Sunday was once again another Philadelphia Eagles game where the team decided not to play a full four quarters, but this time, it burned them badly. Like, fourth-degree burn.
The Eagles held a 17-3 lead going into the fourth quarter, and it all seemed well. It was the same feeling Philly fans had when they were up 24-3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second quarter of their Week 4 match. Look how that turned out.
Well, history repeated itself, and the Broncos stormed back with 18 unanswered points to win the game 21-17 over the Eagles. Philly's defense surrendered 152 yards and those awful 18 points in the fourth quarter.
As for the Eagles' offense? More of the same that fans saw against Tampa Bay, as they gained only 41 yards in the whole quarter. They had -4 yards prior to the final drive of the game with 1:11 left on the clock. Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley touched the ball once for zero yards in the quarter (his only rushing attempt in the last 32 minutes of the game).
Yeah, to say that the fourth quarter was a disaster of biblical proportions is an understatement. This left Eagles fans with way, way more questions than answers after the game, and they didn't get much post-game either.
Nick Sirianni tries to explain away the Eagles' fourth quarter collapse
All eyes and ears were on Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni as he discussed what happened in the fourth quarter. Sirianni chalked it up to the Broncos simply being the better team.
"At the end of the day, had the lead in the fourth quarter, and they made more plays and coached better than us and played better than us in the fourth quarter."
This can't be an excuse that will sit well with Eagles fans. Too many times this season, the Eagles have kept teams in the game because they can't play a full four quarters. It has been a constant complaint from the media and the fan base.
Philly was 4-0 going into the game, while the Broncos were 2-2, losing both of their games on game-winning field goals. This is a Denver team that doesn't close out games. Eagles are. Well, they were until Sunday.
Read more: A visibly frustrated Dallas Goedert showed restraint after crushing Broncos loss
It's going to be a long three days until the Thursday matchup against the New York Giants, as this game is going to sting for a bit for Eagles fans.