Most years, an Eagles game on Thanksgiving night would be the perfect end to a full day of family bonding (or the perfect excuse to dodge grandma's queries about your prospects for reproducing).

This season, however, fans are approaching Eagles games with increasing dread. Two weeks ago, the Eagles tied the lowly Cincinnati Bengals. (Yes, Virginia and Donovan, there are ties in the NFL.)

Games don't get much worse. Unless it's a game against the Ravens in Baltimore, where the Eagles lost 36-7 last week. The offense looked so bad that Coach Andy Reid texted McNabb at halftime to bench him. No, Reid wouldn't treat his superstar so impersonally. He sent a popcorn vendor to deliver the news.

So here we are at 5 wins, 5 losses and 1 (insert your favorite Chase Utley modifier here) tie. Half of the Eagles fans believe the season is lost; the other half will try to snap out of turkey-and-red-wine-induced stupors to summon enthusiasm for tonight's home game against the Arizona Cardinals .

In another sign of the impending apocalypse, the Cardinals actually have a winning record.

Tickets are not in great demand. Seats in the upper deck at Lincoln Financial Field could be had for as little as $36 on StubHub.com. One broker said the average ticket price is down 25 percent from October. Then again, so is the average value of your 401(k).

McNabb will start. He knows this because Reid stuck a note under his windshield wiper.

With the Eagles' season teetering on the brink, perhaps it's time to recall the words of that noted philosopher Joe Paterno. The Penn State coach likes to remind his team, "You're never as good as people say when you win, and you're never as bad as people say when you lose."

(Except for the Eagles' running game. That's as bad as people say it is.)

The Eagles are not a horrible team. Detroit is horrible. McNabb, Reid and the rest of the Eagles are a good team that is struggling. And struggling teams need encouragement, not torches and pitchforks.

Maybe the Eagles won't make the playoffs this year. That would be a huge disappointment, especially after the promise they had at the start of the season. But Philly fans have no cause to complain this year.

Only five weeks ago, the Phillies won the World Series. There was a sun-splashed championship parade down Broad Street. People wept and proclaimed they could now die happy. Some people were so excited that they helped themselves to free luggage. Don't tell us you've forgotten already.

What, you expected two world championships in the same season? That never happens except in Boston, a city the gods promptly punished by injuring its quarterback.

Look around on this Thanksgiving Day. You have your friends. You have a loving family. We hope you still have a job. You have so very much.

The Super Bowl will just have to wait - again.