Yes, the Eagles have lost three in a row, two in agonizing fashion, but the season is far from over.

Allow me to preface this defense of the 2026 Philadelphia Eagles with the following: I, too, am tired of the head coach, quarterback and maybe even the offensive coordinator. I would not mind a change at each of those positions, but the season is five games old and the NFC East is bad bad bad. The fight goes on, and as bad as it looks right now, the Eagles are in a decent position for a playoff spot.

You read that right. Come with me on a ride to positivity park.

First of all, this is a talented roster. It may be an underachieving roster at the moment, but it is talented nonetheless. A major part of the Eagles talent issues thus far have been injuries. If you picked the top two most important players to the Eagles offense in August you would have likely selected Saquon Barkley or DeVonta Smith. Barkley has essentially missed three full games. Smith has been out for two. Jonathan Greenard has only played in two of five games, and one of those was on a snap count. Greenard was the Eagles major addition this offseason. The offensive line has been banged up as well. Dallas Goedert missed two weeks. All Pro Zach Baun was out for the Rams game. Did I mention their All-Pro right tackle retired?

Despite all those injuries, it took two epic collapses for the Eagles to find themselves at 2-3 instead of 4-1. This team isn’t trash. The Rams, despite their record, have one of the better rosters in the league. The Jaguars are widely considered one of the best teams in the NFL. The Eagles clawed their way to 4th quarter leads against both without Barkley or Smith.

The defense has also been rounding into form after a rough three week start to the season. The Jaguars were averaging 26 points per game heading into their London matchup with the Eagles. It took an inexplicable coaching snafu for Jacksonville to even get within a touchdown of their season average.

Am I ignoring the fact that the Eagles have contributed greatly to their struggles? Not at all. Jalen Hurts has been pretty close to awful. The run game outside of one half in Chicago has been dead on arrival. The playing calling has been very Patullo-ish. Makai Lemon has been mostly ignored. The issues go on and on. Will they be addressed? Is hoping for improvement a lost cause? If 2025 is any indication, then yes the offense is doomed. However, the Eagles have shown some signs of improvement on the offensive line. They were forced to play Sunday without their two top backs and lost their third back in the 1st half. Again, losing your two most explosive players would hamper any offense. Hurts has been bad, but he has bounced back to his usual above average self before, and I would expect that again.

Let’s not forget the division. Everyone stinks in the NFC East. By rule, someone has to make the postseason. The Giants are scrappy, but their schedule over the next two months stiffens drastically. Dallas is such a mess on defense that they hired a consultant to help their defensive coordinator. That’s never a great sign. Washington continues to drown after a fluke 2024 season. Everything is still there for the Eagles. They are the best roster in the division and they have the most experience with fighting through adversity. The defense will continue to improve and as players return so will the victories.

Frustration is a defensible response to the first five weeks of the season… but so is hope.