Frank Gore thinks the Eagles threw in the towel on Sunday

Frank Gore thinks the Philadelphia Eagles quit in Sunday's 20-point collapse to his San Francisco 49ers.

The Niners running back appeared on ESPN's "First Take" on Friday morning and gave his theory about why his team was able to come back to pull the surprising 24-23 upset. "I think playing that second half and the way we came out, the Eagles didn't want to play no more," Gore said.

That's clearly what happened. The Eagles had already thrown in the towel when Michael Vick connected with Desean Jackson on a 61-yard pass and 3rd and 14. And that 12-play drive midway through the fourth quarter that would have clinched the game if not more a 33-yard field goal miss by rookie kicker Alex Henrey? Yeah, the Eagles had long since packed it in. And when Jeremy Maclin fumbled with 2:15 left and Philly driving to get in position for a potential game-winning kick, the turnover was clearly caused by Maclin's quitter attitude, not his lax ball handling skills.

Philadelphia starts 1-3 and we all have to know what it means. Did the "dream team" hype get too big? Are defenses figuring out Vick? Has Andy Reid lost a locker room full of prima donnas? Why can't the answer be much simpler? The Eagles are like a lot of NFL teams: somewhere in between good and mediocre. If not for a rookie kicker missing two easy kicks and Michael Vick getting hurt in Atlanta and (Maclin dropping an easy catch in that game and fumbling in San Francisco), the Eagles are 3-1 and living up to the hype.

Doesn't Gore's statement minimize the impact of San Francisco's victory? If the Eagles quit, the 49ers win becomes less impressive. It's like when college fans chant "overrated." You're insulting yourself when you make such comments.

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