Cincinnati Bound

The Eagles look to bounce back Sunday with a trip to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. It is important for the Eagles to start quickly and play a strong 60 minutes against Cincinnati. While the loss on Sunday night to the Giants hurt, the Eagles are still 5-4 and in the thick of the playoff chase. But they have very little margin for loss, especially against a team that has struggled as the Bengals have all season. Cincinnati, a team many believed was ready to make a serious playoff push this season, is instead 1-8 and searching to find itself. The Bengals have had injury problems, particularly at quarterback where Carson Palmer has missed most of the season (he has thrown just 129 passes) with an injury. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the starter on Sunday. He has completed 103 out of 166 passes for 789 yards and four touchdowns. There is plenty of talent at wide receiver with T.J. Houshmandzadeh (61 catches, 3 TD) and Chad Johnson (37, 4), but the Bengals have struggled all year running the football and putting points on the board.

What can the Eagles do to improve their offensive efficiency in short-yardage situations? It is a leading question this week and it is something the team has worked on extensively to improve. Starting in the Dallas game, and then making for a huge problem in Chicago, the offense’s latest trouble in short-yardage situations came last week against New York. The Eagles failed to convert on a third-and-3 run and then a fourth-and-1 run and gave up the ball with less than two minutes remaining to thwart a comeback effort against the Giants. Clearly, the Eagles need to establish the line of scrimmage more effectively on short-yardage running plays. Brian Westbrook has not had the freedom to get past the first level of defense on a consistent basis this season, which has cost the team at critical points in games. The Eagles are in the midst of their stretch run with little room for error, and solving the short-yardage woes would go a long way toward putting this team back on the road to victory.

So, what to expect? The Eagles have wrongs to right, with little margin for error. They must gain a confidence and win on Sunday and then move on to the next game. We know this much: The Eagles are 5-4 and they have a mandate to win one week after the next from here on out. The margin of error is extremely small. They have had too much up and down this season. Too much inconsistency. Too many losses in the NFC. Not enough of this and that ... and on and on. I know only what I see, and what I see is an Eagles team that has a lot of ability, but I also see an Eagles team that hasn't won critical situations in enough games. I see an Eagles team that is, as they say, what it is. What I hope to see on Sunday is an Eagles team that plays its best game of the season and beats the Bengals and answers a whole different set of questions. I'm in the moment. It is the only way to be. The Eagles have to be that way as well. Honestly, going away and playing on the road the next two weeks may be the best thing for this team. The mandate doesn't change, of course. The Eagles need to find what they are all about. Time is running out. They need to win.

Who to Watch:

• Eagles CBs vs. Bengals WRs
• Eagles RB Brian Westbrook vs. former Eagle, Bengals LB Dhani Jones
• Eagles DE Trent Cole vs. Bengals LT Levi Jones