Let’s flashback to Thanksgiving Day – to Week 13 of the NFL season.

The Eagles stomped the Cowboys 33-10 to take sole possession of first place in the NFC East and take a stranglehold on a Playoff appearance.

On offense – Shaky McCoy ran for 159 yards and a touchdown – a 38-yard gallop. Mark Sanchez went 20-for-29 for 217 yards, 1 TD, and no INTs – and scored himself on a 2-yard run. Jordan Matthews caught the 27-yard TD pass. Jeremy Maclin made 8 catches for 108 yards. Cody Parkey was 4-for-4 on field goals.

On defense – The Birds sacked Tony Romo four times, intercepted him twice, held DeMarco Murray to 73 yards on 20 carries, and limited Dez Bryant to four catches for just 73 yards and no TDs.

The win upped the Eagles record to 9-3 and put them one game ahead of the 8-4 Cowboys.

Later that day, the Seahawks beat the 49ers 19-3. The win upped the Seahawks record to 8-4. But they remained in second place in the NFC West behind the 9-2 Cardinals – who were idle until Sunday.

On Sunday, the first-place Cards lost to the Falcons 29-18 to drop to 9-3. Dealing in the hypothetical, if the Cards had beaten the Falcons, they would have upped their record to 10-2, moved two full games ahead of the Seahawks, and most-likely doomed the Seahawks from any chance of advancing to the Super Bowl. But that didn’t happen.

Also on Sunday, the Patriots lost 26-21 to the Packers, in Green Bay, in what was billed as a potential Super Bowl preview. Although the loss dropped the Pats record to 9-3, they were still two games ahead of both the Bills and the Dolphins – both with 7-5 records – in the race for the AFC East.

So, in taking stock at the end of Week 13, the Eagles and Patriots were both 9-3 and in first place in their respective divisions – and both teams looked like odds-on favorites to win their divisions. The Seahawks, on the other hand, were 8-4, in second place, and very much in danger of missing the Playoffs.

But then the shit hit the fan.

Without an NFL-quality quarterback, the Cards lost two of their last four games to finish 11-5. The Cards played the Seahawks in Week 16 and could’ve ended Seattle’s Super Bowl quest – but they were beaten soundly – 35-6 – by the Seahawks.

In Week 14, the Eagles also had an opportunity to knock the Seahawks out of the hunt, but failed to do so by a 24-14 count.

The Seahawks ended the season with six straight wins to finish 12-4 and win the NFC West.

The Patriots had no problems finishing 12-4 and winning the AFC East.

So the Patriots and Seahawks won their divisions, breezed thru the Playoffs, and will be playing each other on Sunday in Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona. But what about the Eagles? What happened to the Eagles?

Holding sole possession of first place entering Week 14, the Eagles jumped off a cliff by losing three straight games – 24-14 to the Seahawks – 38-27 in a rematch with the Cowboys – and 27-24 to the dreadful 4-11 Redskins.

First and foremost, the Eagles seemed to be out-coached.

Week 14 – The Seahawks claimed that Chip Kelly’s offense was so predictable, the defense knew what play was coming before the snap of the ball. I believe them – and it sure looked like it to me.

Week 15 – Dez Bryant ran wild against the Eagles – catching six balls for 114 yards and three TDs. In all, Cowboys receivers caught 22 balls for 265 yards and those three TDs.

Week 16 – DeSean Jackson burned the Eagles for 126 yards on four catches – including a 55-yarder – as the lowly Washington Redskins beat the Eagles 27-24.

I place most of that blame on Chip Kelly.

The Eagles seemed unprepared and somewhat disinterested against both the Cowboys and the Redskins.

Bradley Fletcher was burned time and again by Dez Bryant and DeSean Jackson – on single coverage – as he was most of the season. And all the while, Chip Kelly defended Fletcher and pretended that there was no problem. He insisted that Fletcher was good enough – but he’d merely lost confidence in himself.

Balderdash.

I’m not an NFL coach and I never played in the NFL – but I could see that Bradley Fletcher was, in fact, not good enough. I would’ve made adjustments. I would’ve given Bradley Fletcher as much help as he needed to put the brakes on Bryant and Jackson – and every other wide receiver who burned Fletcher almost all season long. I would’ve substituted for him. I would’ve tried every combination and permutation that was possible.

But Chip Kelly did nothing. He couldn’t see the elephant in the room – and the elephant was Bradley Fletcher.

Chip Kelly is the head coach. He’s the man-in-charge. He should’ve mandated changes in the defensive backfield coverages and he should’ve mandated the deployment of different personnel. He should’ve tried anything and everything.

But alas and alack, like Nero, Chip Kelly fiddled while the Eagles season went up in flames.

Barry Bowe is the author of 12 Best Eagles QBs.