From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe

WEEK 7

Five teams started Week 7 undefeated . . .

1. Bengals 6-0
2. Broncos 6-0
3. Packers 6-0
4. Panthers 5-0
5. Patriots 5-0

. . . but three of those teams – the Bengals, Broncos, and Packers – were idle on their Bye Weeks. So only two unbeatens were at-risk of falling from the ranks:

1. The Patriots (5-0) were hosting the Jets (4-1) on Sunday at one o’clock.
2. The Panthers (5-0) were hosting the Eagles (3-3) on Sunday Night Football.

CURIOUS

If you’re curious about my curiosity regarding undefeated teams, please refer to my Undefeated Watch Week 6. It’ll give you the history and background. But suffice it to say that I lived in South Florida in 1972 when the Miami Dolphins completed the only perfect season in NFL history, and I hoist a bottle of champagne in celebration when the last undefeated team falls each season.

I’ve already got the champagne on ice – but this season might go all the way to the Super Bowl.

JETS at PATRIOTS

In a battle for first place in the AFC East, the Jets were 10-point underdogs – yet they played strong defense and mustered just enough offense to take a 17-16 lead at the end of the third quarter. And just 2:30 into the fourth quarter, Nick Folk kicked a 30-yard field goal that padded the lead to 20-16.

At that point, Tom Brady took over the game by putting together two long touchdown drives:

1. 80 yards in 10 plays in 5:34 culminating with an 8-yard pass to Danny Amendola.
2. 68 yards in 10 plays in 4:19 ending with a 15-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski.

Stephen Gostkowski converted both PATs.

With just 0:18 remaining, Nick Folk kicked a 55-yarder to account for the final score.

It was a close game for a little better than three quarters, but the Patriots survived to up their record to 6-0.

The Jets fell to 4-2 – two games behind the Patriots and one game ahead of the resurging Dolphins (3-3).

EAGLES at PANTHERS

To me, it looked as if the proverbial ebb-and-flow of an NFL season favored the Eagles:

• The Panthers were ripe for a let-down after defeating the Seahawks 27-23 in Seattle on a 26-yard pass from Cam Newton to Greg Olsen on the last play of the game.
• The Eagles had won their last two games to both reach .500 at 3-3 and to also take a share of first place in the NFC East with the Giants.

But were the Panthers in a revenge mode for the 45-21 beating they endured in Philadelphia on Monday Night Football last November 10? And was Cam Newton out for blood after being sacked nine times in that game?

NEWTON ERRATIC

The Panthers led 14-6 at the half – despite Cam Newton throwing two interceptions. The problem for the Eagles was that they were unable to convert the turnovers into touchdowns in the Red Zone.

The teams traded TDs in the third quarter, with the Eagles also kicking a field goal. So the score stood at 21-13 when Cam Newton threw his third interception of the game.

But once again, the Eagles could manage only a field goal to trim the deficit to 21-16.

Still, the Eagles forced a punt and took over at their own 10. They then drove to the Carolina 31 – where they faced a third-and-nine with 12:07 still left to play.

With the play-clock running down, the Eagles called a time out. With a full minute to decide on a good play to run, Chip Kelly called for a screen pass to Josh Huff – and make that a screen pass to the short side of the field.

The play-call was abysmal and the result a failure.

Calvin Sturgis then missed a 50-yarder on fourth down and for all intent and purpose the game was over.

The Panthers added two fourth-quarter field goals to flesh out the final score to 27-16 – and remain undefeated at 6-0.

The Eagles dropped to 3-4 and fell into a two-way tie for second place with the Redskins – a full game behind the Giants.

WEEK 8 MATCH-UPS

There are five undefeated teams remaining going into Week 8 – but at least one team will be eliminated from the list.

1. The undefeated Patriots (6-0) host the resurgent Dolphins (3-3) Thursday night in Foxboro. I have to take a closer look at that game tomorrow, but I might be leaning toward an upset.
2. The undefeated Bengals (6-0) – coming off their Bye Week – travel to Heinz Field to tackle the Steelers (4-3). At this point, I’m not sure who’s playing quarterback for the Steelers, so I’m equally unsure about who I’m picking to win. The Steelers need the game to remain in contention.
3. One thing’s for sure. There will be one less undefeated team after Sunday Night Football. That is – unless the game ends in a tie. And that’s because the undefeated Packers (6-0) are traveling to Denver to take on the undefeated Broncos (6-0). But I win even if there is a tie – because a tie blemishes a perfect record. So, actually, if there were a tie, both teams would fall. At first glance, I’m looking for the Packers to win. But I’ll give the match-up more scrutiny in the next day or two.
4. The undefeated Panthers (6-0) host the Colts (3-4) on Monday Night Football. Believe it or not, that 3-4 record puts the Colts atop the AFC West. I’ve been a dissenter these last two seasons on both the Colts and Andrew Luck. I think both the team and the quarterback are over-rated. That said, this could be the week that the ebb-and-flow catches up with the Panthers and let-down sets in – but I’m not calling for the upset just yet.

In any case, there will be at least one less unblemished team by the end on Monday Night Football.

In addition to being the official Eagles Outsider for BlameMyFather.com Barry Bowe is also the author of:

• Born to Be Wild
• 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
• 12 Best Eagles QBs
• Birth of the Birds
• Soon-to-be-published sexy, police procedural Caribbean Queen
• Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
• Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow