Twice the Philadelphia Eagles owned double-digit leads over the Miami Dolphins, and yet Doug Pederson's team lost a winnable road game 37-31.
After building a 28-14 lead, the offense went in the tank, and the defense couldn't get a stop.
"We self-destructed in a couple areas today, and it just hurt us," Pederson said, via ESPN. "And we didn't make enough plays; they made 'em, we didn't. So those are the things that I talk about when I talk about being a disciplined team."
The lasting play from Sunday's loss will be the Eagles giving up a fake field goal touchdown pass from Dolphins punter Matt Haack to kicker Jason Sanders.
The Dolphins entered the game with the 30th ranked offense in terms of yardage and points. The Eagles, after allowing just six net yards on the first three Miami possessions, gave up 409 total yards for the game, with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing for 365 yards, three TDs and one INT. After the first three drives, the Dolphins scored TDs on their next five possessions, not counting an end-of-half kneel.
Safety Rodney McLeod noted that the Eagles "let our guard down" after twice building leads.
"You don't want to be Captain Obvious. We didn't (expletive) play well," safety Malcolm Jenkins said when asked if he'd say anything to his teammates. "You know that. There is no need to beat a dead horse. Figure out what it is, watch the tape like you would any other day, go back to work."
The Eagles' third loss in a row wiped out a golden opportunity to leap into a tie with the Cowboys for the NFC East lead after Dallas lost to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving. With all four remaining games in the division, the Eagles still have a path to the playoffs.
Pederson, however, didn't sound optimistic after watching his team's latest performance, calling it a "long shot."
"I mean, that's the thing, as crazy as this is, I would say it's a long shot, but we're not out of it," he said. "We do have four of our division opponents coming up. The guys gotta understand that, and it's my job to make sure they do understand that -- that we're still fighting and coming to work this week and ready to go and try to figure this thing out. But I've gotta show them exactly where we are and what we need to do with these next four games."
Perhaps Pederson is taking a different tact by saying it's a "long shot" to bypass the Cowboys, after speaking with bravado earlier this season. After missing out on what could have been a season-turning opportunity Sunday, however, it's not difficult to agree with the coach.
