The Philadelphia Eagles still own the best record in the NFC and are still on track for the first-seed playoff bye, but the past two weeks have put a damper on what has been such a strong season. Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew hasn't been able to fill in the shoes of Jalen Hurts, who has missed the past two weeks with a shoulder injury, and the Eagles have lost the past two games to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints as a result.
And there may not be someone more frustrated with the Eagles' 20-10 defeat to the Saints than offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, who went on an expletive-laden rant following their disappointing performance.
“I know there were a f—–g handful of plays I want to f—–g take back, and I don't care that my mom's here because I'm f—–g swearing because I’m f—–g emotional. It's a big loss. It's a big loss and it's f—–g frustrating,” Mailata said in his postgame presser, per NBC Sports.
That was a total of five f-bombs from Jordan Mailata, five more than the amount of points they scored in the first half of their New Year's day loss. While some may perceive Mailata's outburst as a bit of an overreaction, it's dangerous to be slipping up with the postseason looming, even for a team that's played as well as the Eagles have this season.
Nonetheless, Jalen Hurts' eventual return should solve plenty of the Eagles' issues. Philadelphia relied heavily on the passing game, despite Gardner Minshew's suboptimal production; thus, it stands to reason that the Eagles should resume their normal programming with the 24-year old quarterback back at the helm. The Eagles can still seal the one-seed with a win against the New York Giants on Week 18.