After a one-game respite from their tendency of having to scratch and claw at the end of a game, the Eagles are back to letting a team off the hook they’re dominating, squandering a lead in the second-half and having to withstand a loss that is both mind-boggling and frustrating.

The latest example of this predicament was their NFC contest with the visiting Carolina Panthers Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field before 69,696 fans.

An 11-day layoff may be out of the norm, but an 11-day layoff is what the Eagles had and it was supposed to leave them well-rested and prepared for a team that has the best running quarterback in the conference.

Ahead 17-0 at the start of the fourth quarter, the defense allowed quarterback Cam Newton to lead the Panthers (4-2) on three touchdown drives  that gave them the lead. But there was one minute and 26 seconds left in regulation. For sure, quarterback Carson Wentz could do some miraculous things on his own that would give the Eagles a well-deserved victory.

Although he played well to that point,  Wentz didn’t play well in that final 1:26 and the Eagles suffered a 21-17 defeat that will be remembered by many and for many years to come as one of the worst losses in the history of the franchise.

This defeat was mind-boggling because the Eagles (3-4) were in control for the first three quarters. There wasn’t the slightest hint they would collapse in the fourth quarter to a team not much better than them. It was frustrating because Wentz was completing passes to his left and right that went downfield. There were dink and dunk passes included in his arsenal of throws, but he finished 30-for-37 for 310 yards and two touchdowns, no interceptions. Dinks and dunks don’t get a quarterback those kind of numbers. He played better than Newton. His quarterback rating was 119.6 to Newton’s 101.3.

But there was still the final 1:26 when the Eagles still had a shot at redemption. Following the Panthers touchdown that put them ahead, Wentz went deep to Alshon Jeffery who had a step on the Carolina defensive back. This was a touchdown for sure. But the defender grabbed Jeffery’s right arm and pulled it back as the ball was coming down and was called for pass interference at the Carolina 30-yard-line.

This was a smart play on his part. Because it prevented a touchdown and the Eagles failed to score. They got within the red zone but Wentz threw passes that were almost interceptions on consecutive downs and he fumbled on the final play back at the 23 as he attempted to elude the Panthers pass rush.

The Eagles are under the .500 mark for the second time this season. They dropped to 2-3 when they lost to Minnesota but rebounded four days later against the New York Giants on Thursday night football. Now they’re under .500 again and will play Jacksonville (3-4) in Wembley Stadium  in jolly, old London, England Sunday.

The Eagles are an old franchise but after losses to Tennessee and Carolina in which they had confortable leads in the second-half, they aren’t necessarily jolly. One good thing in their favor is Jacksonville is a team with its own problems. Quarterback Blake Bortles was benched in the loss to Houston in which he fumbled twice and completed only six passes.

The Eagles have been outscored 97-82 in their four losses. An average of less than four  points per loss. They also came close to losing to Atlanta and Indianapolis but didn’t because their defense came up big close to the goal line.