Eagles' D Has Something to Prove Against Texans Thursday Night

Much has been said and written about the Philadelphia Eagles' struggles to score in the red zone over the last two games.

That problem was particularly evident was Sunday at Chicago: The Eagles moved inside the Bears 20 five times, but found the end zone just once, settled for three field goals and committed a turnover. That's 16 points instead of a possible 35 they could have garnered -- which would have likely let them leave Chicago as winners, rather than 31-26 losers.

But as the Eagles -- 7-4 and tied for first in the NFC East with the New York Giants -- prepare for Thursday night's game against the visiting Houston Texans (5-6), they're carrying around another set of flaws that were like an open wound against Chicago: breakdowns in defensive coverage.

Granted, Philadelphia was without injured cornerback Asante Samuel, which Chicago took advantage of, as Bears quarterback Jay Cutler threw for four touchdowns and Chicago picked up nearly 350 yards in total offense. But even if Samuel can return to the lineup against Houston, the Eagles still must find a way to improve their defensive performance.

"We came out ready to play and were fired up," Eagles strong safety Quintin Mikell said of the Week 12 visit to Chicago. "For one reason or other, we weren't as aggressive as we should be. Maybe as a whole, we were worried about making mistakes. Guys just weren't going out and playing.

"That's something we have to address (against Houston). We can't just let a team play a complete ballgame and basically have guys play seven-on-seven. We've got to challenge and challenge them, and that's something we didn't do a very good job at (against Chicago)."

Thursday night's game is pivotal for Philadelphia to regain momentum lost, as well as set the tone for the remainder of the season. Including Houston, four of the Eagles' five remaining regular-season games are against teams with below .500 records: Houston (5-6), Dallas twice (currently 3-8) and Minnesota (4-7); Philadelphia also plays the Giants in New York.

The Eagles have to get while the getting is good.

"(Losing to Chicago is) not a setback," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We have to learn from it. We have to get ourselves right in a short period of time, so that's what we're going to do. We have a game Thursday and we have to learn from this quickly, get it out of our mind and get rolling. ... We have to toughen up and we have to roll."

After allowing three first-half touchdowns against Chicago, Philadelphia's defense improved dramatically in the second half, allowing just one more TD and a 23-yard Robby Gould field goal, both in the third quarter. But even though the Bears were held scoreless in the fourth quarter, it was too little, too late for the Eagles' defense.

"We came out in the end playing together," Eagles linebacker Brandon Graham said. "I believe if we had been like that the whole way, it would have been a different outcome."

Even with the loss, Graham still considers Philadelphia the better team -- which should prove to be great bulletin-board fodder in the Bears' locker room if the teams meet for a rematch in the upcoming playoffs.

"Oh yeah, no doubt," Graham said. "We just have to play like it. We can talk it all we want, but we've got to go out there and show it."

Philly has a chance to do just that Thursday night. After winning four of its first six games, Houston has lost four of its last five, the lone win coming this past Sunday with a 20-0 shutout of Tennessee.

Houston's offense is enjoying a solid year -- they're 10th in the NFL in points per game (24) and sixth in total yards (367.7 per game). But the Texans' offensive line still has the Eagles salivating: Houston has allowed 24 sacks of Schaub in its first 11 games.

The Eagles' have registered 30 sacks already, including four of Cutler. So Philadelphia's hopeful that Houston's visit will provide an opportunity for the Eagles' defense to bounce back.

"This is a learning experience," Eagles linebacker Keenan Clayton said after the loss at Chicago. "At the end of the day, we really put ourselves in a hole. We can learn from this and we have to stay aggressive on teams. That's the kind of team we're going to play in the playoffs. It definitely showed us some things we need to work on."

While the Eagles had the routine luxury of nearly a full week to prepare for Chicago, they had the better part of just two days to get ready for Houston. And even though the Texans' record is deceiving, Philadelphia needs to make a statement that last Sunday's game was nothing more than an aberration.

"That's the most frustrating thing about these kind of games: We work so hard during the week and practice so much stuff, and yet for some reason or other, we don't play and don't do the things that we practice," Mikell said.

"We've got to come out on top of our game and make plays. We have to turn it up. We're angry right now and we're embarrassed. We have a big test on Thursday. We took our lumps, and we need to put everything back together for Thursday. We're all pissed off and embarrassed, but we have to fix it."