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Eagles Season On The Verge Of Extinction After Shocking Loss

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Eight days ago, there was anger after the Eagles' one-point loss to the Dolphins.

Yesterday, there was disbelief.

The players as well as the coaches were stunned after being humiliated on their home field by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 45-17 loss left the Eagles at 4-6, but this defeat clearly seemed different than any of the others this season. It is easy to understand why many fans are questioning Chip Kelly's plan, but the head coach had no choice but to move forward one day after his team was reduced to rubble at the Linc.

"It did not look better the second time around," said Kelly. "Fortunately for us, we've got a game on Thursday, so we've got to move on and get ready to play Detroit right now."

A loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving would drop the Eagles to 4-7. As weak as the NFC East is, a defeat might be enough to send the Eagles spiraling towards the bottom of the division. Safety Malcolm Jenkins knows he and his teammates are running out of chances to turn their season around.

"I think you understand that," Jenkins said. "It's why you have to focus even more on what you're doing now. You can't make any mistakes, and so we're focused on being better than the Detroit Lions."

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(credit: Ed Benkin/KYW)

There is more to the Eagles fate then the math involving wins and losses. They didn't just lose on Sunday. They imploded. Some are wondering if this team is heading towards the same type of disintegration witnessed in Andy Reid's final season, which ended at 4-12. Linebacker Brandon Graham says it's time for every member of the team to take responsibility for their situation.

"It's all self-inflicted," said Graham. "We've got to look at ourselves in the mirror at the end of the day. Nobody can change it but us. Everybody has to check themselves. If everybody's doing that, we should start getting better."

The heat is clearly on Kelly, who won a power struggle in the off-season and made several bold moves with the roster. Since reaching the 9-3 mark last season, the Eagles have gone 5-9. Graham knows his head coach will take the brunt of the criticism, and insists everyone in the locker room is responsible for turning their fortunes around.

"Chip is the head coach," Graham said. "He's going to take all of the heat because he's the head coach. That's just the business part of it, but together, we've going to get it fixed. All of us."

If things don't get fixed for the Eagles and the season ends with games similar to the one against Tampa, the criticism will continue to get louder. It's a far cry from the preseason when many were predicting the Eagles would be a Super Bowl contender. Now, they simply have to show they can compete after last Sunday's disaster.

"No one is happy about what our record is right now," said Kelly. "All we can do about it is prepare and get ready to play Detroit."

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