Calling My Shot on the 2022 Eagles Playoff Run

Jan 11, 2023

Similar to the 2017 team that won the city’s first Super Bowl championship, the Philadelphia Eagles kind of limped to the finish line over the last few games of the regular season. After losing two straight games with Gardner Minshew, Jalen Hurts returned and beat the Giants practice squad despite an extremely conservative offensive gameplan presumably designed to protect his injured shoulder. The Eagles are the top seed in the NFC for the first time since the aforementioned Super Bowl season, but once again will not be carrying a ton of momentum into the divisional round after dominating the bulk of the regular season. Can the Eagles once again turn it around and carry home-field advantage all the way to the Super Bowl? Let’s call our shot now during the Eagles’ bye week.

Divisional Round vs Giants – Win

I honestly think the Giants are going to win in Minnesota on Sunday. They are very well-coached, Saquon Barkley will be well-rested, and Daniel Jones has legitimately played extremely well as of late. The Vikings are also about as suspect of a 13 win team as you will ever see. Only two of those wins were by multiple scores and they finished the season with a point differential of -5. The reality is that if you take away Justin Jefferson, this team is extremely beatable, as the Eagles, Cowboys, and Packers all showcased this year. I think the 49ers should easily take care of Geno Smith and the Seahawks, so re-seeding sends the Giants to Philadelphia. The Eagles looked shaky against the Giants backups last Sunday, but they obliterated them in Week 14, and Hurts will have another two weeks of rest and rehab under his belt for this game. The addition of Lane Johnson should also do wonders for the offense, even if not at 100 percent. The Giants have impressively exceeded expectations, but I can not see them winning this matchup, should it happen.

NFC Championship vs 49ers – Win

I do not think either Tampa Bay or Dallas is good enough to go to San Francisco and win with the way the 49ers have been playing, so San Francisco flies across the country for the NFC Championship. This would be a great game and a really difficult matchup for the Eagles. Defensively, the 49ers have the likely Defensive Player of the Year in Nick Bosa, the best inside linebacker in the league in Fred Warner, and other players enjoying breakout seasons including Charvarius Ward and Talanoa Hufanga. Offensively, they have maybe the best left tackle in the NFL in Trent Williams and four absolute monster skill position players in Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle. The Niners are on their third starting quarterback of the year and they have not missed a beat because the roster and coaching staff are just loaded from top to bottom. The Eagles will have their hands full, but they have a pretty loaded roster of their own, the better quarterback, and probably the best home-field advantage in the NFL. I think they squeak out a very close game that goes down to the wire.

Super Bowl vs Bills – Loss

I think it will likely end up Chiefs vs Bills in the AFC Championship at a neutral site. That game is a toss up for me, so I will just go with the Bills avenging last year and continuing the feel-good story for Damar Hamlin. The Bills have been on quite the emotional roller coaster recently after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during their game against the Bengals. Thankfully, he appears to be recovering nicely, and Buffalo is looking to capture its first Super Bowl title in his honor. THe Bills have a dominant passing attack led by Josh Allen and two incredible receivers in Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. They also have a playmaking secondary and a nice group of pass rushers, even with the loss of Von Miller. This would be another great game, and it would not surprise me at all if the Eagles emerged victorious here, but I am being a sellout and going with the storybook ending.

Calling My Shot on the 2022 Eagles Playoff Run

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