Last Call For The Regular Season
The Eagles have dropped 2 games in a row and have fallen to 13-3. This isn’t the end of the world, as they approach the final week of the regular season still in first place. Although, things haven’t looked great.
Jalen Hurts has missed both of the aforementioned games with the shoulder injury he sustained against the Bears. While rumors suggest Hurts could have played on Sunday against the Saints, we’ll never know if the rumors were reality, or what the outcome of the game could have been. With that said, on to the rematch against the Giants.
Week 18
Week 18 has become what Week 17 was. An almost meaningless week for the entire league. Since the League hopes that the majority of divisions will be close or have every team contending for the 7th seed, week 18 is exclusively divisional games:
Giants @ Eagles
Cowboys @ Commanders
Rams @ Seahawks
Chiefs @ Raiders
Titans @ Jaguars
Buccaneers @ Falcons
Patriots @ Bills
Vikings @ Bears
Ravens @ Bengals
Chargers @ Broncos
Lions @ Packers
Texans @ Colts
Jets @ Dolphins
Panthers @ Saints
Browns @ Steelers
Cardinals @ 49ers
I’ve broken down what games still hold any impact and what teams are either eliminated, playing to clinch, or already clinched.
There’s a total of 2 completely meaningless games already being played on Sunday. Safe to say you can avoid watching those.
Giants @ Eagles
This will be the most important game of the season for the Eagles, their final chance to secure the 1st seed, the NFC East division title, as well as home field advantage for the 2 playoff games the Eagles could partake in. They had their chances against the Cowboys and Saints with Gardner Minshew. And now it’s come down to Week 18.
Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll hasn’t specified whether they will play or rest their starters.
Whether his opinion changed between now and Sunday. The Eagles should come prepared for a fight. With the first seed on the line, regardless if it’s Jalen Hurts or Gardner Minshew at quarterback, the Eagles only need one thing.
A win.
Playoff Scenario
While winning the first seed and getting not only home field advantage but also an extra week of rest is what the Eagles should strive for. Let’s see what the current playoff road would look like in the NFC.
- Eagles
- 49ers
- Vikings
- Buccaneers
- Cowboys
- Giants
- Seahawks
Wildcard Weekend
With the Eagles getting a rest, the three playoff games in the NFC on Wildcard weekend would be
- Seahawks @ 49ers
- Giants @ Vikings
- Cowboys @ Buccaneers
All of these teams have played each other before this season.
Week 2: Seahawks @ 49ers, 7-27 & Week 15 49ers @ Seahawks 21-13
With the way the 49ers defence continues to steamroll teams, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Seahawks season was ended on wildcard weekend. Brock Purdy and the 49ers have continued to be a problem around the league and nothing seems to slow them down.
Week 1: Buccaneers @ Cowboys, 19-3
While this was at the very start of the season, multiple things have happened. The Cowboys offence looks a lot different than it did at the start of the season and since Dak Prescott’s return from injury, however the Dallas defence that started looking similar to the 49ers has slowly crumbled as the season has gone on. Quite the opposite with Tom Brady, who started the season looking quite sloppy and has since been able to turn things around heading into the playoffs.
Either team could go on to win this game and cause some serious problems in the rest of the playoffs
Week 16: Giants @ Vikings, 24-27
The Vikings are lucky they get to host this one. The current #3 seed with a 12-4 record currently has a -19 point differential. They only beat the Giants by a field goal. While anything could happen in the playoffs, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings manage to blow a home playoff game in classic Vikings fashion.
Divisional Round
So what would this mean for the 2nd round? Well if we keep the following winners: 49ers, Cowboys, Vikings. The 2nd round of the playoffs would be
Cowboys @ Eagles
Jalen Hurts would get his 2nd chance to play against the Cowboys this season. He beat them once, and he could do it again. The Eagles offence put up a fight against the Cowboys with Gardner Minshew under center, however with the hopeful MVP Quarterback playing with home field advantage, the Eagles could come out on top of what would be the best game in the NFC playoff picture.
Vikings @ 49ers
A rematch of 2021, where the Vikings didn’t really do anything impressive. Sure the Vikings didn’t have Justin Jefferson, but they did still have Stefon Diggs. But the 49ers also didn’t have Christian McCaffrey, or nearly as terrifying of a defence as they do this year. This will be a fun game to watch, and will all come down to which team will make the most mistakes.
NFC Championship
Projecting to see the Eagles and 49ers come out of the Divisional round means one thing. Another home playoff game for the Birds.
Could the Eagles come out on top against one of the best defences in the League? Ultimately sending them to Arizona for a chance to win their 2nd Super Bowl?
While I’d like to believe it’s so, we’ve got 5 weeks to get there.
What’s your ideal playoff path for the Eagles to reach the Super Bowl? Will they finish Week 18 still in the 1 seed?
Go Birds.
Photo Credit: Al Bello / Getty Images
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