Eagles Have Successful Bye Week
The Eagles couldn’t have asked for a better bye week.
While they were resting, several teams the Eagles could be contending for a playoff spot were losing.
While they were resting, several teams the Eagles could be contending for a playoff spot were losing.
First off, Dallas, lost to Minnesota, 28-24 and the Cowboys and Eagles are now tied for first in the NFC East with 5-4 records.
Yet Dallas, which owns a win over the Eagles, has a much more difficult schedule.
Here are the remaining schedules with the teams’ records
Eagles Schedule
November 17 New England (8-1)
November 24 Seattle (8-2)
December 1 at Miami (2-7)
December 9 NY Giants (2-8)
December 15 at Washington (1-8)
December 22 Dallas (5-4)
December 29 at NY Giants (2-8)
Dallas Schedule
November 17 at Detroit (3-5-1)
November 24 at New England (8-1)
November 28 Buffalo (6-3)
December 5 at Chicago (4-5)
December 15 LA Rams (5-4)
December 22 at Eagles (5-4)
December 29 Washington (1-8)
In addition, the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers lost and are both 5-4. If the Eagles don’t win the division, they could be battling teams like the Rams and Panthers for a wild card.
If the season ended today, the Eagles would be out of the playoffs, but that is highly misleading. The Eagles will get a chance to even the series with Dallas and take away the Cowboys head to head advantage.
Still, it appears as if the Eagles will have a better chance to make the playoffs as a division winner than a wild card team.
This week’s opponent, New England, is the defending Super Bowl champion and a dangerous team, but the Patriots got exposed in a 37-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. That was the Pats’ most recent game before having a bye. The Ravens have the NFL’s top running quarterback in Lamar Jackson, who shredded the formidable Pats defense, throwing for one touchdown and running for two others.
While not having a quarterback with Jackson’s running ability, the Eagles still should be able to run the ball on the Pats.
New England won its first eight games, feasting on a relatively weak schedule.
That’s not to say the Pats will be an easy team for the Eagles to beat at home, but just that Baltimore was able to shed some of New England’s invincibility.
Having New England and Seattle at home is huge (although the Seahawks are 5-0 on the road after handing San Francisco its first loss on Monday night.
If the Eagles split with New England and Seattle, the final five games they will be favorites. In four of them they will be prohibitive favorites. The Eagles should also be favored when they meet Dallas at home.
The Cowboys did crush the Eagles in Dallas, 37-7, which should be further motivation when the teams meet in Philadelphia.
It’s easy to see the Eagles finishing 11-5. That likely won’t be good enough for home field advantage in the playoffs, but it should get the Eagles in the door.
And as the Eagles prepare for their final seven games, they have to believe that there is nobody in the NFC that they can’t compete with. Look at Green Bay (8-2). That is one of the top teams and the Eagles beat the Packers at Lambeau Field.
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So the Eagles look to take the momentum earned during their bye into the final seven regular season games. In the end, the Eagles look like a team that will be competing in the postseason.
© SouthJersey.com 2019. All rights reserved. This article or parts thereof may not be reprinted or reproduced by any other party without the express written consent of SouthJersey.com. For more information, please call 856-797-9910.
For more Local Sports features, visit our South Jersey Sports page.
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So the Eagles look to take the momentum earned during their bye into the final seven regular season games. In the end, the Eagles look like a team that will be competing in the postseason.
© SouthJersey.com 2019. All rights reserved. This article or parts thereof may not be reprinted or reproduced by any other party without the express written consent of SouthJersey.com. For more information, please call 856-797-9910.
For more Local Sports features, visit our South Jersey Sports page.
Author: Marc Narducci; Photo by Marc Narducci
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