In the End, the Eagles Just Overachieved

It's Week 17 and the Philadelphia outlook is not so good. Eagles fans go through the motions in order to reconcile another end to a disappointing season.

For the Eagles to obtain a playoff berth, the unthinkable had to happen, and it had to happen in more than one situation. The Eagles needed an absolute miracle to get in.

They needed an Oakland win in Tampa and a Houston win against Chicago, and wouldn't you know...somehow or somewhere along the line, someone's prayers for a miracle were answered.

The Raiders managed to overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, sending Tampa packing. Houston takes care of the Bears, and suddenly there is hope for the 2008-09 Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles, who were once 5-5-1, could make the playoffs.

Tony Romo and Cowboys fall apart again, and the Eagles send them golfing as they storm into the playoffs. Then it was onto Minnesota, followed by the mighty Giants.

Next thing you know, that same team who tied Cincinnati had a shot at the Super Bowl. 

Philadelphia suddenly "Believed In Green."

But sadly, Kurt Warner ended the dream for the second time, leaving Eagles fans sad and broken-hearted for the fifth time in eight years.

Eagles fans need to realize something out of all of this: your team overachieved this season. They were not going to win the Super Bowl. They were lucky to be where they got.

Granted, they played very well, but in the end they were not good enough.

Beating Minnesota in the wild card round was not so easy. Minnesota was so one-dimensional behind only Adrian Peterson, they couldn't make a deep run. Tarvaris Jackson is not a very good quarterback, and the Birds did what they needed to outlast the Vikings.

Had Westbrook not broken a dazzling TD run, the Eagles' season would have ended in Minnesota. The offense stunk in that game, and if Minnesota had a quarterback, the Birds would have been golfing three weeks ago.

Beating the Giants in Giants Stadium was impressive. The Eagles' defense played its best game all season long. The Eagles stopped the Giants' run game, and that's all they needed to do.

The Giants were done. The Eagles were able to stack the box, pressure Manning, and generate turnovers. The Giants would have won that game if they had Plaxico Burress in the lineup. Larry Fitzgerald proved that point Sunday.

Philadelphia fans should look at this season for what it was. The Eagles made a nice run, but in the end they were just another team that overachieved. The Birds were just as good as they were bad all season long.

They never established themselves as a good team, and in the end it showed.  

Without a miracle on the last day of the season, Minnesota being one-dimensional, and Plaxico shooting himself, the Eagles never would have been in the NFC Championship to begin with.

Teams win championships when they take advantage of the luck that comes with a good playoff run. Philadelphia saw it this past year with their Phillies, but if you sit down and really think about it, you will realize the Birds just weren't championship material.

In the end, they were just overachievers.