Mike Vick – broken ribs and busted season. Photo by Pete Lerro.

The Eagles have found a way to stink up their joint each week regardless of the level of their opponent or gravity of the game.

The Eagles game against a truly hapless Arizona Cardinals team is a prime example.

The Eagles can dominate the Dallas Cowboys, go toe-to-toe with the Chicago Bears but play the two-win Cardinals and their backup quarterback and the Birds can’t execute the simplest of plays.

The Eagles blew a fourth quarter lead once again, losing to the Cardinals 21-17. The Eagles have now lost six of their last seven home games and are 3-9 since their epic comeback win over the New York Giants last December.

It is hard to fathom how a team this talented can play so poorly and lose games – especially in the manner they are being lost.

For the fifth time this season, the Birds (3-6) brought a lead into the fourth quarter only to get overrun, giving up 14 points while scoring only three in the loss to the Cardinals (3-6).

The Cardinals won with a backup quarterback from Fordham named John Skelton for their first win away from the desert since Sept. 12, 2010.

Skelton was 21 of 40 for 315 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The 6-foot-6, 244-pounder was sacked four times.

“We haven’t won on the East Coast in forever,” said Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, “so I’m just going to enjoy this.”

The Eagles have been outscored in the fourth quarter this season to the tune of 53-10.

On their second opportunity of the third quarter, the Eagles drove to the Cardinals 18-yard line. Only the 2011 Eagles could find a way to throw a one-yard interception to a big ole defensive lineman named Calais Campbell – the first of his four-year NFL career.

Vick, who played almost the entire game with broken ribs, said it was tough playing without the team’s most explosive player, wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who was deactivated for the game by head coach Andy Reid for missing a team meeting the previous day.

“Anytime you have one of your premier players, one of your go-to guys, it does, yeah it does hurt,” said Vick who was 16 for 34 for just 128 yards, no TD passes and two interceptions. “But we have to respect the decisions that are made. We wish it never had to come to that, but it is what it is and you still have to go out and win the football game.”

Offensive tackle Jason Peters said it more than just missing a key player.

“We are not playing as a unit,” said Peters. “We are shooting ourselves in the foot with turnovers, missed assignments, dropped balls and holding penalties. It just goes on and on. Until we fix that, we are going to keep on losing.”

The Cardinals played as a unit on Sunday. And they had their share of ex-Eagles contributing – some on the sideline like injured quarterback Kevin Kolb, and some who contributed including safety Sean Considine, offensive tackle Jeremy Bridges and former Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley, who was released by the Eagles last spring.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Eagles have been hurting at linebacker ever since.

Bradley said he had no ill feelings towards Eagles management. He said the game felt to him like a college rivalry.

“On a personal side it was definitely a little bit like a rivalry game,” Bradley said. “I played against a lot of old friends, but we had to get the ‘W’…but it was a fun game.”

Bradley said he and his teammates knew most of the smart money was on the Eagles.

“We didn’t expect anyone to give us a shot the way the beginning of the season has gone,” the former Nebraska standout said. “But was we continued on and have grown as a team, and with no OTAs and all these new guys, it was definitely a growing problem for us. But now we are jelling and we are definitely a different team than we were the first half of the year.”

Speaking of jelling, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, considered the No. 1 free agent prize this offseason; said the players are all getting along just fine.

“I think the players have gotten the chemistry thing down,” said Asomugha, who made his third interception of the season in the fourth quarter. “We’re jelling but there are still a lot of pieces moving in the jelling part of the defense so it can make it a little bit tougher.”

Just a little.
 
Feathers for thought:
RB LeSean McCoy has scored a touchdown in all nine games this season, which is the longest streak in team history. He became one of just four players since 1960 to score in each of the first nine games, joining Lenny Moore (1964), O.J. Simpson (1975) and George Rogers (1986) … McCoy’s 906 rushing yards this season are the most ever by an Eagle in the first nine games of the season … McCoy’s 10 rushing touchdowns in 2011 are the seventh-highest total in team history and the most since Ricky Watters’ 13 in 1996.
Pickoff Artist … CB Asante Samuel scored his ninth-career touchdown on his 51st career interception (including playoffs). Coming into this week, only Ed Reed (58 interceptions) and Charles Woodson (nine return touchdowns) had as many as Samuel since he joined the league in 2003.  
Defensive Nuggets … The Eagles amassed four sacks, including career firsts by CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and LB Jamar Chaney. DT Derek Landri also registered his first sack of the season, while DE Trent Cole recorded his fifth … The Eagles have had nine different players contribute a sack this season … With Samuel’s interception return, the Eagles have now scored defensive touchdowns in back-to-back games … CB Nnamdi Asomugha tallied his third interception of the season.  
Birdseed … King Dunlap made his first-ever start at guard. At 6-9, Dunlap joins Jonathan Ogden (Ravens, 1996) and Ben Jefferson (Browns, 1990) as the tallest players ever to play guard in the NFL, according to Stats Inc. … P Chas Henry placed a career-high four punts inside the 20-yard line while … S Jaiquawn Jarrett made his first NFL start …
T Jason Peters played in his 100th NFL game … TE Brent Celek has accumulated 22 receptions for 249 yards and two touchdowns in the last four games.