Eagles' grip on NFC East suddenly in danger of slipping away amid spiral, Cowboys' resurgence

Life comes at you fast in the NFL, and the Philadelphia Eagles are finding that out right now. Now they are in a position where what looked to be a runaway lead in the NFC East is rapidly shrinking, and it could be in danger of completely slipping away after an ugly 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears on Friday. 

Especially after the Dallas Cowboys won again on Thursday, continuing to narrow the gap in the division.

Could the Eagles actually lose the division?

The odds are still in the Eagles' favor, but given the way both teams are playing right now, nothing should be considered a given.

Dallas has rapidly become one of the hottest teams in the NFL with three consecutive wins, and boasts one of the league's best offenses. The Cowboys' much-maligned defense has also been given a massive boost thanks to the trade-deadline addition of defensive lineman Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets.

Dallas really started to get some belief for itself when it rallied to beat the Eagles in a massive NFC East game a week ago. It continued on Thanksgiving with another big win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

With Philadelphia's loss on Friday, the gap in the division is now down to just a game-and-a-half with five weeks to go in the season. Hardly insurmountable. 

Are the Eagles still in the driver's seat? Sure. Would they trade positions with the Cowboys right now? No way. But that doesn't mean anybody in Philadelphia has to be feeling good about any of this given the way the Eagles are playing. 

Especially when it comes to the team's offense.

The Eagles offense has been a struggle for much of the season, and it is getting progressively worse with each game. The passing game has been non-existent. They entered play on Friday with the 23rd-ranked passing offense in the league, and it looked worse than that against the Bears. 

Quarterback Jalen Hurts has struggled with consistency, the team's best wide receiver — A.J. Brown — seems perpetually miserable with his role and usage, and the play-calling has become shockingly conservative and bland. 

The running game that carried the Eagles to the Super Bowl a year ago has struggled to build any sort of a rhythm, and Saquon Barkley has been a shell of what he was last season. Even worse, they have almost completely eliminated any designed runs for Hurts, something that was a major X-factor for the offense in recent years. 

If all of that is not concerning enough, a new issue emerged on Friday — the defense that has helped keep the Eagles afloat this season and lift up the inconsistent offense was completely dominated by the Bears' running game. They were pushed around, bullied and could not get off the field on important third downs. 

It just looks like a team that has no confidence and nothing going for it.

Conversely, the Cowboys all of a sudden look like a team that can do nothing wrong and they are suddenly breathing right down the Eagles' necks. 

Philadelphia still has games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders (twice) remaining. 

The Cowboys still have the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Chargers, Commanders and New York Giants. 

The schedules are pretty similar. But the division might not come down to the opponents. It might come down to what the Eagles and Cowboys can do on their own. 

The Cowboys should be very confident right now, and the Eagles should not be.