PROVIDENCE -- This was the game, when you looked at it as the 2015 schedule was first available to see, that would be the telling tale for the Eagles as they embarked on December and the stretch run to the postseason. A tough game, no doubt, because the Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions and nearly invincible at home in December, but an important gauge just to see where the Eagles ranked among the NFL's hierarchy.
What we thought then and what is reality now is vastly different. The Eagles are beginning the stretch run just one game back in the NFC East and they may very be on a playoff run, but first they've got to stop a three-game losing streak that has dropped the Eagles from 4-4 and atop the division to 4-7 and in chase position.