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There is freedom in a lack of expectations. When you are expecting something and don't get it, the result is disappointment. Yet, when you have no expectation and you get something, it's a welcome gift or a surprise. The collective fandom of the Philadelphia Eagles had great expectations at the start of this season and as the franchise faltered we pulled our lenses back for a more realistic view of our team. The disappointment turned many fans sour while the diehards continued to root for the home team because that's just what you do.
Perhaps below the epidermis there was still hope brewing beneath the pigskin's surface and certainly welled up in our hearts. But disappoint can hurt so we detached ourselves from any lofty expectations and began projecting next year thoughts sooner than we had done in years past and quite some time ago. Then they started to win again.
There is no argument, winning always feels great. On this Upset Sunday, many fans felt the warm fuzzy feeling of winning that they had not felt, not like this. The winless Colts won again against a division rival. The Chiefs took down the undefeated Superbowl Champion Green Bay Packers. The Redskins stopped the Giants for the second time this year. The Panthers beat the Texans in a shocker and the Eagles showed the Jets how it's done. It could be called the day of the underdog if nothing else!
Neither of former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan's boys have been able to best the Birds this year and Rex got to taste what Rob had for lunch a couple of weeks ago. It seems now that the season is near done, the Eagles are playing like a team on fire. The defense got things started in the first quarter forcing a turnover that became a touchdown when LB Casey Mathews forced a fumble after Jets WR Santonio Holmes made the catch. DE Juqua Parker was there to scoop up the ball and run it into the end zone for the first score of the game. Throughout the game the defense made us proud with four forced turnovers that resulted in 21 points in the first half and three sacks on Jets QB Mark Sanchez from DE Jason Babin alone.
On offense they got the job done too. TE Brent Celek and RB LeSean McCoy both had record breaking days. McCoy with three touchdowns set a new Eagles rushing touchdown record for a season and Celek registered his most receiving yards after snagging five catches for 156 yards in a single game. QB Michael Vick also had a great afternoon with his first rushing touchdown this year and 274 passing yards. There were still some sloppy plays on offense with a couple of fumbles that gave the ball back to the Jets but the Eagles' overall performance more than made up for it. The Jets are 0-9 against Philadelphia and were sent back up the New Jersey turnpike with a brutal loss.
Final score, Eagles 45 - Jets 19.
After this win, coupled with a Giants loss the questions remains do you believe? Do you believe the stars will align and the Eagles win the division and make the playoffs after one horrific season? With no shot at a wild card berth, that means the Eagles have to win out and especially must beat Dallas next week. It means that the battle for Gotham between the Jets and the Giants has to result in big apple bragging rights for the Jets. And it means that the Giants have to beat the Cowboys in their last home game of the season. That's a whole lot of conditions having to be just right. But if you believe, who knows what will happen. Remember, on any given Sunday, and team can beat another. I've seen it happen with this team before. And yes, I still believe.
