A fan puts his thoughts on paper.  (US Presswire)

It’s become all too familiar to Eagles fans, this lost season. Their team makes mental and physical mistakes, and, when the games mean the most, they play their worst. Granted, the Eagles played without the heart of their offense -- QB Michael Vick, RB LeSean McCoy and WR DeSean Jackson (who was put on injured reserve Tuesday with fractured ribs) -- but it’s not like they were playing the 1979 Steelers.

Not even coach Andy Reid can pretend the Eagles have a shot at the playoffs. Now it’s just a matter of how far this team falls. They’ve already lost seven straight games for the first time since 1994 and it wouldn’t be a shock to anybody if they didn’t win another one this season. And the biggest problem in Philadelphia isn’t the fans’ anger -- it’s their apathy.

Offense: C

The Eagles lost the game, but they may have found a player -- rookie RB Bryce Brown, who rolled to 178 rushing yards and broke free for a 65-yard touchdown run, the Eagles’ longest in three years. But, not surprisingly, considering the way things have gone for the Eagles this season, Brown also lost two fumbles and both of them led to Carolina scores. QB Nick Foles looked better than he did in his first NFL start the week before vs. Washington, but that doesn’t mean he looked good. He completed 16 of 21 passes and rarely was asked to make big plays. Even though his QB rating of 89.2 isn’t bad, he had three or four passes that probably should have been intercepted. The offensive line did a good job of blocking for the run and the pass protection was even decent at times. Previous game’s grade: F

Defense: F

It’s amazing that a defense with this much talent and experience continues to make such bone-headed plays. Two busted coverages led to two long touchdown passes and those TDs put the Eagles into a hole and eventually cost them the game. Once again, the defense failed to come up with a turnover and that, too, is amazing considering the Eagles had five former Pro Bowl players on that side of the ball -- they got rid of one of them Tuesday when defensive end Jason Babin was released. The Eagles did do a good job against the Panthers’ running game -- Carolina averaged just 3.1 yards per carry -- but Panthers QB Cam Newton had a big day and finished with a rating of 125.0. And to show you how bad things have been for Philadelphia's defense this season, that’s the lowest QB rating against them in six games. Previous game’s grade: F

Special teams: C

This unit is lucky it has PK Alex Henery on its side. The second-year player booted three field goals for a team-record 19 straight. Brandon Boykin showed some moves and picked up some yardage, but he lost a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter that proved costly. Previous game’s grade: C

Coaching: D 

Reid constantly preaches discipline and his team shows almost none. Like so many things, that falls on the shoulders of the head coach. Discipline means not turning the ball over (the Eagles did that three times) and discipline means not getting dumb penalties (at one stretch in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia's defensive line was penalized on three straight plays for encroachment and/or off-sides). Plus, there was one critical decision to be made in the game and Reid made the wrong one. In the fourth quarter, with the Eagles trailing by 2 and facing fourth and inches from the Panthers’ 40, Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg gave the ball to Brown 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage instead of going with a quarterback sneak. Brown didn’t come close and that was the ball game. Previous game’s grade: F

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow@CBSEagles.