The defense? Improving.

The quarterback? Still intriguing.

The result? Bengals 34, Eagles 13.

The quick analysis: Too many turnovers.

The real story: The Linc Thursday was quiet, dull and empty in too many spots. And as the Eagles fell to 4-10 with a loss on national TV, that's what had to bother Jeffrey Lurie the most.

Though the Eagles played well for a half, they unraveled in the third quarter. And with each Cincinnati success, there were as many in-house chuckles as there were boos. At the end, there wasn't even much of either.

So when Lurie makes the decision that he must make at the end of the season --- to change coaches --- that is likely to be his No. 1 reason: His franchise is running a significance deficit, and his fans will demand nothing less.

Check out my column in the Daily Times Friday, along with a story about the improving defense of coordinator Todd Bowles ---- who has acknowledged his interest in becoming the next head coach at Temple.