To Tank or Not to Tank: That Is the Question
With just three games remaining in the 2020 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles might be in the toughest predicament of all 32 NFL franchises.
Heading into the bye week, Philly sat at 3-4-1 and was looking to get things back on track following a week’s rest. On the contrary, the exact opposite occurred. The Eagles went on to lose four straight games and fell to 3-8-1 before winning their last matchup against the Saints.
You are obviously living under a rock if you did not know that Doug Pederson made the decision to sit Carson Wentz, and give Jalen Hurts the start in the win over the Saints because what is Philadelphia Eagles football without a Quarterback controversy, right?
Hurts looked rather impressive in his first career NFL start, leaving fans to remain optimistic on the outcome of the remainder of the season. Despite having eight losses on the season, the Birds are only one game behind the NFC East lead as it currently stands. Teams with this many losses are typically the doormats or their respective divisions, but not here in the good ol’ NFC East.
Each team is at least two games back of the division crown, which would award them the fourth seed in this year’s NFC playoffs, along with a home-field advantage during the first round.
NFC East Remaining Schedule
Washington Football Team (6-7) (3-2):
- vs. Seattle Seahawks
- vs. Carolina Panthers
- @ Philadelphia Eagles
New York Giants (5-8) (3-2):
- vs. Cleveland Browns
- @ Baltimore Ravens
- vs. Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys (4-9) (1-3):
- vs. San Franciso 49ers
- vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- @ New York Giants
On the other hand, the Eagles roster needs a ton of help heading into 2021.
Having the highest draft pick possible will pay dividends to the future of the Philadelphia Eagles. It is not every season that the Eagles have an opportunity to seal a top-ten draft pick. Before the Sunday afternoon showdown with the Saints, Philly held the sixth overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. The victory over New Orleans propelled Philadelphia to the eighth overall pick, slightly tarnishing the team’s draft position.
Depending on what the organization decides to do with Wentz, the Birds are set to be approximately $64 million over the cap next year. Good luck trying to attempt to sign top-tier talent in Free Agency…the Eagles must acquire players throughout the NFL draft. As of late Eagles, General Manager has not had the best luck hitting on his draft selections, so 2021 will be crucial as far as roster building is concerned.
The fan base seems to believe that tanking for a higher draft pick is the best scenario for the Birds moving forward:
57.9% of Eagles fans are hopeful the Birds get a better draft pick while 42.1% want the team to finish up strong and try to sneak into the postseason. While each situation presents a few scenarios, we will be examining the benefits of both perspectives…
Winning Out
Pros
In the Doug Pederson era, the Eagles have only failed to qualify for the playoffs once back in 2016, during Pederson and Wentz’s first season. Throughout the last two seasons, we have seen this team rally towards the latter part of the year and clinch a postseason berth after overcoming a whole season’s worth of adversity within the final few weeks.
Since December 2017, the Eagles are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the best record during the month of December at 11-2.
As the regular season progresses, we can expect more contribution from Philly’s younger players if they continue to win
“Well, obviously, I think everybody’s curious at all times to see what the young guys have in games,” Kelce said. “Whenever a guy gets an opportunity here, ‘OK, let’s see what the young guy does.’ These are the moments in the NFL, especially as an older player or especially I’m sure the coaches and everybody else, even fans, are like, ‘I finally get to see this guy play.’ It’s an exciting time whenever somebody’s going out there for the first time.”
It will be interesting to see how the younger Eagles rally around Hurts. Interestingly enough, Pederson has also posted up an 11-2 record throughout his five-year tenure while calling the plays to his backup Quarterback.
Cons
Ideally, the Birds would pick between 6-10 in the first-round of the 2021 NFL Draft. If the Eagles win the NFC East and punch their ticket to the playoffs, the lowest spot they will land is the 19th selection in the Draft.
The draft pick will obviously elevate if the Eagles manage to win on Wild-Card Weekend, but it is tough to foresee the team winning a playoff game at this current point in time.
The Eagles would have a chance to draft some of the top players in the draft including:
- Ja’Marr Chase (WR)
- DeVonta Smith (WR)
- Mincah Parsons (LB)
- Patrick Surtain II (CB)
- Gregory Rousseau (DE)
Despite the dismay of many fans, losing for draft position seems to be the last thing on the players’ minds:
“You see a lot of losing teams sustain losses for a number of years when they have bad cultures. They have cultures where you don’t try and win every week. Where you’re trying to finish (with a bad record): ‘What are we going to do in the draft? What are we going to do in free agency? What can we do over here?’ In football, this isn’t basketball. One draft pick isn’t going to make us a Super Bowl champion.” said Jason Kelce. “It might be a big start to a Super Bowl championship, but it’s always going to be about the team. That’s the greatest thing about this sport. And culture, and the way guys fight and the way guys prepare and the way guys go about their business, is a huge reason for success in this league and in this sport. So nothing takes precedence over trying to win a football game.”
The effort has never been a question with the 2020 Philadelphia Eagles. Injuries and lack of talent on the roster have been the story on why this season has headed south from the start.
Questionable play calling on Pederson’s part does not deserve a pass either.
Winning out would result in even more friction at the Quarterback position. A report surfaced early this morning by Adam Shefter saying that Wentz has has been unhappy with his role as the backup, and feels as though the organization has done him a massive disservice throughout his career. Although there nay be some truth in Wentz’s sentiment, the Eagles cannot continue to have Wentz on the roster if this is true. Wentz would of course have a market on the trade block, but would this be something that Philadelphia actually pursues if Hurts continues to shine?
Another veteran name that could be shipped out following an underwhelming season includes Zach Ertz. Imagine the Eagles moving on from both players in order to acquire young and cheaper talent to help build a team around Hurts.
This is certainly a scenario we would have never thought of in our wildest dreams back in 2017, but 2021 presents a ton of uncertainty for the team in midnight green.
Featured Image: David Maialetti/Philadelphia Inquirer
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