So much for a Week 14 “bye” week for the Eagles, next up is the improving Panthers

PHILADELPHIA – This was supposed to be a bye week for the Eagles, a layup game like Purdue’s 1-11 football team is in the Big 10 this year. Something happened on the road to the Carolina Panthers, and this Week 14 game requires focus , as the Eagles look to win their ninth game in a row and move to 11-2.

The Panthers may be 3-9, but they won twice in November, and even though their last two games were losses, they played hard and were in it until then. They lost 30-27 to the Chiefs two weeks ago and lost 26-23 to the Buccaneers in overtime last week.

“I think they’ve played really well the last four weeks,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “The numbers all show it. They play really well. I think the edge rushers are back, secondary, really good corners, they’re really physical, aggressive guys.

“I think you can tell they are naturally well-connected because they have guys who have been playing together for several weeks now, which helps ensure the guys are on the same page, communicating and playing at a high level. They played really well.”

It starts with second-year quarterback Bryce Young. It seemed like the Panthers would move away from the first pick in 2023 and start Andy Dalton ahead of him. First-year head coach Dave Canales returned to Young after two games and the results were solid. Young hasn’t thrown an interception in three straight games.

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked what improvements he has seen in Young over the last month.

“Just in full use of their offense,” he said. “I think they trained him well. They have a really good running back in (Panthers RB Chuba) Hubbard. They show him. They run play-action and start the running game. I think they’ve done a good job with their overall offense and figuring out who they are within his quarterback abilities.”

Hubbard recently received a contract extension and is coming off a solid year, good enough to turn former Eagles running back Miles Sanders into nothing more than a spare part. Hubbard has 919 yards this season, averaging 4.9 yards per carry with seven touchdowns.

The Panthers still have a long way to go before they can compete in an extremely weak NFC South, where the Falcons and Bucs are at the top with a 6-6 record, although Atlanta holds the tiebreaker after beating Tampa this season holds.

The Eagles are more talented and deeper, but if they play down to the level of the competition or get caught in a trap game between two of the league’s better teams – the Ravens last week and the Steelers next week – they could be in for a tough time Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

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