Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/y6psu5hk
Originally published Sept. 29, 2026
On his only pass Monday night against the Chicago Bears, Andy Dalton did the only thing you couldn’t do: He threw an interception in the end zone.
It was finite, permanent, traumatic. You couldn’t undo it.
“We get down there, I can’t put ourselves in a bad position like that,” Dalton said. “I mean, costly turnover at a tough time, man. That’s points on the board.
“(The Bears) schemed it up pretty good. I obviously didn’t see the safety in the middle, and he just read my eyes. My eyes were over there, and he just made the play. Again, I can’t put our team in that situation. Costly decision.”
Dalton has experience in Sean Mannion’s type of West Coast offense, which is largely why he won the QB2 job over Tanner McKee this summer.
Not that McKee had a great training camp, especially early on, and it didn’t end well for him last season (an unstable performance against Washington). But the 26-year-old has a solid history with the Eagles and perhaps should have been Jalen Hurts’ backup instead of the veteran Dalton.
But that was the choice by Mannion, the Eagles’ rookie offensive coordinator, and head coach Nick Sirianni. And maybe general manager Howie Roseman, who even mentioned McKee’s strong “body of work” at the end of the preseason.
Yet as much as Dalton would like to have that throw back, it was hardly the only problem in Monday’s brutal, 27-7 whooping by the Bears.
“I think we all have to own that loss right there,” Sirianni said. “I don’t think anybody coached well. I don’t think anyone played well. It was a true team loss, and when it’s a true team loss, I have to look at myself first.”
Somehow Hurts, after returning from a concussion evaluation to relieve Dalton, helped the Birds regain the mojo Monday with that badass tush-push touchdown as the clock hit triple zeros before halftime. They only trailed by three points at the break and came out with the ball in the third quarter.
But then they failed to answer the bell in the second half.
As outcoached and outplayed as the Eagles were by Ben Johnson’s Bears, the Birds also beat themselves. Eliminate Dalton’s crushing turnover (if only), Tank Bigsby’s fumble deep in Eagles territory and Jalen Hurts’ interception in the second half — not to mention some of the 10 Eagles penalties, including Moro Ojomo jumping offsides — and it’s a very different game.
Granted, that’s a lot to erase, but the point is this: Even though Chicago outcoached and outplayed the Eagles, Philadelphia actually had the game in its grasp.
That’s why Sirianni was unfazed, even though his team got beaten up in all phases. He took responsibility, but his demeanor wasn’t one of panic.
He knows it was a bad game, an awful game. It doesn’t need to be a defining game. It can be a springboard to something positive.
“We weren’t ready to coach, we weren’t ready to play,” Sirianni said. “And that ultimately starts and ends with me.”
This week and next, against the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars, are pivotal. Those could be season-defining games, one way or another.
Eagles bolster secondary
The Eagles on Tuesday signed defensive back Kenny Moore from the practice squad to the active roster as a reinforcement at safety. Moore, 31, joined the practice squad last week after spending nine seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.
He was undrafted out of NCAA Division II Valdosta State in 2017. He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2021
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.