PHILADELPHIA − You didn’t really think the Eagles would make this easy.
Three weeks ago, the Eagles were 13-1, needing just one more win to clinch the NFC East division title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, with a first-round bye to go with it.
Back then, the Eagles were supposed to be treating this like a glorified preseason game. They would be resting their starters, and in the process, buying extra time for quarterback Jalen Hurts to recover from his sprained shoulder.
How times have changed.
PRAYING FOR HAMLIN:‘Like a car crash:’ Damar Hamlin cardiac arrest leaves Eagles stunned; how they play on
MEMORABLE FINALES:Ranking Eagles’ finales, including Sudfeld tank’ game; is Jalen Hurts close to returning?
The Eagles head into their season finale against the Giants at 13-3, still needing the one more win to clinch the NFC division and the top overall seed. Yet they are the ones playing all of their starters, most likely including Hurts, and treating this like a must-win game.
The Giants (9-6-1) are locked into the No. 6 seed in the playoffs no matter what happens Sunday. They’re the ones expected to treat the game like a glorified preseason game.
“We did this to ourselves,” defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. “So we gotta dig ourselves out of it and get back to winning football. We lost two in a row, something we haven’t done all year … Maybe we needed another reality check. And the truth is, now we have it.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown said he’s “pissed off” that the Eagles are in this predicament, while veteran cornerback James Bradberry said the Eagles got caught “looking too far forward” after their Dec. 18 win over the Chicago Bears left them at 13-1.
Since then, the Eagles, behind backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, lost 40-34 to the Dallas Cowboys as Minshew threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. They also lost 20-10 to the New Orleans Saints. In that game, the Eagles were shut out in the first half for the first time this season. They didn’t even get their first first-down until 12 seconds remained in the half. And they scored a season-low in points.
“I think we kind of lost track of being in the moment and taking advantage of the opportunity that we had at hand,” Bradberry said. “So now we’re in this position and we can’t do anything about it. All we can do is prepare throughout this week, and go out there and dominate and win the game.”
Oh, the irony
The Eagles have dominated throughout most of the season.
They tied a franchise record for wins. The other two Eagles’ teams to go 13-3, in 2004 and 2017, both reached the Super Bowl.
The 13 wins will mean little if the Eagles lose to the Giants. That’s because an Eagles loss, coupled with a Dallas Cowboys win over the Washington Commanders, will give the Cowboys the NFC East title.
That will knock the Eagles into the No. 5 seed, making them a wildcard team, with a first-round playoff game on the road against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
So it’s not a stretch to say the difference between winning and losing Sunday could determine the Eagles’ Super Bowl fate. A win over the Giants means the Eagles will be the only NFC team to get a bye. For the Eagles to reach the Super Bowl, they’ll have to win two home games.
As a wildcard team, the Eagles won’t get a bye week, and they’ll have to win three playoff games − likely all on the round − in order to reach the Super Bowl.
“We gotta get it done,” Brown said. “We gotta get some momentum for the playoffs, to make this push … When you don’t go out and handle business, sometimes it shocks you. I think that’s what happened.
“I have not once lost confidence in this team. I still feel like at the right time, this team is still going to go (all the way). But we gotta handle business first, and right now, that’s the Giants.”
The repercussions of not clinching sooner could be felt throughout the roster, beginning with Hurts’ shoulder.
Hurts, a leading candidate for the NFL’s MVP award, suffered the injury against the Bears when his shoulder was slammed into the frozen turf at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Hurts was diagnosed with a sprained shoulder.
Rest and rehab are considered the best remedy. With the top seed locked up, Hurts could have gotten five full weeks to recover before the Eagles’ first playoff game the weekend of Jan. 21-22.
That, of course, didn’t happen. Now Hurts might have to play after three weeks. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has said repeatedly that Hurts won’t play unless he’s healthy.
But there are degrees of being healthy, as Sirianni implied when asked if Hurts’ shoulder has to be 100% for him to play against the Giants.
“One, he’ll be healthy (to the point) where we’re not putting him at risk,” he said. “And two, he should be able to throw is the expectation, yes.”
Hurts is ranked among the top NFL quarterbacks in passer rating (third, 104.6) and completion percentage (sixth, 67.3%). And he’s third among quarterbacks in rushing with 747 yards.
Hurts’ running ability not only makes him a more dangerous passer because teams have to devote a defender to him, but it also benefits running back Miles Sanders, who’s having a career-best season with 1,236 yards.
Brown, meanwhile, has 1,401 yards receiving, just 9 yards from breaking the Eagles’ all-time receiving record in a season set by Mike Quick in 1983. And fellow receiver DeVonta Smith has 1,129 yards receiving, while tying Irving Fryar’s franchise record for receptions in a season by a wide receiver with 88.
Brown and Smith are also the first Eagles’ duo to each surpass 1,000 yards receiving in team history.
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert was asked what he learned while Hurts was out.
“I think the biggest thing is we found out who Jalen is, and how important he is to this team,” Goedert said.
But if Hurts isn’t 100% against the Giants and suffers a blow to the shoulder, chances are he wouldn’t be 100% next week if the Eagles have to play in the wildcard round.
There are other key players who are recovering from injuries who could use the bye week to get healthy.
There’s right tackle Lane Johnson and nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox, who each will miss their second straight game with a torn abdominal muscle and toe injury, respectively.
And safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who’s tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with six despite missing five straight games with a kidney laceration, likely won’t return until the playoffs.
But most importantly, the Eagles want to build some momentum going into the postseason.
When asked if complacency had set in these last few weeks, Eagles center Jason Kelce replied: “I’m not a psychology major, I don’t want to get into human nature stuff. I think the reality is we’ve had a lot of things happen over the last couple weeks − injuries, different guys are playing.
“I think Gardner’s done a tremendous job. I know he gets crushed for the last game but I think there were a number of circumstances where his teammates didn’t help him out.
“So I think this is a good week and a good opportunity to iron out a lot of these mistakes and get better going into the playoffs.
A Super flashback
This is all reminiscent of five years ago when it appeared that the Eagles’ midnight green sky was falling.
Starting quarterback Carson Wentz, like Hurts in the midst of an MVP-caliber season, suffered a season-ending injury late in the season.
Then in the last two games of the regular season, Wentz’s replacement, Nick Foles, was unimpressive in a close win over the Raiders. And then Foles had a clunker in the meaningless season finale against the Cowboys, completing just 4 of 11 passes for 39 yards before getting taken out (as planned) in the first half. The Eagles lost 6-0.
In those two games, Foles completed just 47% of his passes with a TD and 2 INTs, with a passer rating of 48.2.
There was no talk about erecting a Foles statue outside Lincoln Financial Field, or even a possible Super Bowl parade. Heck, the Eagles, even as a No. 1 seed, were rated as underdogs in their first playoff game.
And yes, one reporter really asked then-coach Doug Pederson if he would consider starting third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld in the playoffs.
“That was a major thought process, and that wasn’t all made up,” Kelce said. “We struggled offensively those last two games, and I think the coaches put a lot of work in in trying to figure out how can we get Nick to play at his best.
“And it worked out really well, honestly.”
Then he added: “We went into the playoffs with zero momentum, and it kind of took off from there … Just because it was like that (5 years ago) doesn’t mean that it’ll impact this year.
“But we’re in this position. All we can do is try to improve. That’s it.”
We all know how things turned out back then, with that Super Bowl parade, and the statue of Foles outside of the Linc. Can it happen again?
“It never goes like you want it to, but I know for us, it’s going to go the way it’s supposed to,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “I’m excited either way because it’s all in our hands.”
Just like it was three weeks ago.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
