Don't believe Peter King — the Eagles deserved to be booed

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The Philadelphia Eagles stink. 

They, of course, didn’t always stink. Just nine months ago, they won Super Bowl LII. There’s even a nice double-wide banner hanging from the rafters of Lincoln Financial Field to remind everyone. 

So maybe, as the Eagles were getting smacked around by an inferior team on Sunday night, fans should have just looked to the sky, found that banner and let the glow of their memories warm their little hearts while ignoring the slop on the field in front of them. 

At least that’s what Peter King would have them do. In King’s Football Morning in America column on NBCSports.com, he called Eagles fans the “Goat of the Week.” In case there’s any confusion, this is not the G.O.A.T. of the week, this is goat, using the word’s former meaning.

Here’s what he wrote: 

For booing the Eagles off the field at halftime in Week 10. It hasn’t been the season you’d want in Philly. And you’re losing to the Cowboys, toothlessly, 13-3. But booing the crap out of the team that delivered a stirring Super Bowl win nine months ago? Bush league.

Bush league? 

Yawn. Yaaawwwwwn. Yaaaaawwwwwwwwwwnnnn. 

The Eagles won the Super Bowl, so henceforth, booing shall be outlawed. Give me a break. 

Do you remember what happened just before halftime? 

The Eagles finally got on the scoreboard with 1:38 left in the first half on a 56-yard field goal. Then on Dallas’ possession, they gave up a first down, but then got a 13-yard sack. Then they started using their timeouts, anticipating they’d get the ball back and have a chance to score again before the end of the half. It was the right idea, but the execution stunk. 

This is when they gave up a first down on 3rd-and-15 and then let the Cowboys move down the field and punch in the game’s first touchdown. The Eagles went from knocking on the doorstep of possibly getting the ball back and taking a lead before halftime, to giving up a touchdown and going down 10 points. 

Oh yeah, by the way, this isn’t the first play like that the Eagles have given up this season. That’s the fifth first down they have allowed on a 3rd or 4th-and-15 or longer. The next closest team in the league has allowed three. 

So fans were mad about that and rightfully so. 

Or maybe they were mad about an anemic offense that has scored a league-low 21 points in first quarters this season and has scored just 80 points in first halves (25th in the NFL). After all, they put up just three points in the first half on Sunday night. 

Look, the Eagles won the Super Bowl nine months ago, and that’s great. But Eagles fans weren’t booing the Super Bowl team on Sunday night. They were booing a team that has been consistently disappointing this season, a team that was supposed to live up to a “new norm” and has fallen short in every way imaginable. Of course the fans booed; they should have booed louder. 

Maybe some fan bases would give the organization a pass right now. I’m proud of Eagles fans because they haven’t. 

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