Two weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were the NFL’s best team with only one loss in the 2023 season. Now they could be considered only third-best in the NFC after losing back-to-back games to the other two 10-3 teams in their conference, falling to the San Francisco 49ers 42-19 on Dec. 3 and the Dallas Cowboys 33-13 on Sunday.

Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts has dropped from the betting favorite to win the 2023 NFL MVP Award to No. 4 in the odds. ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback David Carr even made a splash by suggesting the Eagles would be better off benching Hurts in favor of backup Marcus Mariota while the former Alabama standout returned to full health.

“He’s played some really good football,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said about that idea during an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday. “I would say we’re definitely not sitting him. We’re definitely not doing that because Jalen is one of our best football players and he gives us a great chance to win every time he steps out there.

“Do we all have plays that we want back from this year or games that we want back? Yeah, me included. We all have those. That’s the ebbs and flows of the year. But we also understand when you’re on a two-game losing streak, some of these criticisms are going to come. It’s our job, again like I said, to get back up, learn from our mistakes and get better from them because we know sometimes it’s a week-to-week thing here in the NFL. …

“We know we’ve put some really good products out on the field, we have beaten some really good football teams and we just got to get it going again. It’s as simple as that.”

In the two losses, Hurts has completed 44-of-72 passes for 495 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and run for 50 yards and one touchdown and lost one fumble on 12 carries.

RELATED: EAGLES QB JALEN HURTS: ‘YOU DON’T WIN WITHOUT LOSING’

The past two losses equaled the number of defeats that Philadelphia had suffered in its previous 30 regular-season games with Hurts at quarterback.

“You know what’s great about Jalen is he’s been the same guy from Day 1,” Sirianni said. “We coach him hard every day no matter what, and I know he appreciates that. And he comes to work the same way every day no matter what – win, lose, up for MVP, not up for MVP, coming off a two-game losing streak, coming off a two-game winning streak – and so we just try to be consistent with who we are at all times no matter what.

“And we’re in a little bit of adversity right now. The whole world knows that. We’re going through some adversity right now with our last two outings. But I know this about this group and Jalen is that we’ve all been through adversity in our lives, and we all know how to respond. First and foremost, it’s about admitting what we do and our mistakes, and then getting up. Get up and let’s go again because nobody’s going to feel sorry for you.”

Philadelphia will know how its rivals for the top seed and accompanying first-round bye in the NFC playoffs have fared before the Eagles play again. Philadelphia will face the Seattle Seahawks in the Week 15 Monday night game. After that, the Eagles have games against the New York Giants sandwiching a contest against the Arizona Cardinals left on their regular-season schedule.

Even if the Cowboys sweep their remaining games against the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, Philadelphia will have the tie-breaker advantage on Dallas if the Eagles win out, too. That would make Philadelphia the NFC East’s No. 1 team, which comes with a first-round home game.

The No. 1 seed in the conference comes with a bye and home games until Super Bowl LVIII, and the 49ers hold the upper hand because they’ve defeated the Eagles and Cowboys this season. But the pressure will be on to win out as one of three 10-3 teams, and San Francisco closes its campaign against the Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Commanders and Los Angeles Rams.

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The Alabama Game of the Week is the Eagles-Seahawks contest on Monday night. Sixteen players from Alabama high schools and colleges are on the teams’ active rosters.

The complete Week 15 schedule (with all times Central and point spreads from Catena):

Thursday

· Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders (-3), 7:15 p.m. (Prime Video)

Saturday

· Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals (-3), noon (NFL Network)

· Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts (-1.5), 3:30 p.m. (NFL Network)

· Denver Broncos at Detroit Lions (-4), 7:15 p.m. (NFL Network)

Sunday

· Atlanta Falcons (-3) at Carolina Panthers, noon

· Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns (-3), noon

· Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers (-3.5), noon

· New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (-8.5), noon (WIAT, WKRG, WAKA, WTVY)

· New York Giants at New Orleans Saints (-6), noon (WALA)

· Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans (-2.5), noon (WHNT)

· Kansas City Chiefs (-8) at New England Patriots, noon (WBRC, WZDX, WCOV, WDFX)

· San Francisco 49ers (-12.5) at Arizona Cardinals, 3:05 p.m.

· Washington Commanders at Los Angeles Rams (-6.5), 3:25 p.m.

· Dallas Cowboys at Buffalo Bills (-2), 3:25 p.m. (WBRC, WZDX, WALA, WCOV, WDFX)

· Baltimore Ravens (-3) at Jacksonville Jaguars, 7:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday

· Philadelphia Eagles (-4) at Seattle Seahawks, 7:15 p.m. (ABC, ESPN)

CHECK OUT MAPS OF SUNDAY’S BROADCAST TV COVERAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.