The Philadelphia Eagles enter the playoffs as the second seed in the NFC and tied with the third-best record in football at 14-3.
After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl in 2022 and then getting off to a 10-1 start last year, the organization looked to be in free fall. They closed the year going 1-5 in their final six regular season games last season and were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a lifeless effort during the opening round of the playoffs. Fingers were pointed across all areas of the organization following the collapse. After a tense offseason in which coordinators on both sides of the ball were replaced, Nick Sirianni deserves credit for getting the team back on track and having the Eagles looking like legitimate contenders.
Philadelphia ranks seventh in the NFL in scoring and eighth in total yards produced. They are second in the league in rushing yards as well as rushing touchdowns. The addition of Saquon Barkley provides another dangerous element to the Jalen Hurts-led offense and Barkley became the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards. Hurts is probably the biggest point of concern right now as he remains in concussion protocol after being forced to leave the Week 16 matchup with the Commanders. The Eagles have not expressed any level of concern that he could miss the opening-round matchup, and this should not cause panic unless it extends to later in the week.
The Eagles also had an impressive defensive turnaround this season. It took a few games for Vic Fangio’s new scheme to take effect, but Philadelphia finished the year ranked second in points allowed and has given up the fewest yards of any team. The emergence of rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean as well as the return of C.J. Gardner-Johnson has led to much stronger play in the secondary.
The Eagles enter the playoffs with +700 odds of winning it all on DraftKings Sportsbook. They hold the fifth-best odds of being crowned champions and trail only the Detroit Lions by holding +330 odds of winning the NFC.
The Philadelphia Eagles Wild Card Outlook
The Eagles were knocked out of the race for the top seed ahead of the final week of the playoffs. While they will not have the luxury of a bye week, the organization had a chance to rest all their key starters in the final week of the regular season. This was especially notable as the Eagles had a Week 5 bye, so there was plenty of wear and tear on the roster.
Philadelphia will host the Green Bay Packers for the Wild Card week matchup. This will be the second matchup between these two teams as they played the second game of the entire NFL season in their Week 1 Friday Night matchup in Brazil. The Eagles secured a thrilling 34-29 victory in Sao Paolo, but both these teams look much different than they did at the time.
Green Bay is no pushover and enter this game with an 11-6 record. They rank eighth in the league in scoring fifth in yards gained, sixth in points allowed, and fifth in yards given up. Green Bay sent another NFC East team packing (pun intended) last year by taking down the Cowboys 48-32. However, they entered last year’s playoffs on a three-game winning streak while they enter this year coming off back-to-back losses and showing some signs of struggle.
The Packers also received some unfortunate injury news as Christian Watson suffered a torn ACL in the regular season finale which will keep him out for the playoffs and beyond. Wide receiver depth is a strength of this Packers team, but losing Watson will still be a tough blow.
While A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are plenty capable as pass catchers, the Eagles will lean on their rushing identity on their pathway to their goals. Green Bay ranks seventh in rushing yards allowed and third in net yards per rush attempt. The Eagles’ offensive line and Saquon Barkley getting a full week of rest to close the season is a huge advantage here. Barkley rushed for 109 yards and added three total touchdowns in the opening-week matchup. This also did not even crack Barkley’s top-eight rushing performances of the year.
While Jordan Love is a capable quarterback who will keep this game competitive, expect the Eagles to win this game in the trenches. Assuming Jalen Hurts can return to the field as normal, we can expect the offense to return to full form and cause some serious issues for this Packers’ defense.
The Eagles enter this game as 4.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook and -205 on the Moneyline. The Packers hold +170 odds on the Moneyline and the game total is set at 45.5 points.
Philadelphia Eagles Championship Chances
The Eagles +700 odds of winning the Super Bowl rank seventh in the NFL trailing only the Lions, Chiefs, Ravens, and Bills on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Their full attention will be on Green Bay in the opening round, but the path through the playoffs could be worse for the Eagles. The most likely scenario is a second-round matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers assuming they defeat the Commanders. While the Eagles would have to shake off the flashbacks of last year’s playoff elimination, Tampa Bay has struggled defensively this year and was on the verge of blowing their playoff opportunity in Week 18 against the Spencer Rattler-led Saints. If the Commanders can pull off the upset, they would travel to Philadelphia where they already suffered a loss this year. Washington got the better of the Eagles in Week 16 with a 36-33 win, but it should be noted Philadelphia held a 14-0 lead before Hurts was knocked out of the game in the first quarter.
The most notable hurdle is the Detroit Lions, who hold +115 odds of winning the NFC and +280 of winning the Super Bowl. They are favorites in both categories. These two teams would not face off until the NFC Championship game, which would take place in Detroit. If Detroit slips against the winner of the Vikings and Rams, the NFC playoffs would now run through Philadelphia.
No game can be overlooked, but the Lions and Eagles appear to be the two biggest heavyweights in the NFC. Detroit made quite a statement in clinching the top seed by dominating the Vikings, who are likely to be their second-round opponent.
There is no doubt about the impressive offensive output the Lions have put forth this year. They lead the league in scoring with offensive coordinator (and future head coach) Ben Johnson showing a level of creativity other teams haven’t dreamed of. However, there are some holes defensively. The Lions rank seventh in points allowed, but 20th in yards given up. They rank 30th in passing yards conceded and also are 22nd in net yards per rush attempt, which will be music to Saquon Barkley’s ears.
The biggest sign of encouragement from this Eagles team has been their defensive growth throughout the season. This was the biggest part of their collapse last season, and Philadelphia did a nice job covering up their holes. Despite the critiques he receives, there is a level of buy-in that Nick Sirianni has created on this Eagles team. Sirianni holds the best winning percentage of any active NFL head coach, with the Eagles going 48-20 in the regular season under his tenure.
If this team plays to its standard on an every-game basis, they have a real chance of being crowned Super Bowl champions. The Eagles fell just one-half short of this goal two seasons ago when Patrick Mahomes managed to lead the Chiefs to a comeback win. The organization has taken the necessary steps to get back to this and now can execute this goal. I think they get over the hump this year.
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