatever your job is, do your job for the next six seconds, every single play, and let’s go ahead and finish these guys.’
“Don’t look ahead, don’t start relaxing, keep up that same strength, that same energy we had at the beginning of the game.
“It’s just being disciplined. You just have to be disciplined. This is the NFL. We’re not going to sit around and make excuses all day. We’ve got to go finish those games.”
This is the first time in 28 years that the Eagles have lost two games in the same season that they led with four minutes or less remaining.
The Eagles blew three fourth-quarter leads in 1988, including two in the final minutes.
On Sept. 25 at the Metrodome, they led the Vikings 21-20 after Randall Cunningham’s 13-yard TD pass to Kenny Jackson with 1:47 left in the game. But Tommy Kramer drove the Vikings 54 yards in nine plays and Chuck Nelson’s 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds left gave the Vikings a 23-21 win.
And on Dec. 4 at the Vet, the Eagles led the Redskins 19-10 early in the fourth quarter before the Skins rallied to a 20-19 win on Doug Williams’ TD pass to Terry Orr with 9:10 left and Chip Lohmiller’s 44-yard field goal as time expired.
“I think we do have to find our killer instinct, find how we can finish games, whether it’s coming from behind or putting teams away,” Wentz said.
“I think the biggest thing is just doing it. Just going out and really just doing it.
“I know the type of guys we have. I don’t think we have a lot of guys who are mentally weak. I think we have guys that can get the job done and do have that killer instinct in them. I think we just need to learn how to find it.”
Malcolm Jenkins said learning how to close out games is a continuing process and starts during the week.
“You don’t just show up on Sunday and all of a sudden think you’re going to finish the game,” he said. “It’s the way you go about everything. Whether it’s your meetings, your practices, your lifts, you’ve got to finish everything, and it’s got to be a lifestyle, and I think this team understands what it takes.
“We understand how to mess it up too at this point and what things do mess it up – whether it’s turnovers, missing your job or whatever – and I think that’s something that as we move forward as the game gets tighter and the game comes to an end, those mistakes are exponential., and that’s when you need to be able to focus in more.
“We need to be able to come up with some energy, some momentum and do your job. Finishing isn’t about somebody making a spectacular play at the end of the game, it’s just about having the composure to do your job, do the simple things over and over and over again for the duration of the game, and that’s what we’re working towards and once we start doing that I think our outcomes will be what we want.”
There’s only been four other blown leads league-wide in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter – one apiece by the Colts, Buccaneers, Chargers and Bears.
So the Eagles are the only NFL team that’s blown two leads this year in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter.
“In order to finish those games, we’ve got to be on point in each phase and it takes all of us,” Hicks said. “I think it’s falling back on the basics, falling back on the techniques, and then just sticking together. Confidence has to be through the roof at that point and know that you’re going to finish the game instead of playing not to lose.”
“I think it’s part of the maturation of this team. For us, we expect to finish those games and it comes down to the little details at the end and guys sticking together because you can’t do it alone.”
