The Philadelphia Eagles are staring at a bleak kind of October after Monday night’s 38-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys dropped them to 2-5. That’s the franchise’s worst seven-game start in five years, and it also marked their first five-game losing streak since 2016.
The loss felt bigger than a bad night in prime time. Tanner McKee’s second start of the season didn’t inspire much confidence, the Eagles’ defensive front got shoved around, and Dak Prescott carved them up for three touchdown passes without taking a sack.
Javonte Williams also turned in the kind of run-heavy performance Cowboys fans have been waiting to see for years, piling up 155 rushing yards and a touchdown. Even with Dallas sitting on a losing record, that kind of result on Philadelphia’s home field raises a hard question about where this season is headed.
The uncertainty only deepens from here. Jalen Hurts doesn’t appear likely to return this season because of his blood clot situation, while Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith are both dealing with hamstring injuries. That combination has pushed the conversation beyond whether the Eagles can recover and into whether they could become sellers before the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
CBS Sports NFL analyst Bryant McFadden took the speculation one step further if things go wrong again next week against Washington.
"If the Eagles lose to the Commanders, get ready for the Jeremiah Smith sweepstakes." 😳 @BMac_SportsTalk thinks the Eagles' season is soon coming to an end if they don't turn it around. #Scoreboard #final pic.twitter.com/JR1z9dzwsg
- NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 27, 2026
That name carries plenty of weight. Jeremiah Smith is being viewed as the top prospect in the upcoming draft, and through Week 8 he ranks second in the FBS with 984 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 52 catches. He’s also the current favorite for the Heisman Trophy at DraftKings Sportsbook (+122).
Smith’s production already puts him in elite company. He has 39 career touchdown catches, which ties Braylon Edwards for the most in Big Ten history, and he already stands alone atop Ohio State’s record book in career receptions (215), receiving yards (3,542) and receiving touchdowns (39).
The numbers tell part of the story, but not all of it. Smith checks in at 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, and his blend of size, speed and production has him being talked about as one of the best wide receiver prospects in recent memory. The comparisons naturally drift toward names like Julio Jones and Calvin Johnson.
Even if wide receiver doesn’t look like Philadelphia’s most obvious need, Smith is the kind of talent that forces the issue. DraftKings has him at +200 to go No. 1 overall in the 2027 NFL Draft, and the quarterback class that was supposed to define that draft has not lived up to the hype. Arch Manning has struggled, Dante Moore disappointed before a concussion ended his season, and Miami quarterback Darian Mensah may be the only passer who has met expectations so far, with Drew Mestemaker emerging as a surprise dark horse.
If the Eagles somehow landed the top pick, they could always move it. But the thought exercise is easy enough: what would a wide receiver room look like with Smith in it? The idea gets even louder when you imagine a group built around Jeremiah Smith, Makai Lemon and DeVonta Smith - three Biletnikoff Award winners in the same room.
There’s still a long way to go, and Philadelphia is not exactly positioned like the teams chasing the league’s worst record. The Eagles’ remaining schedule is rated 15th toughest by Tankathon, and there are already three one-win teams in the Commanders, Titans and Dolphins, plus a winless Chargers team at 0-6.
DraftKings Sportsbook’s odds for the fewest regular season wins reflect that too, with the Eagles sitting behind five teams in the current race for the bottom:
Miami Dolphins +220
Tennessee Titans +270
Los Angeles Chargers +340
Arizona Cardinals +1400
Washington Commanders +1500
Philadelphia Eagles +1700
New York Jets +2000
New Orleans Saints +2500
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3000
Indianapolis Colts
In Other News...
Jayden Daniels Just Became A Real Commanders Debate
Jayden Daniels second act in Washington has not come close to matching the electric start he gave the Commanders as a rookie, and the reasons are easy enough to see. Injuries have chipped away at his availability and stalled any momentum he was trying to build, leaving the organization with less certainty than it had hoped for when he looked like the face of the franchise.
Now the conversation around Daniels is starting to stretch beyond weekly availability and into bigger-picture team planning. There is already speculation about his future in Washington, with trade buzz and contract talks hovering in the background, and that kind of uncertainty tends to get louder when a players on-field sample has been interrupted so often. For the Commanders, the next stretch may say as much about their long-term direction as it does about Daniels himself. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders May Be Heading Toward A Daron Payne Decision Fans Dread
With a 1-4-1 record and little sign of a quick climb in the NFC East, Washington is already being discussed as a possible seller ahead of the NFL trade deadline. Thats the kind of place no team wants to be in by late October, especially when it comes to one of its most important defensive players.
Daron Payne has surfaced as a name to watch because hes in the final year of his deal, which naturally puts him in the trade conversation as the Commanders weigh draft capital against keeping a proven veteran in place. CBS Sports analyst Jared Dubin listed Payne among his top 25 trade candidates, a reminder that Washington may soon have to make a decision on a player it would rather not be thinking about this way. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Still Have A Center Debate Even After Lucas Patricks Start
Lucas Patrick has settled in quickly enough at center that the Commanders were comfortable elevating him into the starting role by Week 3 after signing him on Sept. 16, 2026. The veteran has handled 258 offensive snaps there without allowing a sack, giving Washington at least one steady presence in the middle as the line has continued to take shape early in the season.
Even so, the tape and the metrics have not told a perfectly tidy story. Pro Football Focus grades suggest Patrick still has room to clean things up in both overall play and pass protection, which helps explain why the Commanders keep treating their offensive line as a work in progress rather than a finished product. Dan Quinn has framed the recent adjustments as more about strategy than a straight personnel overhaul, leaving the center situation with some intrigue even after Patricks quick rise. [Read more 🡒]