It’s been a tough two-week stretch for the Eagles and the fans. After suffering embarrassing losses to the Niners and Cowboys, the panic level has risen. Fans are calling in to sports talk radio proposing solutions such as benching Jalen Hurts during a playoff race in favor of third string quarterback Tanner McKee, and garbage cans are being placed outside of the Novacare Complex indicating how some fans feel about the play from Darius Slay and James Bradberry has been as of late.
The City of Brotherly Love!
All jokes aside, this fan base is as passionate as they come. With the incredible success that the Eagles have had over the last two seasons, every game day is now expected to begin with a “Go Birds” and “E-A-G-L-E-S” chant and end with the same cheers along with a victory for the team. Nothing less.
However, the Eagles have lost back-to-back games for the first time with Jalen Hurts at quarterback and the sky apparently is falling.
As fellow PSN writer David Neisz wrote earlier this week regarding the offensive struggles, it might not be that bad.
Speaking of not being bad, the final four-game stretch the Eagles have to close out the regular season is certainly favorable for the defending NFC Champions, compared to the six-game gauntlet they had to endure in which they went 4-2.
Aside from the questions being asked about what’s going on with the team on both sides of the ball or who said anonymously to Derrick Gunn that the offense is “predictable”, another question being asked is can this team win out?
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s not much that I saw in the last two games that I liked. The losses could be dealt with by most fans, but what’s rubbing the majority of the fan base the wrong way is in the fashion that they lost. Getting beat by 20+ points to the Niners, who have become a rival since last season, and your archnemesis in the Cowboys playing an uninspiring brand of football certainly brings cause for concern.
However, I have a hard time throwing away the first 11 weeks of the season when this team was 10-1 and beat the likes of the Dolphins, Chiefs and Bills. Regardless of how they did it, they still won.
The Eagles might very well need to take the message Adrian gave to Rocky in the hospital to heart over the final month of the season. Win.
They will need to do that and get some help with a slip up by the Cowboys, who have the Bills, Dolphins and Lions in the next three weeks, and the Niners who have a collision with the Ravens on Christmas Day. The loss against Dallas dropped the Eagles all the way to the fifth seed currently.
With all of that said, let’s take a brief snapshot at the final four contests remaining and see if the Eagles can in fact close out the season unblemished.
Battle of the Birds
The Eagles have yet another primetime game this season, as they and the Seahawks became the first two teams to have their game flexed into Monday Night Football, overtaking the Chiefs-Patriots matchup that was originally slated.
It won’t be an easy task for the Eagles. Flying across country and playing in one of the loudest stadiums in the league against a team that they have not had much success against.
Philadelphia has lost its last seven straight games against Seattle. They lost in their last meeting on November 30, 2020, by a score of 23-17 at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles are also 0-3 at Seattle during that stretch, being outscored 81-39.
You have to go all the way back to the Donavan McNabb days to find the last win for the Eagles against the Seahawks which was back in 2008 in a 26-7 win.
These two teams don’t meet annually as this game marks the first time since 2020 they’ve played each other, so the 0-7 skid spans back to 2011.
The Eagles have a good shot at ending the losing streak. Seahawks’ starting quarterback Geno Smith is dealing with a groin injury that forced him to miss last week and his status is in question for Monday. That means the Eagles could face journeyman Drew Lock who tossed for 269 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 28-16 loss at San Francisco.
Seattle is pedestrian in both total offense (20th) and total defense (28th). The Eagles might be able to breakout of their offensive slump with Seattle’s defense allowing 367 yards per game to opposing offenses and an even worse 438.3 per contest over their last three games.
It won’t be easy, but I think the Eagles squeak by, and Jake Elliott delivers with a last-minute field goal.
Eagles 27, Seahawks 24
Gigantic Christmas
An NFC East division showdown on Christmas Day! What else could you have asked for? The Giants, who currently sit on the bubble in the NFC playoff picture are riding a wave of momentum created by backup quarterback Tommy DeVito.
DeVito, who recently earned the NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor, has taken over the Giants’ fan base with his Italian heritage, Soprano-esque agent and orchestrating a comeback win against the surging Green Bay Packers last Monday.
“Tommy Cutlets”, as he has been affectionately called by fans, will try to keep the Giants’ playoff hopes alive if they come into the Christmas Day game off a win against New Orleans this week.
The good news for the Eagles? They return to Lincoln Financial Field to play big brother against the inferior Giants. Philadelphia has owned the head-to-head matchup as of late, winning four straight against New York in convincing fashion, outscoring the Giants 142-55, including a 38-7 drubbing in the playoffs last year.
This is the game we finally see the Eagles turn the corner and get right on offense. Expect them to send the Giants back to East Rutherford with coal.
Eagles 35, Giants 14
The Gannon Game
Let’s face it, it wouldn’t matter if former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was coaching the Dallas Cowboys. This game against the Arizona Cardinals on New Year’s Eve will always be dubbed “The Gannon Game”.
It’s been well documented the disdain the majority of the fan base has for Gannon after the way he handled the process of interviewing for the Cardinals head coach position while preparing for the Super Bowl last year. Fittingly, he returns to South Philly where 60,000 fans will welcome him as they see fit.
The Cardinals are bad. There’s no other way to put it. Yes, they beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh a couple weeks ago, but I think the Steelers are one of the most fraudulent teams in the NFL this season. This team is in no position to win another game this year even with Kyler Murray at quarterback.
However, it will be interesting to see the chess match play out between Gannon and Nick Sirianni, although the Eagles should be able to say “checkmate” rather early in this one.
Eagles 30, Cardinals 13
Giants Round Two
The Eagles close out the regular season with a trip to the Meadowlands. The Giants would most likely be eliminated from playoff contention at this point, but the Eagles could very well still be needing a win in this one to clinch that coveted #1 seed in the NFC.
If that’s the case, I expect the Giants to do their best to play spoiler, but the Eagles will be rolling on to close out the season on a four-game win streak.
Eagles 30, Giants 17
The Eagles certainly have the ability to close out the year on a 4-0 run and beat up on some bad teams. The way they should look at this stretch is like the old basketball adage, “You just have to see one go in.”
Ultimately, it will come down to the execution of the gameplan by the coaching staff and the players, something that has certainly been lacking over the last two weeks.
Follow Cory on X at @Cory_Nidoh.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
