Surely the Philadelphia Eagles learned their lesson in Tennessee. With a 17-0 lead entering the fourth quarter, there’s no way it happens again right?

It was all smiles at Lincoln Financial Field as the Philadelphia Eagles defense lined up for their first possession of the fourth quarter. A defense that has been highly criticized all season was in the midst of proving everybody wrong having shut out the explosive Carolina Panthers offense through the first three-quarters of play.

It was the first solid defensive effort we’ve seen out of Jim Schwartz’s crew all year. The score was 17-0 and the Eagles held a 98.2 percent chance of taking home their fourth win of the season. They were about to put together their first winning streak since their run in the playoffs and take one step closer to taking back their spot atop a weak NFC East division.

All around the stadium, throughout the parking lot, in Xfinity Live, around Philadelphia and anywhere else that had a television tuned in to Fox, fans we’re chalking this one up as a W. Surely they couldn’t blow a three score lead with one-quarter of football left to play.

Just two weeks earlier this team did find a way to blow a 14 point lead against a mediocre Tennessee Titans team in Nashville. I don’t know if we forgot that or we just truly thought that our boys had turned the corner.

The next 14:19 would leave everyone’s jaws dropped, with an eternal feeling of “I’m gonna puke” and the question “Where the heck do we go from here?”

The Panthers torched the Eagles defense for 236 yards, 12 first downs and three touchdowns in that time period. Meanwhile, Philly’s offense came to a screeching halt, with only 70 yards, 48 of which came via a pass interference penalty, and one first down in their final three possessions.

A Carolina defense that couldn’t seem to stop this newly explosive Eagles offense suddenly stood their ground, keeping the Birds out of the end zone when given four chances from inside the Panthers 30 yard line when it mattered the most.

Over the past week, I’ve laid out several trade options for the Eagles to explore with the trade deadline looming. After this meltdown of momentous proportions, I don’t know if anyone move can right this horrid ship.

All season I’ve tried to remain positive and keep everyone around me on that same page. Each week, despite the urges to go on endless rants about the missed opportunities, I’ve remained hopeful. This coach, this quarterback, this defensive line, this team, they have a positive mentality after every game that made me believe. This week broke the camel’s back. This game has open the floodgate of negativity and it’s about to go down. Starting with the pass defense.