Marvin McNutt With The Own-Punt Block To End All Others: Eagles-Bengals, In One GIF

Bengals 34, Eagles 13: Well, that was something. For those that actually watched every second of this abomination of a football game—and from that club I exclude myself—I challenge anyone to explain where the redeeming value was in staging such a contest between two clubs that clearly seemed so unready/unwilling to play competitive football. That the Bengals emerged with a victory is beyond the point, though obviously beneficial to Cincinnati's hopes for ultimately heading to the AFC playoffs. The Eagles, meanwhile, moved one more incalculable step toward helping their draft standing, which is the very least they can ask for at this point.

The Marvin McNutt butt-punt block on his own teammate—OK, it's more of a block courtesy of the right, upper hip-ish area, but it's completely ridiculous all the same—was merely a spectacular representation of this Eagles team's badness, the complete ineptitude that seeped from most every offensive series. With Philly's fourth turnover coming in the waning moments of the third quarter, the final period was left solely for fantasy playoff observers whose early-week leads hinged on a play here and there. Aside from that angle, there was no compelling reason for even casual fans to stay tuned. It was mid-December football at its worst, a reminder that scheduling a competitive game every Thursday night will be a harder task for NFL Network than originally conceived. That will require more foresight on the NFL's part next season, but few, in fairness, could've seen how dreadful this Philadelphia squad would be at this point. Even the Bengals' Emmanuel Lamur (or some pissed-off Philly fan within distance of an NFL Network mic) summed up the night ever-so-succinctly for Philly.

The Bengals now move to 8-6, a half-game ahead of the division-rival Steelers (whom they play next on Dec. 23) and 1.5 games ahead of the Jets, who are still hoping to run the table and position themselves for a playoff berth, crazy as that may seem.

The Eagles are now 4-10 and dreaming for a quick and merciful end to this most miserable of seasons. So it goes, Philadelphia.