10 Plays That Tell The Story of The Eagles Ugly Week 5 Loss

Undefeated no more. The team that always finds a way to win found a way to lose this week. The Eagles were up 17-3 and seemingly cruising to a win. Instead, they gave up 18 unanswered points and took their 1st loss of the season. How did it all go down? Here are the highlights that tell that story.

Early in the 2nd quarter, it looked like the Broncos might have the chance to take the lead. Even if they did not convert on 3rd and 8, they were within range to kick a FG to make it a 6-3 game. But Za'Darius Smith had other plans. He chased Bo Nix down for a massive sack that knocked the Broncos out of FG range and preserved the tie.

It was the first solo sack for any Eagles Edge Rusher this season.

The Eagles have frustrated fans all season by running the ball on every 3rd and long. They gave up so many drives to settle for a punt. But finally, they decided to air it out on 3rd and long, and wouldn't you know it, it paid off in a big way.

52 yards, a first down, and it set up this next play.

Goedert suddenly has a nose for the End Zone. He caught 1 in week 3, 2 in week 4, and now he caught his 4th of the season, despite missing week 2.

The one vs the Rams was a big play. But this is now his 3rd in the Red Zone.

Last season, Barkley was one of the most explosive players in the NFL. You don't usually think of run plays as explosive, but Barkley consistently broke off long rushing TDs. Coming into week 5, that explosiveness was nowhere to be seen. His longest play was an 18-yard run.

Well, this was not a run, but we still got to see Barkley make a big play. A 47-yard catch and run for a TD.

It was the 2nd explosive pass play for the Eagles in the game, and Jalen Hurts' 2nd passing TD.

The Eagles had a chance to blow the game open. AJ Brown was streaking down the field. It should have been a walk-in TD. But they missed. The ball was well over Brown's head. Instead, they end up punting.

Live, it looked like an overthrow. But upon further review, Brown slowed up. If he keeps running, he busts the game open. Instead, they have to give the ball back. From that point, the momentum completely shifted.

The Eagles' defense held the Broncos to 3 points all game. Even those 3 points arguably should not have existed. They came after a controversial call to overturn a fumble. The Eagles D was as lockdown as they had looked all year.

But it is hard to hold a team back forever. And after that Brown miss, the Broncos were able to run all over the Eagles, eventually leading to this.

A Holding call quickly stalled the Eagles next drive, leading to another punt. And from there, the Broncos offense picked up where it left off. They pretty easily drove down the field. The only time things got dicey for them was when an offensive pass interference set them up with 3rd and 15. But they got 34 yards on that play, and it set up this TD.

Broncos went for 2 and got it. Just like that, a 14-point lead had vanished and turned into a 1-point deficit.

Another 3-and-out led to another punt. They actually completed a big pass on 4th down, but a penalty on Barkley wiped it out. The Eagles had to punt.

The Eagles almost had a big play on defense. Jalyx Hunt chased Bo Nix down, who threw it away. That led to mass confusion about whether it was Intentional Grounding or not. They threw a flag, but then Replay Assist overturned it. The next play, the Broncos made this big pass to convert.

From there, they were able to run another 2 minutes off the clock and eventually kicked a FG to make it a 4-point game. They also made the Eagles use all 3 of their timeouts. It went from getting the ball back with 3 minutes, all your timeouts, and only needing a FG to win, to the Eagles having 1:11 with no timeouts and needing a TD.

The Eagles did not lose because of the Refs. They shot themselves in the foot enough that they let the Refs have a say. But with that said, they can't miss this call. It is clear as day pass interference. Goedert got fully tackled while the ball was in the air.

Call that, and the ball is at the 5-yard line. Instead of a deep shot prayer, the Eagles can run literally any pass play in their playbook. It would be a much more manageable attempt to score the game-winning TD. This was on top of the questionable choice to pick up the Intentional Grounding flag, and an even more questionable flag thrown against Zack Baun.

Again, the refs did not cost the Eagles the game. The Eagles did that themselves. But this play is certainly something that will have people talking and asking what if.

They call it a Hail Mary because you are throwing up a prayer. Well, that prayer was almost answered. The ball hit Devonta Smith in the hands. But there was one problem. AJ Brown was right behind him, went for the ball too, and neither of them caught it.

If Brown was the CB, that would have been a great play. If he just let Smith get it, maybe that is a walk-off game winning TD. Instead, the ball fell incomplete, and the Eagles took their 1st loss of the season.

Brown spent all week as the center of attention because of his Tweet that stirred up drama. Now, he will be the center of attention for slowing up on the deep play earlier, and then breaking up this potential Devonta Smith TD.

Brown was not part of the solution this week, he was part of the problem. Effort has never been an issue with him. He has mostly been a professional. But he hurt them this week. The loss is not all on him, there is plenty of blame to go around. But Brown has to take his share.