Many people thought the Eagles were going to embarrass themselves against the Carolina Panthers on National TV with the same kind of dismal performance they produced over the last few weeks.

There was supposed to be obnoxious booing and cat calls last night at the Linc, plus chants of “Fire Andy” and “Hire Gruden,” the former NFL head coach and current ESPN analyst who called the game last night and who is rumored to be the top choice for many expected head coaching vacancies around the NFL at the end of the season including the Eagles.

But there was none of that. The Eagles played well Monday night, well enough to beat a team that came into the game with a worse record than theirs.

They lost to the Panthers 30-22 because their rookie running back and rookie kick returner did what rookies do and fumbled three times between them – all lost – and now the Birds are now 3-8, the season lost for sure.

“The offense moved the ball real well, the defense gave up two scores right away but settled down then all of a sudden we reverted back and let them make plays on us,” said defensive tackle Derek Landri, who had a tackle for a loss against Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart in the second quarter. “That’s all on us. We let them run the ball out at the end of the game, we couldn’t stop the run…guys were in position to make plays and guys just weren’t making plays.”

The Eagles finally did what fans and observers have begged for all season and that is to run the football. The Birds offensive line, as Landri alluded, opened holes for rookie Bryce Brown 178 yards and two touchdowns.

The Eagles took the lead at the end of the third quarter on Brown’s second TD of the game, a five-yard run to make the score 22-21 heading into the home stretch.

But Brown gave up two backbreaking fumbles on a night when mistakes like that were crucial.

Panthers defensive tackle Dwan Edwards agreed that Brown’s turnovers had an impact on the outcome.

“I think the two fumbles that we were able to force on defense was what made the difference in the game,” Edwards said. “We were able to get the ball back and help our offense to get back on the field to score some points.”

Then with the game separated by one score late in the fourth quarter, kick returner Brandon Boykin took the Panthers final kickoff and raced all the way to the 44-yard line and fumbled the ball. The Eagles offense never got close again. 

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was outstanding going 18 of 28 for 306 yards, two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a quarterback rating of 125.0. Newton was sacked twice.

“He looked good, he looked great,” said wide receiver Steve Smith, who caught four passes for 60 yards. “He threw the ball well. I think that was the most comfortable he’s been all season.”

Brandon LaFell caught three passes for 74 yards including a 43-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. The Eagles secondary treated LaFell like he was a newlywed going down the aisle…the only thing missing was the rice.

Same with Gary Barnidge, who caught a 24-yard TD pass capping off the Panthers first drive. The backup tight end continued what is now an Eagles tradition…A receiver waltzing into the end zone with a seemingly disinterested Nnamdi Asomugha jogging 20 yards behind the play.

“It’s the big plays,” Eagles head coach Andy Reid said. “That’s what’s getting us, and has gotten us the last few weeks. Unfortunately on a couple of those, there have been coverages that have been blown. Again that comes down to making sure my players know what they’re doing, and then them going out and executing. I take full responsibility for that. That’s sloppy football.”

Foles had little impact on the game either way. He was fortunate not to have several of his passes picked off. But he managed the game well enough for the Birds to win the game.

The rookie was 16 of 21 for 119 yards, no interceptions and a vastly improved QB rating of 89.2.

Foles was asked if he felt he did better this week despite having his role reduced.

“I felt like I improved on certain things,” Foles said. “Still a lot to improve on. I made some miscues and there were some little things. I’m pretty hard on myself so we didn’t get the win and we need to get some more points. But I felt like I improved and I’ll continue to improve.”

Brown said it was nice to have a lot of yards in his first start but all those touches came at a high price.

“My performance doesn’t matter to me,” Brown said. “The important thing is us getting the win and that didn’t happen tonight. I think a lot of that had to do with my two turnovers. I think that really, really cost us.”

Reid and his players are getting better and better at taking responsibility for the losses. They all seem better at that than what they are supposed to be doing…playing winning football.

“We’ve got to find a way to stop the bleeding,” Landri said as he left the locker room. “As players that is what we’ve got to do.”