5 Reasons It's Too Early to Hit the Panic Button on the Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have faceplanted to start the 2020 season. They've fallen into an 0-2 hole while getting outscored 64-36 by the Washington Football Team and Los Angeles Rams.

While that doesn't seem to portend a quick turnaround, the NFL's addition of another wild-card team this season could help the Eagles sneak into the playoffs regardless. 

A slow start isn't a death sentence for an Eagles team still getting back to full strength and in a division without a runaway favorite.

No one should ignore the problems that have plagued the Eagles early this season, but here's why it's far too early to bury them completely.

Was an 0-2 start all that unexpected for these Eagles? 

The lack of a preseason hurt all teams, but having to face Washington and the Los Angeles Rams in back-to-back weeks to start the season was a recipe for disaster.

Washington had a strong front seven last year before adding Chase Young with the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft. The Eagles' injury-ravaged offensive line stood little chance against Washington's revolving door of pass-rushers. 

That isn't to excuse the 27-17 loss in Week 1 this year. But it was a road game, and following that up with a game against the now 2-0 Rams was never going to be easy Those Rams blew the Eagles out of the water 37-19, but they also handled Dallas in Week 1. 

Sitting with one of the league's worst point differentials at minus-28 is concerning for a team with so much talent. But the odd offseason, tough schedule and injuries at key positions didn't help matters.

Eagles fans should know better than most how important it is to avoid early-season overreactions. 

Remember last year? Philadelphia limped out to a 1-2 start and lost three straight games after their Week 10 bye to fall to 5-7. That stretch even included a massive 37-10 blowout at the hands of Dallas.

Although injuries ravaged their receiving corps, the Eagles then reeled off four straight wins to win the division. Had Carson Wentz not suffered an injury early in his first playoff game, the 17-9 loss to Seattle might've been a win.

Starting 0-2 hurts, but the Eagles have a home date against the Cincinnati Bengals this week. In Week 4, they'll take on a San Francisco 49ers team dealing with a laundry list of injuries, including its starting quarterback, two running backs, its star tight end, its No. 1 wide receiver and a few top defenders. They also get the miserable 0-2 New York Giants twice and play a bumbling Cleveland squad, all before Week 12. 

If the coaching staff can orchestrate proper adjustments, the 0-2 start could eventually become an afterthought. 

The Eagles offensive line was the easy scapegoat during the team's Week 1 loss to Washington. Letting up eight sacks tends to do that to a unit. 

Wentz completed only 24 of his 42 attempts in the opener for 270 yards with a pair of touchdowns and interceptions. But to his offensive line's credit, Wentz didn't get sacked at all in Week 2, which meant a quiet day for a big name like Aaron Darnold. 

The stabilization of the line comes after losing Brandon Brooks and Andre Dillard to season-ending injuries before Week 1. Lane Johnson played in Week 2 after missing the opener. In the latest twist, starting left guard Isaac Seumalo will miss some time with an injury, but it's nothing if not a next-man-up sort of unit. 

Wentz has completed only 58.8 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and four picks. He's been scattershot and not on the same page with new faces like rookie wideout Jalen Reagor. But more consistent showings from the line in front of him, plus adjusted game plans to accommodate said connections with his weapons (think more misdirections like what the Rams run) should lead to steadier offensive outputs. 

The final box scores look terrible, but the Philadelphia defense isn't the weak link it appears to be. 

In Week 1, said defense held Washington to only 178 passing yards and 80 rushing yards on a 2.2 yards-per-carry average. However, the Eagles committed three turnovers, two of which gave Washington possession in the red zone. In their 11 drives after going up 17-0, the Eagles offense had the ball for more than three minutes only once, per Chris Infante of Philly Sports Network.

"Definitely got gassed towards the end," defensive tackle Malik Jackson said, according to Reuben Frank of NBC Philadelphia. "I think guys (were) really a little tired at the end, but that’s just something you got to keep working on."

In Week 2, the offense turned the ball over three times and lost the time-of-possession battle. Meanwhile, Derek Barnett played on less than 50 percent of the defense's snaps in his season debut, and Javon Hargrave played only 36 percent of the snaps in his first game with the Eagles. 

If key players keep getting bigger chunks of playing time while the offense improves (and doesn't get thoroughly outcoached by someone like Sean McVay), the unit should stabilize and provide some wiggle room for wins. Next up, they'll face the Cincinnati Bengals' rookie quarterback behind a bad offensive line.

The NFC East has a way of cannibalizing itself, so an 0-2 start might coincide with the typical balancing act in one of the NFL's most unpredictable divisions. 

The division hasn't had a repeat winner since 2004, and 10 or fewer wins has been enough to take it seven times since 2010. 

While the Eagles sit at 0-2 for now, Washington already fell to 1-1 after getting blown out by Arizona, the New York Giants have yet to win, and Dallas needed an all-timer of a comeback to beat a bad Atlanta team just to reach 1-1. 

This doesn't mean the Eagles don't have work to do. Wentz has to stabilize, and the coaching needs to help. But some teams were bound to take longer to adapt to a preseason-less season. Perhaps Philadelphia wasn't an easy one to predict, but the winless start is far from a reason to write the team off entirely. 

In the NFC East—and 2020, it seems—anything is possible. But the Eagles have a number of factors hinting at a potential upswing despite their dismal start.