Now that the game they were supposed to play at Tennessee has been put on hold, Mike Tomlin and his players have turned the page.
"You know I'm a tangible guy," Tomlin reminded the media this week. "The next tangible thing for us is the Philadelphia Eagles, so that's where my intentions are transitioning toward."
The Eagles are scheduled to appear at Heinz Field on Oct. 11. Prior to that, Philadelphia is set to take on the 49ers in San Francisco tonight on Sunday Night Football.
The Eagles are one of seven winless teams in the NFL at 0-2-1 but they're coming off their most productive Sunday of the season in terms of its influence on the standings, a 23-23 tie with Cincinnati.
The most obvious problem has been interceptions _ quarterback Carson Wentz has thrown six and the Eagles' defense doesn't have any. That's contributed mightily to an NFL-worst minus-seven rating in takeaway/giveaway (including an NFL-worst one takeaway). Only Arizona and Houston have likewise failed to intercept at least one pass through three games.
The season began on a promising note, as the Eagles bolted to a 17-0 lead in their regular-season opener on Sept. 13 at Washington.
They allowed 27 unanswered points to finish that contest and have been outscored 87-42 overall since achieving that initial 17-0 lead.
The offensive line has featured three different starting-five combinations in three weeks, but has a chance to run the same group out for a second consecutive game in San Francisco (left tackle Jason Peters, left guard Nate Herbig, center Jason Kelce, right guard Matt Pryor and right tackle Lane Johnson; Peters was fighting illness in the days leading up to the 49ers game).
Herbig lined up at right guard and Jack Driscoll at right tackle for the opener at Washington each was making his first NFL start and the Eagles surrendered eight sacks. They've only allowed three since but have still given up the fourth-most in the NFL (11) behind the Bengals (14), Texans (13) and Broncos (13 through four games).
Wentz is 33rd in passer rating among the quarterbacks listed in the NFL's weekly statistical release (63.9). He's also 36th in fourth quarter passer rating (48.9). But Wentz finished off an 11-play, 75-yard drive in 2:44 with a 7-yard touchdown run that, coupled with an extra point, tied the Bengals game with 21 seconds left in regulation.
Another encouraging sign has been the way the Eagles have been able to run the ball with running back Miles Sanders in uniform (121 yards against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 20 and 171 against Cincinnati). Sanders missed the Washington game.
The defense also held the Bengals to an average of 2.8 yards per carry. Running back Joe Mixon was limited to 49 yards on 17 attempts (2.9 per).
Also in the Eagles' favor is their residence in the NFC East, where 1-2 Washington and 1-2 Dallas share the division lead.
The Eagles may be winless through three games, but they're still contenders.
