Timing is Everything

A mere 48 hours after Mike Lombardi explained his concept of the "55 minute" team (a team that competes for 55 minutes but isn't complete and has trouble closing out games) on the Bill Simmons' podcast last week, the Eagles (i.e., Ryan Mathews) coughed up the lead and the game against the Lions in the last 5 minutes. Eearily prescient.

Lombardi explained that at a "45 minute team," like the Cleveland Browns, can be competitive for 3 quarters of a game but ultimately fall short - and fall apart - in the last quarter.

Lombardi was bullish on the Eagles but thought they were still not a complete team. Thus the 55 minute moniker. And he was certainly proven right on Sunday.