With only one game to go in the regular season and the playoffs looming, there’s little reason to think the Eagles’ offense will or is capable of changing its stripes. The defense, on the other hand, continues to prove its dominance (as it did again in Buffalo), regardless of which players it has available, or the opponent it faces. This combination, while imperfect, has still positioned the Eagles for a top-three postseason seed. But will the formula be enough for the franchise to duplicate last winter’s Super Bowl run this year? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner weigh in.
00:00 Acceptance; this is what the Eagles are
02:14 What the heck happened to the offense in the second half?
09:35 How should the Eagles approach their offense moving forward?
14:10 A defense capable of carrying a team
19:20 To rest or not; the tradeoffs
unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the season, including day-after-game reactions.
If you were waiting with bated breath for Eagles coach Nick Sirianni to appear in front of a camera Monday afternoon and reveal his exact plans for Sunday’s season finale vs. the Washington Commanders, you are probably new around here.
Sirianni was unsurprisingly noncommittal when asked if he intended to roll out his starters for the final regular-season game or rest them with the No. 2 seed in the NFC — and a guaranteed home playoff game if you win your first one — still up for grabs.
“It’s not a decision I have to make today or even tomorrow,” Sirianni said Monday, a day after the Eagles’ 13-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills coupled with Chicago’s loss kept the Eagles alive for the No. 2 seed in the conference.
The Eagles need to beat Washington at Lincoln Financial Field and hope the Bears lose at home to the Detroit Lions in order to leapfrog Chicago into second place in the NFC. Both games will kick off at 4:25 p.m. Sunday, so the Eagles won’t have any additional insight before kickoff. In addition to the possible second home playoff game, the second seed would mean hosting a banged-up Green Bay team in the wild-card round and avoiding a more difficult NFC West opponent.
“Things are still up in the air as far as seeding goes,” Sirianni said. “It’s pretty similar to where we were last week.”
The Eagles, of course, played their starters as normal on Sunday following a week when resting and seeding were topics of conversation at the NovaCare Complex.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles can clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a win over the Commanders on Sunday and a Bears loss to the Lions.
“We’ve done it both ways,” Sirianni said. “We’ve had opportunities to rest; we’ve had opportunities to continue to get a better seed and played.
“You go through your process, but every season is a little bit different, every team is a little bit different. We’ll end up doing what we think is best for the team.”
Given the advantage the No. 2 spot provides, it’s fair to wonder why the Eagles wouldn’t pursue it vigorously.
Sirianni pointed to the past when asked that question Monday. The Eagles rested their starters in the season finale last year, when they were locked into the No. 2 seed. When the Eagles reached the Super Bowl in the 2022 season, they played their starters in the finale to win, earn the top seed, and create a bye for themselves.
Bye weeks and extended rests have gone pretty well for Sirianni’s teams. The Eagles are 11-4 in games that come at least 10 days after their previous contests (including playoff games). That’s a winning percentage of .733, which is more than Sirianni’s career winning percentage of .699 (including playoffs).
“This is a marathon of a season,” Sirianni said. “Yes, your seeding is not locked down yet, but you are thinking, ‘Hey, can I put ourselves in the best position seeding-wise,’ while also you’re thinking to yourself how important byes are and creating them if you don’t earn the right for the first-round bye. Those are all things you got to think through and go through.
“I think a lot of guys would say last year that that was a big deal, being able to have a built-in bye last year to set us up for what we ultimately did last year.”
Time will tell how the Eagles decide to approach Sunday.
The Eagles may believe they can have it both ways — resting some starters and playing others, while still being in a good position to beat Washington. The 4-12 Commanders are a weaker opponent that could be starting third-stringer Josh Johnson at quarterback.
“You guys don’t know what we’re doing yet,” Sirianni joked. “We’re leaning and getting all the information.”
The Eagles extended their winning streak and kept their chances at the No. 2 seed alive with a 13-12 win over the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. This week, the final week of the NFL’s regular season, the Birds will host the Washington Commanders at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday.
From Philly’s chances to updates on year-end awards, here are some of the latest odds at two of the biggest sportsbooks …
Eagles vs. Commanders odds
These teams just met two weeks ago at Northwest Stadium, with the Eagles emerging with a 29-18 win and the first back-to-back NFC East titles in two decades.
Now, the 11-5 Eagles will host the 4-12 Commanders in their regular-season finale, and the Birds still have something to play for. With a win Sunday and a Chicago Bears loss to the Detroit Lions, the Birds can secure the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Quarterback Marcus Mariota and the Commanders will try to play spoiler 15 days after a dramatic end to their first matchup that featured a fight between players from both sides.
Heading into the Week 18 matchup, the Eagles open as early favorites over their division opponents.
At both sportsbooks, the Eagles have fallen to the fourth spot in the race to win the NFC championship. The Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks remain in the top two spots. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers have overtaken the Eagles for the third spot, making it an all-NFC West top three.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams remain the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl odds
Despite dropping to fourth in the NFC, the Eagles’ odds remained the same. The same cannot be said for their Super Bowl odds, which have fallen at both sportsbooks. At FanDuel, the Birds remain in the top five — sitting below the Denver Broncos and tied with the 49ers. At DraftKings, they’re outside of the top five. The Rams and the Seahawks remain the favorites to win the big game.
According to oddsmakers, it’s down to a two-man race between Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye for league MVP. Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts continues to fall further in the odds.
A silent second half from the Eagles offense, an outstanding effort from the Birds defensive line, and a failed two-point conversion in the final seconds. It all added up to the Eagles outlasting the Bills on the road in the Buffalo weather, securing a 13-12 win to extend their winning streak to three games.
Now the Eagles will prepare to close out the regular season with a home game against the Washington Commanders, and the No. 2 seed in the NFC is still in play. As Week 18 gets underway, most of the Eagles discussion centered on their dominant defense and ongoing offensive struggles.
Here’s what they’re saying about the Birds ahead of their game with the Commanders …
Did the Eagles impress in Sunday’s win?
The Eagles entered the game as slight underdogs after coming off two wins over teams with losing records: the 2-14 Las Vegas Raiders and the 4-12 Commanders. One of the biggest concerns heading into their Week 17 matchup was how they would the look against a playoff team, one with reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen at quarterback.
After the win, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy said he liked what he saw from the Eagles as they prepare to head into the postseason.
“Everything favored the Buffalo Bills,” McCoy said on The Speakeasy podcast. “Who got dominated though, physically? If you watch the game, turn the volume down and just watch the game, we were beating the [expletive] out of them — physical, up front.
“On offense, I don’t like this though. I don’t like that once we get a lead, a comfortable lead, it’s like we put our foot off the gas. Why? It’s OK we’re blowing people out. It’s OK we’re putting 30 on their head. I think we get so conservative and the only thing [we focus on is] let’s get the win. … I’m happy, I think we can clean that stuff up. But, going into the playoffs, I like what I see.”
"Everything favored the Buffalo Bills, but [the Eagles] physically dominated"
– @CutonDime25 is undaunted by Jalen Hurts' poor second half performance
Playing in the rain at Highmark Stadium and taking an early 13-0 lead was enough to impress McCoy’s co-host, former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
“I think it was impressive,” Acho said. “You beat the Bills in terrible conditions and interesting terrain. People were slipping, people were sliding. You got the job done.
“Reason it was impressive to me however, though, the Buffalo Bills are one of if not the best teams in the AFC. The Buffalo Bills have the most talented, healthy quarterback remaining in the AFC. The Eagles went to Buffalo and won a game that the Bills needed to win, desperately, because the Buffalo Bills are vying for the No. 1 seed in the AFC East. So, with all that being said, a win over Josh Allen when Josh Allen must win is always impressive.”
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts runs with the ball during Sunday’s win over the Bills.
‘I’m giving both those quarterbacks the out’
The Eagles struggled to find anything offensively in the second half. In the first half, Jalen Hurts passed for 110 yards, but he didn’t have a single completion in the second half while the offense as a whole recorded just 17 yards. Meanwhile, Allen passed for 262 yards but committed a costly turnover that led to the Eagles’ lone touchdown, and missed an open receiver in the end zone on the potential game-winning two-point conversion attempt.
“I think Tom Brady kind of hit it on the head,” former Eagles defensive end Chris Long said on the Green Light podcast. “It was really hard to operate in that weather for both of those quarterbacks. Not just Josh [Allen], I’m giving Jalen [Hurts] the out.
“You know I think the world of Josh, but I’m giving both those quarterbacks the out because — the thing Josh can’t do at the end of the game is choke off an easy crosser. That’s the problem I have. When for much of the game it was really hard to move the ball through the air even routine plays. And it’s not a monsoon at the end of the game.
“I just don’t love the two-point call. I just don’t. Maybe I wanted some free football. Maybe that was a little close for comfort. But Eagles defense, they deserve all the credit in the world.”
As the Eagles offense continues to struggle, their defense continues to make up for it. The Birds defensive line limited NFL rushing leader James Cook to 74 yards on 20 carries, sacked Allen five times, and even made its presence known on special teams, with Jalen Carter blocking an extra point attempt.
“The last three weeks the defense has played their behinds off, and today, magnificent,” former Eagles linebacker Seth Joyner said on The Seth Joyner Show. “You couldn’t ask for a better performance by a defense. But you can’t put all that pressure on the defense when you got all the money on [the offensive] side of the football.
“When you got all the great players, supposedly, on that side of the football, you mean to tell me that they couldn’t throw an out route to A.J. Brown in the second half on first down, come back on second down, throw another one and get a first down? One first down in the entire second half of a football game. Are you kidding me?”
Nick Sirianni and the Eagles will host the Washington Commanders on Sunday in their regular-season finale.
‘The Eagles are better than people think’
Despite any offensive inconsistencies, Rex Ryan believes this is a Super Bowl-caliber team heading into the postseason.
“Final word is that the Eagles are a hell of a lot better than people think,” Ryan said on ESPN’s Get Up. “And I get it, the offense has struggled, but this is a championship caliber defense — again. Playing at home is going to be critical.”
But he wasn’t alone in being impressed by the Birds’ victory. Former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins posted that he’s looking forward to the postseason after the team’s big win over the Bills.
“Tonight, playoff-ready defense, sound [special teams] with Jake [Elliott] kicking the laces off the ball, and an offense that capitalized on a turnover without turning the ball over,” Dawkins wrote. “Playoff prep course. Always better to correct after a hard-fought victory.”
Other former players and analysts were already discussing the Eagles’ chances at another Super Bowl ring.
“The Eagles have some absolutely incredible wins this year — but the Rams and Bills wins stand above the rest,” Acho posted just after the win. “This team is battle tested and equipped to win back-to-back Super Bowls.”
Added McCoy: “This defense ain’t no joke. Super Bowl defense.”
Even noted Cowboys fan Skip Bayless was impressed enough by the win to suggest the defending champs will be back in the Super Bowl.
“This game is over,” Bayless wrote. “Congrats, Eagles. You got a gift, then you just took this game over with your physicality and Jalen Hurts’ deadly accuracy. Big impressive late-season win. Super Bowl here you come, again.”
Nick Sirianni undecided on playing starters vs. Commanders
The Eagles still have something to play for against the Commanders on Sunday.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was — as expected — noncommittal about whether he will let his starters loose for Sunday’s season finale vs. the Washington Commanders.
“It’s not a decision I have to make today or even tomorrow,” Sirianni said Monday, a day after the Eagles’ 13-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills kept them alive for the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
The Eagles need to win, and have Chicago lose vs. Detroit, in order to get the No. 2 seed and a guarantee at a second home playoff game should they win their first. The second seed also presents a more favorable matchup vs. seventh-seeded Green Bay.
“Things are still up in the air as far as seeding goes,” Sirianni said. “It’s pretty similar to where we were last week.”
The Eagles, of course, played their starters Sunday.
“We’ve done it both ways,” Sirianni said. “We’ve had opportunities to rest; we’ve had opportunities to continue to get a better seed and played.
“You go through your process, but every season is a little bit different, every team is a little bit different. We’ll end up doing what we think is best for the team.”
The Eagles are trying to claim their second straight Vince Lombardi trophy.
The Eagles have fallen to the fourth spot in the race to win the NFC championship, according to both FanDuel and DraftKings. The Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks remain in the top two spots. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers have dethroned the Eagles for the third spot, making it an all NFC West top three.
Despite dropping one spot among NFC teams, the Eagles’ odds actually remained the same. The same cannot be said for their Super Bowl odds, which have fallen at both sportsbooks.
At FanDuel, the Birds remain in the top five — sitting below the Denver Broncos and tied with the 49ers. At DraftKings, they’re outside of the top five. The Rams and the Seahawks remain the favorites to win the big game.
Eagles stats: Dallas Goedert sets a franchise record, and other notable numbers
Dallas Goedert set a new Eagles record for tight end touchdown catches Sunday.
The final score in Orchard Park, N.Y., 13-12 Eagles, was an interesting one. It was no Scoragami, though. While Sunday was the first 13-12 game of the 2025 season, it marked the 22nd game in NFL history with a 13-12 final, according to The Football Database.
The Eagles previously won a game by the same score on Oct. 26, 1997 at home vs. Dallas.
While the score may not have been terribly unique, there were some pretty rare numerical occurrences to come from the Eagles’ victory.
Let’s start with the bad stuff (Why not? It’s a dreary Monday).
Here’s a funny one: The Eagles failed to complete a pass in the second half Sunday for the second time this season. Yet, somehow, the Eagles are 2-0 in those games. Hard to believe.
Here’s another one from Eagles numbers guru Deniz Selman: The Bills picked up the last 14 first downs of the game Sunday and still lost. It’s unclear how often that has happened in NFL history, if ever at all. The Eagles ran 17 plays for 17 yards in the second half before Jalen Hurts’ kneeldown.
“Hey,” Hurts said to Nick Sirianni after the game, “a win’s a win.”
The win was the Eagles’ 11th of the season, marking the fourth consecutive season the Eagles have reached 11 or more victories. That’s the second-longest streak in franchise history (they did it five consecutive times from 2000 to 2004).
Here are some other notable numbers from Sunday:
Sirianni earned his 65th win and moved past Greasy Neale into second place for wins by an Eagles head coach. He trails Andy Reid (140) and has a long way to go.
According to Elias, only three head coaches in NFL history have produced 11-plus wins in four of their first five seasons with a franchise: Sirianni, Reid, and Tony Dungy.
Dallas Goedert’s 11th touchdown of the season set a new franchise record for tight end touchdown catches.
Since Week 13, the Eagles lead the NFL with 20 sacks after they brought Josh Allen down for five on Sunday.
The Eagles have forced a turnover in eight consecutive games and are tied with Chicago for the longest active streak. It is the longest streak by the Eagles since they forced a turnover in 11 consecutive games in 2022.
A.J. Brown has a franchise-record fourth consecutive season with 1,000 or more receiving yards. Brown is one of four NFL players with 1,000-plus receiving yards every year since 2022 (Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown).
Jake Elliott became the second player in franchise history (David Akers) to reach the 1,000-point club.
How ESPN’s Joe Buck is keeping track of the playoff picture tonight
ESPN ‘Monday Night Football’ announcer Joe Buck.
It’s going to be a wild Week 18, with four divisions up for grabs (NFC West, NFC South, AFC North, AFC South) and both No. 1 seeds undecided.
Over at ESPN, Joe Buck is calling the Monday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons, and shared his messy playoff cheatsheet for tonight’s game:
If anyone wants a clear view of the NFL playoff picture – here’s what I’ll have in front of me during the MNF game tonight in Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/iG1AQjuYdw
Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt celebrates a fourth-quarter sack of Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
The Eagles entered Sunday’s game as slight underdogs after coming off two wins over mediocre teams with losing records: the 2-14 Las Vegas Raiders and the 4-12 Washington Commanders. One of the biggest concerns heading into their Week 17 matchup was how they would the look against a playoff team, one with reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen at quarterback.
After the win, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy admitted that he liked what he saw from the Eagles as they prepare to head into the postseason.
“Everything favored the Buffalo Bills,” McCoy said on The Speakeasy podcast. “Who got dominated though, physically? If you watch the game, turn the volume down and just watch the game, we were beating the [expletive] out of them — physical, up front.
“On offense, I don’t like this though. I don’t like that once we get a lead, a comfortable lead, it’s like we put our foot off the gas. Why? It’s OK we’re blowing people out. It’s OK we’re putting 30 on their head. I think we get so conservative and the only thing [we focus on is] let’s get the win. … I’m happy, I think we can clean that stuff up. But, going into the playoffs, I like what I see.”
"Everything favored the Buffalo Bills, but [the Eagles] physically dominated"
– @CutonDime25 is undaunted by Jalen Hurts' poor second half performance
Dallas Goedert played FB on a couple of 2H runs. Not sure why Cam Latu wasn’t in there. Doesn’t seem to be best use of personnel. Goedert hardly does it and struggled. pic.twitter.com/HgmykZNgbB
Tonight’s Rams-Falcons game will help decide Eagles’ first playoff opponent
A loss by Matthew Stafford and the Rams tonight would eliminate one potential Birds’ first-round opponent.
Which team the Eagles face in the first round of the playoffs will ultimately be decided by what happens in Week 18. But a Los Angeles Rams loss Monday night to the Atlanta Falcons would eliminate the possibility the Eagles will face the Seattle Seahawks first in the postseason.
Here is a breakdown of the Eagles’ potential seeding and wild-card opponents, excluding ties:
No. 2 Eagles vs. No. 7 Packers: Eagles win vs. Commanders AND Bears loss to the Detroit Lions (8-8)
No. 3 Eagles vs. No. 6 Rams: Eagles loss or Bears win AND Rams lose one of their final two games
No. 3 Eagles vs. No. 6 49ers: Rams win vs. Cardinals AND Seahawks win vs. 49ers
No. 3 Eagles vs. No. 6 Seahawks: Eagles loss or Bears win ANDRams win their final two games AND 49ers win vs. Seahawks
The math in the NFC West is pretty easy. The winner of Week 18’s matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Seahawks Saturday night will end up claiming the NFC West crown and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Rams had an outside chance at claiming the division, but were officially eliminated from contention by the 49ers’ win Sunday night. Now the best Los Angeles can do is the No. 5 seed.
A win’s a win, but Jalen Hurts made a bit of history Sunday.
The Eagles were one Bills two-point conversion away of blowing a big win in Buffalo Sunday night.
That didn’t happen without some weird stuff occurring. Here are two wild stats from the Eagles’ win:
Jalen Hurts didn’t complete a pass in the second half: Hurts became the first NFL quarterback since 1978 to go 0-7 or worse in multiple games in a season, according to ESPN Research (the first was the Eagles narrow Week 4 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Amazingly, the Eagles won both games, becoming the first team since the 1987 New England Patriots to win multiple games in a season where they didn’t complete a single second-half pass.
The Bills got the final 14 first downs in the game and still lost:Flagged by Wharton professor Deniz Selman, the Bills offense dominated the Eagles in the second half, but came away with just 12 points, thanks to a failed two-point conversion and a blocked extra point that ultimately became the difference in the game. The Eagles ran 17 plays in the second half, gaining just 17 yards and punting on all four of their possessions.
Eagles made some ‘mind-boggling calls’ during second-half meltdown
Just watched the film of the #Eagles’ second half offense and “inexplicable” may be generous. Just some mind-boggling calls and runs into stacked boxes without an advantage in blocking numbers.
There has to be a better system for Jalen Hurts to check out of these dead runs. https://t.co/4CQFAduzAc
Britain Covey briefly left the game after getting hit on a punt return.
Defensive end Jaelan Phillips left Sunday’s game in the second quarter with what appeared to be a lower leg injury, but quickly returned to the field and ended up playing 87% of the defensive snaps.
Wide receiver Britain Covey also returned to the field after briefly being knocked out of Sunday’s game during a punt return, when a Bills player accidentally ran into his leg while attempting a fair catch.
Offensive tackle Lane Johnson (foot) and linebacker Nakobe Dean (hamstring) both sat out Sunday’s game. Johnson hasn’t played since Week 11, but likely won’t be back until the playoffs.
The inconsistency of the Eagles offense won’t be resolved until the offseason
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense showed some promise in the first half and was less than crisp in the second half against the Bills.
Jalen Hurts sat at his locker stall and nodded as Nick Sirianni spoke. The quarterback listened intently to his coach until he ended the conversation with an adage that summed up the Eagles’ defensive-minded 13-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
“Hey,” Hurts said to a parting Sirianni, “a win’s a win.”
They mostly have defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit to thank. Special teams should get kudos as well. And lastly, they should give gratitude to Bills coach Sean McDermott, who shockingly went for two and the win despite the ineptitude of the Eagles offense in the second half.
The second half was that bad, especially when you consider the Bills’ suspect run defense. The Eagles ran 17 plays and gained just 17 yards before Hurts knelt in the victory formation. They produced one first down. Hurts didn’t complete any of his seven pass attempts.
In the first half, the offense seemed to build off the improvements shown in the previous two games. The offense wasn’t exactly high-powered, but it was effective as the Eagles took a 13-0 lead into halftime. But Sirianni and Patullo seemingly took their foot off the pedal.
“We weren’t in a mode of saying, ‘Hey, 13-0 is enough,” Sirianni said. “Not against this quarterback, not against this offense. And so I don’t think our mindset was ever that. But I got to do a better job there in that scenario. I’ll put that on myself.”
This wasn’t the first time this season that the Eagles have watched a double-digit lead evaporate, or the first time the offense has had disparate halves, or the first time the coach’s conservatism has come under question.
Sirianni can add another victory to a remarkable 43-2 record when the Eagles win the turnover margin during his five years at the helm. The offense didn’t give the ball away once, while the defense forced an Allen fumble.
But Hurts seems to be coached into doing anything to avoid turnovers. He had three throwaways and gave himself up for one sack on his eight drop backs in the second half.
“I don’t think it’s a conservative thing to have good ball security and be mindful that the turnover margin directly correlates with winning,” Hurts said. “That’s a truth of the game, and that’s a well-known fact of what we’ve been able to do and how we’ve been able to play over the last five years collectively.”
NFL playoff picture: Eagles still have a shot at the No. 2 seed
Jalen Hurts talks with cornerback Cooper DeJean during Sunday’s win against the Bills
The Eagles (11-5) still have a shot at landing the NFC’s No. 2 seed thanks to the Chicago Bears (11-5) loss to the San Francisco 49ers (12-4) Sunday night.
The math is pretty simple. An Eagles win against the Washington Commanders (4-12) and a Bears loss to the Detroit Lions (8-8) and the Birds would end the season with the No. 2 seed. Otherwise, the Eagles would enter the playoffs at the No. 3 seed.
It might not seem like a big difference from the No. 3 seed, but it would mean hosting at least two playoff games at the Linc if the Eagles win in the wild card round.
It also makes a big difference in who the Eagles would play during the wild card round. If they land the No. 2 seed, they would host the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers (9-6-1).
If the Eagles end up the No. 3 seed, they’d host the No. 6 seed, which could end up being the 49ers, Los Angeles Rams (11-4), or the Seattle Seahawks (13-3).
NFC playoff picture
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NFC West scenarios
The math is pretty easy here. The winner of Week 18’s matchup between the San Francisco 49ers (12-4) and the Seattle Seahawks (13-3) will end up deciding the NFC West champion and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Rams had an outside chance at claiming the division, but were officially eliminated from contention by the 49ers’ win Sunday night. Now the best Los Angeles can do is the No. 5 seed.
With both teams losing Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) and Carolina Panthers (8-8) will face off in Week 18 win-and-you’re-in game for the NFC South title.
The winner will claim the division crown and the NFC’s No. 4 seed, which means they’ll host a game against the No. 5 seed.
That is, unless the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) defeat the Rams Monday night. If that happens, a Falcons and Buccaneers win next week could force a three-way tie at 8-9 atop the NFC South.
In that unlikely case, the first tiebreaker would be head-to-head among the three teams, which the Panthers would win.
The move backfired. The Eagles went on to lose five of their next six games in an epic collapse that cost them an NFC East title, followed by an early playoff exit.
That trash-talking Sirianni was back following Sunday’s win against Buffalo, where the Birds head coach offered a similar-sounding taunt aimed at Bills fans.
“There was a lot of talking by those Buffalo fans coming in. Not so much anymore!” Sirianni shouted as he exited the field. “Not so much anymore.”
It’s unclear what Bills fans might’ve said prior to the game to get Sirianni so worked up. The Eagles coach wasn’t asked about the outburst by reporters following the game.
“They got really good fans,” Sirianni said. “Cool to get out of here with a win.”
“Can he just not help himself?” 94.1 WIP host Joe DeCamara asked during his show Monday morning. “I think he’s a great coach. This is an aspect of his thing I could do without.”
Thankfully, there’s no chance of a similar collapse this season. The Eagles have already clinched the NFC East and will likely enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed, meaning they’ll host at least one game at the Linc.
Eagles to face the Commanders Sunday in final game of the season
Things got tense during the Eagles’ previous game against the Commanders in Week 16.
The Eagles will face the Washington Commanders for the second time in three weeks in their final game of the regular season.
The game will take place on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. and air on CBS, the NFL announced late Sunday night. With both the Eagles and Chicago Bears playing for the No. 2 seed, the NFL opted to schedule both teams concurrently so neither game would be irrelevant at kickoff.
If the Eagles win and the Bears lose to the Detroit Lions, the Birds would end up the No. 2 seed. Otherwise the Eagles will enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed.
“I can only answer for my side, what I would do,” Quinn told reporters. “Hey man, if that’s how they want to get down, then all good. We’ll play them again in two weeks.”
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Jalen Hurts sat at his locker stall and nodded as Nick Sirianni spoke. The quarterback listened intently to his coach until he ended the conversation with an adage that summed up the Eagles’ defensive-minded 13-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
“Hey,” Hurts said to a parting Sirianni, “a win’s a win.”
They mostly have defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit to thank. Special teams should get kudos as well. And lastly, they should give gratitude to Bills coach Sean McDermott, who shockingly went for two and the win despite the ineptitude of the Eagles offense in the second half.
For more than three quarters, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen was rendered mortal by the Eagles defense. But he flipped a switch and drove the Bills to two touchdowns in the final frame as Hurts and Co. kept going three-and-out.
McDermott’s team would have had all the momentum going into overtime. But Fangio’s group answered the bell once more and hurried Allen into throwing his two-point conversion attempt wide of receiver Khalil Shakir.
It might have been the wind that followed a steady rain at Highmark Stadium, but a collective sigh of relief seemed to release from an Eagles sideline full of offensive players holding their breath. Namely, Sirianni, Hurts, and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
The second half was that bad, especially when you consider the Bills’ suspect run defense. The Eagles ran 17 plays and gained just 17 yards before Hurts knelt in the victory formation. They produced one first down. Hurts didn’t complete any of his seven pass attempts.
In the first half, the offense seemed to build off the improvements shown in the previous two games. The offense wasn’t exactly high-powered, but it was effective as the Eagles took a 13-0 lead into halftime. But Sirianni and Patullo seemingly took their foot off the pedal.
“We weren’t in a mode of saying, ‘Hey, 13-0 is enough,” Sirianni said. “Not against this quarterback, not against this offense. And so I don’t think our mindset was ever that. But I’ve got to do a better job there in that scenario. I’ll put that on myself.”
This wasn’t the first time this season that the Eagles have watched a double-digit lead evaporate, or the first time the offense has had disparate halves, or the first time the coach’s conservatism has come under question.
Sirianni can add another victory to a remarkable 43-2 record when the Eagles win the turnover margin during his five years at the helm. The offense didn’t give the ball away once, while the defense forced an Allen fumble.
But Hurts seems to be coached into doing anything to avoid turnovers. He had four throwaways and gave himself up for one sack on his eight drop backs in the second half.
“I don’t think it’s a conservative thing to have good ball security and be mindful that the turnover margin directly correlates with winning,” Hurts said. “That’s a truth of the game, and that’s a well-known fact of what we’ve been able to do and how we’ve been able to play over the last five years collectively.”
But how can an offense that gained 174 yards — 110 of them through the air — look almost the polar opposite after a 15-minute break? The Bills made some adjustments in their run defense, according to guard Landon Dickerson. Tackle Fred Johnson said their defense became more “exotic.”
The Eagles ran on first and second down on four of five drives, though. Hurts threw from under center only once — after Saquon Barkley ran for 5 and 10 yards on the first two plays of the second half. On the Eagles’ next 15 plays, they picked up just 2 yards.
Barkley kept running into heavy lines and stacked boxes. Certain Eagles, notably center Cam Jurgens and tight end Dallas Goedert, couldn’t sustain blocks with Bills defenders flying downhill. This was a unit ranked 31st in run defense.
“I don’t know if they had a bead on it, but we just didn’t take advantage of our situations well enough,” Jurgens said. “We can put that on our shoulders and do a little better, especially do better when we’re calling these runs, and we need to make things work.
“And I know I missed a couple blocks I want back.”
There were good moments on the ground through Barkley’s first two carries of the second half. He had 66 yards on 13 rushes up until that point. But he gained just 2 yards on his final six rushes. The Eagles just don’t have consistent enough blocking to run at will and there seemed to be times when Hurts needed to check out of calls against bad looks.
Saquon Barkley fell short of the big game many expected of him against the porous Bills run defense.
“We kind of went back to a consistent theme of playing really well one half and not well the other half, not putting a full game together,” Barkley said. “And, obviously, we know we’ve got to get better at that. Easier to get better from it when it’s a win.
“But, personally, I feel like when it’s like six minutes left, you want to end the game with the ball in your hands and we didn’t do that, I didn’t do that. I take responsibility for that.”
Barkley shouldn’t. He’s the least of the problems. But for all the positives in that realm since the Chargers game, the Eagles seem to be back to square one on the ground. And there’s obvious concern that the offense has regressed heading into the postseason.
“We’ve got to mix in some of the play-action things that we’ve done so well in the last couple weeks and not wait there again. That’s on me,” Sirianni said. “You know, I know what the first play is going into every series.”
Patullo’s first-half play calling had some rhythm. Receiver A.J. Brown was getting open and Hurts was finding him. The Eagles turned Allen’s fumble into seven points with another red zone conversion and a touchdown pass to Goedert.
But there were some head-scratching moments as well, like the third-and-9 draw to Will Shipley or the third-and-8 screen to Goedert at the Bills’ 13-yard line. As Sirianni noted, Buffalo wasn’t going away. The Eagles needed to pounce when they had chances.
And they needed to double down in the second half. How often was the defense expected to save the offense? Predictably, Fangio’s group relented — until it didn’t, thanks in part to McDermott, one of La Salle High School’s most esteemed alums, throwing caution to the wind.
Wins don’t get asterisks, of course. That was a solid team the Eagles beat, a sort of litmus test for how they stack up against one of the AFC’s best. The Eagles have a defense that can match almost any offense, and a decent special teams.
Nick Sirianni attempted to accentuate the positive after the win.
But the Sirianni-Patullo-Hurts offense has been a running (pun intended) joke. After 16 games, it would be ridiculous to think it’ll finally find its way in the postseason. The Eagles can scrape by as long as they don’t turn the ball over, and that may be enough.
“You’ve got to feel pretty good, right?” Sirianni said when asked about the state of the Eagles. “Three-game winning streak. In this league, three-game winning streaks are hard. Winning 11 games is hard. Winning the division is hard. And so, you feel really good about some of the things, but there’s also an opportunity to self-scout yourself and do some different things there.
“We’ll see what we do this upcoming week. I think there’s still an opportunity for us to get the [No.] 2 seed.”
There was at the time Sirianni spoke, and that possibility held up later in the evening, after the Chicago Bears lost to the San Francisco 49ers. The Eagles’ only path to the No. 2 seed is to defeat the Washington Commanders while the Bears lose to the Detroit Lions. Both games will be played at 4:25 p.m. next Sunday. Sirianni may also want to play his starters to give his offense another outing against the Commanders’ subpar defense.
But it seems like some issues won’t ever be properly resolved until the offseason.
Unfortunately, it won’t be to the No. 1 seed. The Birds’ were mathematically eliminated from ending the season in the NFC’s top playoff spot by the San Francisco 49ers’ win last week against the Indianapolis Colts.
But the 49ers helped the Eagles Sunday night by defeating the Chicago Bears in a high-scoring thriller, keeping the Birds’ hopes for the No. 2 seed alive.
Thankfully, the Birds can’t drop below the No. 3 seed, because the Carolina Panthers lost to the Seattle Seahawks Sunday.
The big winner of Sunday’s games was the NFL. Thanks to losses by the Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the league will have two win-and-you’re-in games in Week 18: Panthers at Buccaneers for the NFC South and Ravens at Steelers for the AFC North.
Two other divisions will also be decided in Week 18: The NFC West and AFC South.
The Colts were officially eliminated from the playoffs by the Houston Texans’ win against the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday night. Thanks to the win, the Texans clinched a playoff spot and the Denver Broncos clinched the AFC West.
And thanks to the Eagles win, the New England Patriots clinched the AFC East, ending the Bills five-year reign as division champions.
Here are all the remaining NFL playoff scenarios and potential clinches:
How the Eagles can get the No. 2 seed
The Eagles are heading to the playoff for the fifth straight season under Nick Sirianni.
The Eagles entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed last season, and ended up winning the Super Bowl.
The Birds had two different paths to the No. 2 seed, but needed the Seattle Seahawks to lose their final two games of the season. But the Seahawks defeated the Carolina Panthers Sunday, leaving just one scenario remaining for the Eagles to end the season as the No. 2 seed:
Eagles win in Week 18 against the Washington Commanders AND the Bears lose to the Detroit Lions.
Which team will the Eagles play in the playoffs?
If the season were already over, the Eagles would host the Rams in a wild card game.
While the Birds still have a path to the No. 2 seed, it’s far more likely they’ll end the season as the No. 3 seed.
In that case, the Eagles would host a wild card game against the No. 6 seed at the Linc, currently against the Los Angeles Rams. But the Birds could also face the 49ers or Seahawks, depending how the NFC West shakes out.
If the Eagles do end up the No. 2 seed, they’d host the Packers at the Linc during the first round of the playoffs.
NFC playoff picture
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The NFC playoff picture is pretty much set, with just two divisions and one postseason spot still up for grabs.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers will face off in Week 18, with the winner claiming the NFC South title and moving forward to the playoffs.
Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers
The math is pretty easy here. The winner of Week 18’s matchup between the 49ers and Seahawks will end up deciding the NFC West champion and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Rams had an outside chance at claiming the division, but were officially eliminated from contention by the 49ers’ win Sunday night. Now the best Los Angeles can do is the No. 5 seed.
Chicago Bears
Thanks to the Packers’ loss to the Ravens Saturday night, the Bears officially clinched their first NFC North title since 2018.
Because of their loss to the 49ers, the Bears can no longer end the season as the No. 1 seed. But Chicago will end up the No. 2 seed with a win or an Eagles’ loss in Week 18.
Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Panthers entered Sunday with a chance to clinch the NFC South, but let it slip away by losing to the Seahawks.
Thankfully, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Miami Dolphins Sunday. That means the Panthers vs. Buccaneers game in Week 18 will decide who wins the NFC South and claims the NFC’s final playoff spot.
That is, unless the Atlanta Falcons defeat the Rams Monday night. If that happens, a Falcons and Buccaneers win next week could force a three-way tie at 8-9 atop the NFC South. In that case, the first tiebreaker would be head-to-head among the three teams, which the Panthers would win.
AFC playoff picture
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Just like the NFC, just one playoff spot remains up for grabs in the AFC.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will face off in Week 18 for the AFC North title. The winner will be the AFC’s No. 4 seed heading into the playoffs, while the loser will go home.
Denver Broncos
Thanks to the Chargers’ loss Saturday night, the Broncos clinched the AFC West for the first time since 2015. But they’ll have to wait until Week 18 before the could clinch the No. 1 seed.
New England Patriots
Thanks to the Bills loss to the Eagles, the Patriots have officially clinched the AFC East for the first time since 2019.
To finish the season as the No. 1 seed, the Patriots need to defeat the Dolphins in Week 18 and have the Broncos lose to the Chargers.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Because of the Texans’ win Saturday night, the Jaguars missed out on a chance to clinch the AFC South in Week 17.
But thanks to their win Sunday against the Colts, the Jaguars will clinch the AFC South with a win in Week 18 against the Tennessee Titans or a Texans’ loss to the Colts.
Buffalo Bills
Because of their loss to the Eagles, the Bills will enter the playoffs as a wildcard team. Which seed the Bills end up with will be determined by what happens in Week 18.
Meaning the Bills game against the New York Jets last week could be the final game at Highmark Stadium, their home since 1973, when it was known as Rich Stadium.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns Sunday, which sets up a showdown against the Ravens for the AFC North in Week 18, with the winner advancing to the playoffs and ending the loser’s season.
Houston Texans
Not only did the Texans clinch a playoff spot with their win against the Chargers Saturday night, Houston remains alive in the hunt for an AFC South title.
The Texans will need to beat the Colts in Week 18 and have the Jaguars lose one of their final games against the Titans to claim the division title.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens remain alive in the playoff hunt thanks to their win Saturday night against the Packers and the Steelers’ loss Sunday. The two teams would face off for the division title in Week 18.
When do the NFL playoffs start?
The first playoff game will take place on wild-card weekend, beginning Jan. 10.
Six games will take place in the first round of the playoffs, airing across Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN/ABC. Amazon will also exclusively stream a wild-card game on Prime Video for the second straight season.
Full 2025 NFL playoff schedule:
Wild-card round: Saturday, Jan. 10, to Monday, Jan. 12
Divisional round: Saturday, Jan. 17, to Sunday, Jan. 18
Super Bowl LX (or 60, for those who don’t like Roman numerals) is being held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., home of the San Francisco 49ers. NBC will broadcast this year’s Super Bowl, with Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth on the call.
Here are the sites announced for future Super Bowls:
On the field, though, the Bills were storming back. A 13-0 Eagles lead had nearly evaporated. The Bills scored a touchdown with Josh Allen on a Tush Push to cut the deficit to one. Sean McDermott opted to go for two. Enter the eye.
“While everything else is swirling around us, we’re in the middle,” Davis said. “We’re calm. Everything can be messy as hell, but when we’re in the eye of the storm, everything is calm. We have to keep ourselves composed, can’t let the moment get too big.
“It comes down to that one play. What are you going to do then? It’s not like you’re out there and playing a whole drive. You’ve got one more play to play.”
Davis felt the calmness from the sideline. Then he watched his teammates execute. Vic Fangio called a simulated pressure. Cooper DeJean rushed off the left side, but Jalyx Hunt dropped into coverage from the right side of the line. Jalen Carter, whose hands were all over the end of Sunday’s game, ran a stunt with Jaelan Phillips, who got past right tackle Spencer Brown and into the backfield.
Allen had an open receiver, but the pressure made him backpedal and throw off-balance. The ball bounced in front of Khalil Shakir and out of the end zone.
“It was like slo-mo turning my head to see what happened,” Phillips said.
“It’s what we play the game for. In clutch moments like that, it’s what all the preparation, all the conditioning, all the hard work, it’s for moments like that.”
The Eagles bent but didn’t break. It was why they won Sunday. It is why they’ve won a chunk of their 11 victories this season. It’s why they won’t be a desirable opponent in January. The failed two-point conversion sealed the game, but the Eagles also had a fourth-down stop near the goal line. They allowed 120 rushing yards to the top rushing offense in the NFL, but they were good enough when it mattered. Buffalo was just 6-for-15 on third down.
“I think that’s just the character of our defense,” Phillips said. “We’re just sturdy, in any situation.
“I think it doesn’t fluster us when things like this happen. I think that’s crucial. The moment you start panicking, good offenses are going to take advantage of it.”
Phillips credited the pass rush being disciplined in its rushing lanes with making sure Allen wasn’t able to beat the Eagles with his legs. Allen rushed seven times for 27 yards. He had one 17-yard rush and 10 yards on his other six attempts.
“We got after him and made him one-dimensional,” Phillips said.
Get after him, they did.
Carter’s return had an instant impact. He had one of the five Eagles sacks and also deflected a pass. Jalyx Hunt had two sacks, and Moro Ojomo and Phillips each had one.
The Bills wouldn’t have had a reason to go for two and the win if not for Carter’s earlier heroics. Allen’s 2-yard touchdown put the Bills on the board with more than five minutes left on the clock. But there was Carter leaping to block Michael Badgley’s point-after attempt. Nick Sirianni said the Eagles knew he had a lower trajectory. It was a similar story when Carter and Davis each blocked Joshua Karty in the fourth quarter of the Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Carter, like he did in September, credited assistant special teams coach Joe Pannunzio with identifying the opposing team’s “fish,” or the player to target. The fish, Carter said, was on his side of the line, and the Eagles made the Bills pay.
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (right) flexes at the Buffalo Bills offense late in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
Carter is back, and a defense that has returned to championship-level form appears to be more than ready for postseason football.
“We’re getting better every week, every day,” Carter said. “I don’t want to throw that out there, Super Bowl this, Super Bowl that. We’re playing a game at a time. When we get to the playoffs it’s all restarted. Win or go home.”
Said Phillips: “Gritty games like that are things you need to have to prepare yourself for the long haul.”
In other words, to get through the storm, whatever it may look like.
The Eagles offense provided little help for its defense in the second half. That inconsistency may matter at some point, but it didn’t in the end on Sunday.
“We say on defense, we want to have one more point than the other team,” Davis said. “It’s on us. Whether they score a billion or they score two. It doesn’t matter. We just want to go out there and have one more point than the other team, and we went out there and we did that.”
The Eagles pulled out a nail-biter in the rain in Buffalo, stopping the Bills’ final two-point conversion attempt to stave off a comeback and win, 13-12.
Here’s everything you might have missed from the broadcast:
Weather woes?
It poured all through Sunday’s game in Orchard Park, N.Y. Bills quarterback Josh Allen told sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi pregame that he’d actually rather it pour than drizzle.
“Drizzle is harder to control,” Rinaldi said. “He said if it’s going to rain, let it rain. I find the ball more tacky, and it’s easier to control the pass game.”
Analyst Tom Brady, for his part, shared that back when he was an NFL QB, he downloaded basically every weather app on his phone and checked Weather Channel “about 75 times a day” before a start, so he’d know how to prepare.
Fox got a ton of mileage out of shots of just how hard it was raining.
After the kickoff, the Birds took a 5-yard illegal formation penalty on the opening play because offensive lineman Fred Johnson came on the field for the first drive sans helmet.
“Then you have Fred Johnson, who went on the field without a helmet somehow,” play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt said.
“Felt the raindrops on his head and realized he made a mistake,” Brady said jokingly.
Facing Vic Fangio
Over the course of his decades-long NFL career, Brady faced Vic Fangio’s defenses a few times.
With the Eagles on pace for another elite season under Fangio, Brady shared his personal reaction to their defensive coordinator.
“Vic Fangio is the type of coordinator where, when you know you’re going up against him you go, ‘Ugh. Do we have to?’” Brady joked. “Such a talented coach; he’s been doing this for four decades. Pretty remarkable, his success.”
Bills running back James Cook is having the best year of his career, and entered Sunday’s game leading the NFL in rushing yards for the first time.
Barkley sent Cook a message on Instagram telling him to “go finish it,” and claim the NFL rushing title. But Barkley told sideline reporter Erin Andrews that he’s still extremely competitive and was looking to outplay Cook on Sunday.
He put up 68 yards on 19 carries, compared to Cook’s 74 yards on 20 carries.
Brady vs. Buffalo
There’s no love lost between Brady, a longtime New England Patriot, and the Bills fan base, which was at his mercy for nearly two decades. Even now, when Brady comes to Buffalo, he brings former teammate Rob Gronkowski, who’s from the Buffalo area, with him to serve as a bit of a human shield.
The former quarterback didn’t get a warm welcome on Sunday at Highmark Stadium, though.
“Warm embrace, a lot of people, that one-finger salute they were giving me as I looked down from the press box, reminding me how much they enjoyed me coming to town, I guess,” Brady said.
🤣 @TomBrady says he got a "warm" embrace from Bills fans today as they gave him a "one finger salute"
The Birds’ first turnover of the game came off a fumble by Allen that almost got ruled an incomplete forward pass.
With Brady on the call, you may have thought he would broach the subject. He’s famous for the controversial tuck rule play in an AFC divisional-round game during the 2001 season, in which he avoided a fumble because of his forward arm motion.
Unfortunately, he did not broach the subject. Rules expert Dean Blandino did, though.
“It was really close; I think that’s why they let it stand,” Blandino said. “To me, it looks like a pass because once that hand comes forward, until he brings it back toward his body, you know the old tuck rule, Tom, it remains a pass. They probably said it was too close to change.”
Mewing?
Bills coach Sean McDermott is from Lansdale and got his coaching start as an intern with the Birds under Andy Reid. In some ways, he and Nick Sirianni swapped places. Sirianni grew up in Jamestown, N.Y., in far Western New York.
“We knew he was a wideout at Mount Union when he went to college,” Burkhardt said. “How about Southwestern Central High, in Jamestown? Look at him, looking lean and mean.”
Tom, you’re in your 40s, you shouldn’t know what mewing is. But for those of you who don’t know, it’s a facial expression that’s become a popular TikTok trend.
The two-point conversion
The Bills battled all the way back in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns, including one in the final five seconds. McDermott elected to go for two to effectively end the game, and Allen’s pass missed receiver Khalil Shakir by several yards. Fox caught him looking visibly frustrated after the miss.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — O’Cyrus Torrence is a large human being. At 347 pounds, he is the heaviest member of the Bills offensive line and the roster as a whole. He is the kind of man who eats turkey wings instead of chicken wings, and even then he does so only after he has first rolled them in flour and fried them in oil and doused them in melted butter. In fact, Torrence recently did all of these things in a handy how-to video he recently posted to Instagram. His smothered turkey wings look like quite the treat, at least for anybody who expects to have easy access to indoor plumbing for the rest of the night.
Bear with me, Eagles fans. There is a relevant point in all of this. See, Torrence isn’t just the heaviest man on the Bills offensive line, or the heaviest on its roster. He also happens to be 33 pounds heavier than the man who, late in the second quarter of the Eagles’ 13-12 victory over the Bills on Sunday, pushed him 5 yards into his own backfield and then tossed him aside the way a baggage handler might a memory foam pillow. The resulting sack of Josh Allen was a big play for the Eagles in the sense that it forced the Bills into a third-and-18. Much bigger was what it signified. Jalen Carter is back, and the Eagles once again have a defense that can win a Super Bowl on its own.
“You guys see what he does for us,” said defensive end Jaelan Phillips, who added a sack for an Eagles defense that racked up five total. “He had a blocked extra point that basically won us the game, if you think about it. I thought that in his absence, we did a great job, but having him back is key. It’s huge.”
As Phillips noted, Carter and the Eagles defense had their fingerprints all over this one, right down to the blocked extra point with 5 minutes, 11 seconds remaining that left the Bills needing a two-point conversion to win after another Allen touchdown run with five seconds left. Until that frantic ending, which featured two touchdown drives totaling 137 yards, Vic Fangio’s unit looked plenty capable of winning three straight playoff games on its own. The Eagles battered Allen in the pocket and held James Cook, the NFL’s leading rusher, to 74 mostly harmless yards on 20 carries. For 55 minutes, a second shutout in three games looked like a distinct possibility, this time against a team that entered the weekend with the third-best odds to win the Super Bowl.
We can’t ignore the fact that the Eagles again came way too close to losing a game. In this case, they came within 2 yards, after Allen’s frantic last-minute touchdown drive ended with a missed two-point conversion. The greatest testament to the strength of the Eagles defense is just how bad their offense looked. All of the usual criticisms applied. The quarterback was adequate, at best, if you squinted. The running game wasn’t good enough to make up for it. The result was an offense that looked about as dynamic as a truck stuck in mud. The Eagles mustered just 190 total yards, 16 of them in the second half. Rarely do you watch them and think, Wow, this is an enjoyable thing to watch. That will be a difficult way to go through the postseason.
What warrants reconsideration is the conclusion that many folks have drawn. As lackluster as the offense has looked, as underwhelming as Jalen Hurts has played, the Eagles have a good enough defense to make them one of the small handful of teams that will have an even-or-better chance against any other team in the playoff field. Say what you will about the Rams or the Seahawks or the 49ers. The Eagles have as good a chance as any of them. Maybe even better.
“You’ve got to give yourself points when you win football games,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “There’s always things to clean up when you come out of a football game. But when you come out of a football game that you win on the road in a hostile environment against a really good football team that’s had the sustained success that we have, if you come out of this and think about all the negative things, that makes for a miserable existence. We’ll get there.”
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter sacks Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen during the second quarter.
With this defense, the Eagles may only need an offense that is on the lower end of functional. That’s what we saw against the Bills. Same as we saw against the Lions, and the Packers, and the Chargers. Against a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback, in a playoff-caliber environment, the Eagles defense was the best unit on the field for all but the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Bills gained just 12 first downs on their first nine possessions and did not score a point before Allen capped their last two drives of the game with short touchdown runs.
The story of the game was Carter, who returned after a four-game absence because of procedures on both shoulders. The third-year defensive tackle said earlier this week that he’d previously been in so much pain that he could not do a pushup. Against the Bills he looked as strong as anybody … not only with his manhandling of Torrence on his sack of Allen, but also on the blocked extra point that proved to be the difference in the game.
It’s funny how he always looks like the biggest player on the field, even when he isn’t. On a unit that is brimming with talent around him, Carter’s presence makes the Eagles the caliber of unit that can win a Super Bowl on its own.
