MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Philadelphia Eagles "self-destructed" in multiple areas during Sunday's 37-31 loss to the Miami Dolphins and are now a "long shot" to make the postseason, according to coach Doug Pederson, even though they control their own destiny.
Philadelphia entered as a double-digit favorite to Miami and built a 28-14 lead in the third quarter, but the offense went dormant and the defense continued to leak oil as the Dolphins outscored the Eagles 23-3 the rest of the way.
"We self-destructed in a couple areas today, and it just hurt us," Pederson said. "And we didn't make enough plays; they made 'em, we didn't. So those are the things that I talk about when I talk about being a disciplined team."
The Eagles committed 10 penalties for 91 yards and were 1-for-4 on third-down conversions down the stretch, stalling several drives.
The defense yielded 409 yards to a Dolphins team that ranked 30th in total offense (256 yards per game) and points per game (14.8) coming in.
Safety Rodney McLeod said multiple times that the defense "let our guard down" following a strong start.
"You don't want to be Captain Obvious. We didn't f---ing play well," said safety Malcolm Jenkins, when asked if he will say something to the team this week about its performance. "You know that. There is no need to beat a dead horse. Figure out what it is, watch the tape like you would any other day, go back to work."
The Eagles have lost three in a row, but with all four games remaining being in-division, including a Dec. 22 home game against the first-place Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia still has a path to the playoffs. Pederson, though, wasn't overly optimistic in his phrasing of his team's circumstance.
"I mean, that's the thing, as crazy as this is, I would say it's a long shot, but we're not out of it," he said. "We do have four of our division opponents coming up. The guys gotta understand that, and it's my job to make sure they do understand that -- that we're still fighting and coming to work this week and ready to go and try to figure this thing out. But I've gotta show them exactly where we are and what we need to do with these next four games."