After a slow start that saw them trail 10-7 at halftime, the Eagles managed to take over in the final 30 minutes — securing a 29-18 win over the Washington Commanders and punching their ticket to the playoffs, becoming the first repeat NFC East champions since 2004.
Now, the 10-5 Eagles will prepare to travel to Highmark Stadium to play the 11-4 Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Most of the discourse surrounding the division champs has been centered on Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for two late in the game, whether the Birds are the best team in the NFC, or if they still have to prove themselves ahead of the postseason.
Here’s what they’re saying about the Birds ahead of their game with the Bills …
Nick Sirianni cited math in his decision to go for two late in the win over the Commanders.
‘I thought it was the wrong call’
One of the biggest storylines centered on Sirianni’s decision to go for two late in the Commanders game to give the Eagles a 19-point lead. At the end of the two-point conversion, a fight broke out between Washington and Philadelphia players, resulting in three ejections.
Former Eagles linebacker Seth Joyner reacted to the play call and the aftermath on 94WIP.
“Let me say this,” Joyner said. “I thought it was the wrong call. But, [Sirianni’s] the head coach, he can do what he wants to do. But, isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it amazing that biggest whiners, the biggest criers, are the losers? Shut the [expletive] up and take the L. OK. Because y’all was like dancing around last year like y’all was really going to do something because you knocked our quarterback out, you know, with a cheap shot. That wasn’t bush league?
“Then you bring your [expletive] here in the NFC championship game and you get run out of here. You run out of here like little church mice. You don’t say nothing. Now, all of a sudden you’re chiming in again. Shut the [expletive] up.”
‘The championship runs through Philly’
OnThe Speakeasy podcast, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho were asked the question: Are the Eagles the best team in the NFC?
“When did we let it go,” McCoy said. “We were the defending champs last year. We were the NFC champs. See, y’all forget a lot, though. I don’t forget. Last year, we won the whole NFC East. Last year we won the whole NFC. Last year we won the whole league, the Super Bowl. Why y’all forgot? Because we had a couple bad games. Because our Super Bowl quarterback had a couple of bad moments. We’re still the Eagles and we still put on a show. And the championship runs through Philly.”
To Acho, Saturday’s game showed the complete package of what the Eagles could be. Jalen Hurts completed 22 of 30 throws for 185 yards with A.J. Brown as his favorite target, and gained 40 rushing yards on seven carries. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley finished with 132 yards on 21 carries to contribute to the team’s 207 total rushing yards.
“I think the Eagles are who we thought they were supposed to be all season,” Acho said. “Saquon [Barkley] really got active today. And then on top of that, A.J. Brown, he finally got active today. … This was maybe one of two or three complete games the Eagles have played all season. … The Eagles checked every single box you could hope and expect that they check.”
After a three-game skid, the Eagles have managed to bounce back with two consecutive wins over the 2-13 Las Vegas Raiders and the 4-11 Commanders, two teams that have struggled throughout the season.
“These games are momentum,” McCoy said. “It’s not about the opponent. It’s about getting us back in that groove. Getting us back with that motivation. Because when we get to the playoffs, we’re going to be rolling baby. … Resumés matter, playoff experience matters. And the way the offense is kind of clicking, the defense is making plays, I’m ready to roll.”
Philadelphia ‘still has a lot to prove’
McCoy and Acho may have faith in the Eagles’ chances in the postseason, but former NFL quarterback Cam Newton may need some more convincing.
“They ain’t close [to reaching their potential],” said Newton on ESPN’s First Take. “They played the league’s worst team and that’s what you’re supposed to do. … I don’t want to hear Saquon Barkley talk about the woes in Philadelphia. If you want to hear something, put the camera in front of A.J. Brown. Because A.J. Brown is going to tell us the truth, the gospel. He was telling us everything we knew and we needed to know in Philadelphia before it even happened. And he was being painted as the villain.
“But if you’re playing against the league’s worst team — a homecoming game, as we obviously know that to be — why would we believe that Philadelphia’s issues are fixed all of a sudden? So, at the end of the day, I’m looking at a dynamic to say hey, I need to see way more people [saying] ‘We don’t believe you, we need more people.’ And in that type of dynamic, Philadelphia is a team that still has a lot to prove, not only to the world but to themselves as well.”
"They ain't close. … Philadelphia is a team that still has a lot to prove not only to the world, but to themselves."@CameronNewton on how close the Eagles are to reaching their potential 👀 pic.twitter.com/VYWyNdDXy9
It’s easy to criticize the refs, but this weekend NFL officials really gave fans and announcers a few things to complain about.
One was a key late play during the New England Patriots’ win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night.
With a little more than three minutes remaining, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey appeared to outright tackle Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte on a deep pass. Despite an official watching just yards away, no flags were thrown, to the surprise of everyone on NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast.
“It’s not really hard — that’s pass interference,” NBC rules analyst and former official Terry McAulay said.
Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, and Terry McAulay voice their shock about pass interference not being called against the Ravens on a Patriots deep ball. 🏈🦓🎙️ #NFL#SNFpic.twitter.com/CEGfOgTVA5
Earlier on Sunday, during the Carolina Panthers’ win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, officials missed what appeared to be a blatant fourth-down penalty.
With a little under five minutes remaining and the game tied, Panthers defender Princely Umanmielen hit punter Riley Dixon after he kicked the ball, which should have resulted in a penalty and a first down. Instead, officials called holding on the Buccaneers and missed the running-into-the-kicker penalty altogether.
“I think when you fixate watching the hold, maybe you miss that contact on the punter,” Fox rules analyst and former official Mike Pereria said during the broadcast. “It is contact to the body. I would have had running into the kicker.”
Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira points out that officials in Bucs-Panthers missed a running into the kicker penalty due to their focus on a holding call. pic.twitter.com/pfZJfEG3dL
Then there’s the controversial ending of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Detroit Lions game, in which Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown lateraled to quarterback Jared Goff for what would have been the game-winning touchdown.
On the play, St. Brown was called for pass interference, negating the touchdown. But both head official Carl Cheffers and CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Tony Romo did a poor job explaining why the Lions didn’t get another play
“By rule, that penalty is not enforced and there is no replay. The game is over,” Cheffers said.
Lions almost just had the craziest walk-off touchdown in recent memory
Instead the referees called an offensive pass inference on Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Steelers survive pic.twitter.com/KbHFFsnRlr
NFL rules stipulate if the offense commits a foul with no time remaining, “there shall be no extension of the period. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, a score by the offense is not counted.”
Goff appeared to cross the goal line with no time on the clock, but the play wasn’t reviewable. If Goff had run into the end zone with time remaining, the Lions could have been given another shot.
After the game, Cheffers called it “a pretty complex play.”
“We have the original player who had the ball lose possession of the ball. So, we had to decide if that was a fumble or a backward pass because of course we have restrictions on the recovery of a fumble inside of two minutes,” Cheffers told pool reporter Nolan Bianch. “We ruled that it was a backward pass, so the recovering player was able to advance it and that recovering player advanced it for a touchdown.”
“We had to rule on that and then because of the offensive pass interference, it negates the touchdown. Because it is an offensive foul, we did not extend the half. Therefore, there is no score and there is no replay of the down,” Cheffers added. “That’s the way the rule is written.”
It also wasn’t the only controversial call to end the game. With 22 seconds left, Goff hit St. Brown on a one-yard touchdown pass, which would have won the game. But officials called pass interference on Lions receiver Isaac TeSlaa, negating the go-ahead score.
“The reporting official on that play told me that the offending player picked one of the defenders, creating an opportunity for the offensive player to make the catch,” Cheffers said.
Eagles fans will be rooting for Philip Rivers and the Colts tonight.
Fans across the Delaware Valley will be rooting for 44-year-old Philip Rivers to lead the Indianapolis Colts to victory tonight against Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers.
Why? A Colts win preserves the Eagles’ slim hopes of ending the season as the NFC’s No. 1 seed and securing a first-round bye.
The Eagles aren’t the only team that has a stake in tonight’s outcome. Here’s a rundown.
If the Colts win:
The Eagles will remain alive in the hunt for the NFC’s No. 1 seed
The Colts will remain alive in the hunt for the AFC South title
If the 49ers win:
The Bills, Jaguars, and Chargers will all clinch playoff berths
The 49ers will still be on track to land the No. 1 seed by winning their final two games against the Bears and Seahawks
If the Colts do win tonight, here’s what needs to happen in Week 17 for the Eagles to enter Week 18 with a shot at landing the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs:
Eagles win vs. Bills
Bears win vs. 49ers
Panthers win vs. Seahawks
A Los Angeles Rams loss to the Atlanta Falcons would also help the Eagles, but the Birds just need the Rams to lose one of their final two games.
Essentially, the Eagles would need to finish the season with a 12-5 record in a three-way tiebreaker with the Bears and Seahawks to nab the top playoff seed. Unlikely? Yes, but crazier things have happened.
Despite recent struggles, Eagles sticking with Jake Elliott
Jake Elliott has made just 70% of his field goals this season.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said the Eagles will not be bringing in competition for Jake Elliott as the longtime kicker has hit a rough patch late in the season.
Sirianni on Monday reiterated his confidence that Elliott will bounce back.
Elliott’s 70.8% success rate (17-for-24) on field goals is the lowest of his career. He missed a 43-yard field goal and a 52-yard try (as well as a 57-yard kick that was negated by a penalty) during Saturday’s win over Washington.
Elliott has missed five field goal attempts over the last five games. He also has a missed extra point during that stretch.
“I understand it’s a production-based business,” Elliott said Saturday when asked if he was worried the Eagles could bring in a new kicker. “You see it all the time. That’s out of my hands, that’s out of my control, all I can do is kind of put my head down and keep pushing.
“I just got to put the ball through the uprights. That’s my job, man. That’s it. It’s not any deeper than that.”
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles are positioned for a long playoff run.
On The Speakeasy podcast, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho were asked the question: Are the Eagles the best team in the NFC?
“When did we let it go,” McCoy said. “We were the defending champs last year. We were the NFC champs. See, y’all forget a lot though. I don’t forget. Last year, we won the whole NFC East. Last year we won the whole NFC. Last year we won the whole league, the Super Bowl. Why y’all forgot? Because we had a couple bad games. Because our Super Bowl quarterback had a couple of bad moments. We’re still the Eagles and we still put on a show. And the championship runs through Philly.”
To Acho, Saturday’s game showed the complete package of what the Eagles could be. Jalen Hurts completed 22 of 30 throws for 185 yards with A.J. Brown as his favorite target, and gained 40 rushing yards on seven carries. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley finished with 132 yards on 21 carries to contribute to the team’s 207 total rushing yards.
“I think the Eagles are who we thought they were supposed to be all season,” Acho said. “Saquon [Barkley] really got active today. And then on top of that, A.J. Brown, he finally got active today. … This was maybe one of two or three complete games the Eagles have played all season. … The Eagles checked every single box you could hope and expect that they check.”
After a three-game skid, the Eagles have managed to bounce back with two consecutive wins over the 2-13 Las Vegas Raiders and the 4-11 Commanders, two teams that have struggled throughout the season.
“These games are momentum,” McCoy said. “It’s not about the opponent. It’s about getting us back in that groove. Getting us back with that motivation. Because when we get to the playoffs, we’re going to be rolling baby. … Résumés matter, playoff experience matters. And the way the offense is kind of clicking, the defense is making plays. I’m ready to roll.”
Nakobe Dean left Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury
During Saturday’s win against the Commanders, Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean left the game with a hamstring injury halfway through the first quarter and didn’t return.
After the game, teammate Jordan Davis told 94.1 WIP’s Devan Kaney Dean’s injury was minor. And on Sunday, while hosting a toy drive in Cherry Hill, Dean confirmed to fans he was doing “just fine” and only tweaked his hamstring, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Ashlyn Sullivan.
Nakobe Dean is here hosting a toy drive in Cherry Hill – he will also be taking students shopping in Philadelphia after this.
Nakobe said he is doing “just fine” and his hamstring injury was just a tweak. pic.twitter.com/PsL7ISA956
Merrill Reese: Commanders are being ‘cranky’ losers
Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley exchange words during Saturday’s game.
Washington Commanders coaches and players were upset following Saturday’s loss to the Eagles, stemming from a two-point try they viewed as the Birds running up the score.
The conversion led to a melee, resulting in three players — including Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen — being booted from the game.
“I can only answer for my side, what I would do,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told reporters following the game. “Hey man, if that’s how they want to get down, then all good. We’ll play them again in two weeks.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters he thought the extra point gave the Eagles a better shot at winning the game, and wasn’t because kicker Jake Elliott missed two field goal attempts.
Regardless, Eagles announcer Merrill Reese didn’t think the Birds were trying to run up the score, pointing in part to the team’s decision to stop throwing the ball and playing their backups on defense.
“If you’re playing at the rate the Commanders are playing, and you’re down to your third quarterback, anything’s going to make you irritable. You’re going to be angry about everything,” Reese said during an interview on 94.1 WIP Monday. “That was not running up the score. They’re just being cranky.”
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley summed up the feelings of both teams to reporters following the game.
“This team don’t like us, and that’s just the truth,” Barkley said. “And we don’t like them, either.”
Guess this is the moment Saquon Barkley was referring to when he said "we got a little fired up on the sideline," that led to the #Eagles RB "running angry" on his 12-yard TD.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell talks with officials after the final playof their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s easy to criticize the refs, but this weekend NFL officials really gave fans and announcers a few things to complain about.
First up is key late play during the New England Patriots’ win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night.
With a little more than three minutes remaining, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey appeared to outright tackle Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte on a deep pass. Despite an official watching from yards away, no flags were thrown, to the surprise of everyone on NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast.
“It’s not really hard — that’s pass interference,” NBC rules analyst and former official Terry McAulay said.
Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, and Terry McAulay voice their shock about pass interference not being called against the Ravens on a Patriots deep ball. 🏈🦓🎙️ #NFL#SNFpic.twitter.com/CEGfOgTVA5
Earlier on Sunday, during the Carolina Panthers’ win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, officials missed what appeared to be a blatant fourth-down penalty.
With a little under five minutes remaining and the game tied, Panthers defender Princely Umanmielen hit punter Riley Dixon after he kicked the ball, which should have resulted in a penalty and a first down. Instead, officials called holding on the Buccaneers and missed the running-into-the-kicker penalty all together.
“It’s contact to the body. I would have had running into the kicker,” Fox rules analyst and former official Mike Pereria said during the broadcast.
That missed call proved pivotal, as the Panthers marched down the field and kicked what ultimately became the game-winning field goal.
Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira points out that officials in Bucs-Panthers missed a running into the kicker penalty due to their focus on a holding call. pic.twitter.com/pfZJfEG3dL
Then there’s the controversial ending of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Detroit Lions game, where Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown lateraled to quarterback Jared Goff for what would have been the game-winning touchdown.
On the play, St. Brown was called for pass interference, negating the touchdown. But both head official Carl Cheffers and CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Tony Romo did a poor job explaining why the Lions didn’t get another play
“By rule, that penalty is not enforced and there is no replay. The game is over,” Cheffers said.
absolute chaos at the end of Lions-Steelers. Amon-Ra St. Brown stopped short of the goal line. flips to Jared Goff at the last second. he dives in for a game-winning touchdown… but! flags! offensive pass interference! Steelers win pic.twitter.com/Rg3Zy4SrQU
NFL rules stipulate if the offense commits a foul with no time remaining, “there shall be no extension of the period. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, a score by the offense is not counted.”
If Goff had run into the end zone with time remaining on the clock, the Lions would have been given another play. Because of the penalty, the Lions weren’t able to review whether Goff crossed the plane of the goal line with one second remaining.
It also wasn’t the only controversial call to end the game. With 22 seconds left, Goff hit St. Brown on a one-yard touchdown pass, which would have won the game. But officials called pass interference on Lions receiver Isaac TeSlaa, negating the go-ahead score.
“The reporting official on that play told me that the offending player picked one of the defenders, creating an opportunity for the offensive player to make the catch,” Cheffers told pool reporter Nolan Bianch following the game.
Philip Rivers and the Colts can help the Eagles tonight.
The Eagles have already clinched the NFC East and will host a wild-card game at the Linc, but the Birds still have an unlikely shot at landing the No. 1 seed.
Here’s how the NFC playoff picture looks after Sunday’s games, with five teams having already clinched a postseason spot:
NFC playoff picture
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To land the No. 1 seed, Philly would need to win their final two games against the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders and get a lot of help, beginning with tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts.
The Eagles need the Colts and 44-year-old Philip Rivers to win tonight to have any hope of landing the No. 1 seed.
Here’s everything that needs to happen over the final two weeks of the season for the Eagles to end up with the top seed and secure a first-round bye:
Eagles win their final two games against the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders
San Francisco 49ers lose to the Indianapolis Colts Monday and the Bears in Week 17
Seattle Seahawks lose their final two games against the Carolina Panthers and 49ers
Chicago Bears win against the 49ers in Week 16 and lose to the Detroit Lions in Week 17
Los Angeles Rams lose one of their final two games against the Atlanta Falcons or Arizona Cardinals
If all that happens, the Eagles would finish the season with a 12-5 record and would win a three-way tiebreaker with the Bears and Seahawks.
The path to the No. 2 seed is more realistic. If the Eagles win out, all they would need is for the Bears to lose their final two games to move up to the No. 2 seed. In that case, they’d host a wild card game against the No. 7 seed, currently the Green Bay Packers.
Josh Allen injured ahead of Sunday’s game against Eagles
Josh Allen injured his ankle but finished Sunday’s game for the Bills.
There’s snow in the forecast Sunday in Buffalo, where the Eagles will take on the Bills with playoff seeding on the line for both teams.
The Bills will officially clinch a playoff spot if the Indianapolis Colts lose tonight to the San Francisco 49ers, and they’ll enter Week 17 still in the hunt for their sixth-straight AFC East title.
Reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen injured his ankle during Sunday’s win against the Cleveland Browns, but X-rays taken at halftime were reportedly negative and he finished the game for the Bills.
Allen didn’t seem too concerned following the game.
“We’re gravy, baby,” Allen told CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn following the game.
The last time the Eagles faced the Bills was 2023 at the Linc, with the Birds rallying to win in overtime. The celebrations didn’t last long, as the Eagles went on to lose five of their final six games and suffer an early playoff exit.
Saquon Barkley rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown Saturday.
Saquon Barkley had rushed for just 52 yards on 14 carries when he came to the sideline late in the third quarter. The Eagles had taken a 14-10 lead after a 17-play, touchdown-scoring drive, but they did so in spite of the struggles in the running game.
It’s been a season-long slog on the ground, but there have been glimpses of hope in recent weeks. And Barkley, who’s had to run into more stacked boxes than ever in his eighth year, felt that he wasn’t taking advantage of opportunities against a weakened Commanders defense.
“We got a little fired up on the sideline, but it was good,” Barkley said. “It’s all out of love, let’s say that. We want to do what’s best for the team when we’re winning games and hold each other accountable. But thank God it happened for me, to be honest, because it put me in my bag, as people would say.”
It was a 12-yard touchdown run off left tackle. The stat sheet account of the play doesn’t do Barkley’s seventh rushing score of the season justice. Jordan Mailata gave perhaps the best description.
“That was an angry run by Say,” the Eagles left tackle said. “Kind of expected that from him by the way he was acting on the sideline. He was just very adamant, being very positive, like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna get it.’”
Barkley’s touchdown wasn’t exactly the final nail. But he drove the last spike with a dazzling 48-yard run two drives later. And backup Tank Bigsby buried the Commanders with a 22-yard bolt into the end zone of the Eagles’ eventual 29-18 win at Northwest Stadium on Saturday.
It may be no coincidence that the offensive improvement came after Sirianni asserted more of his authority on that side of the ball three games ago. There were bright moments in the overtime loss to the Chargers, but Hurts had five turnovers.
Actually, there were improvements in run design the week before against the Bears. But the Eagles defense didn’t meet its usual standard and the offense couldn’t compensate. The numbers in the last four games, though, suggest that Barkley and Co. are doing something better.
The Eagles have averaged 4.96 yards per carry over that span. In their first 11 games, they averaged only 3.91 yards.
Former Imhotep Charter star’s catch propels Bears into the playoffs
The Bears’ DJ Moore celebrates after his 46-yard TD catch in overtime beats the Green Bay Packers.
After overcoming a 16-6 deficit late in the fourth quarter Saturday night, the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers, in overtime, 22-16, thanks to a 46-yard touchdown reception from Philly native DJ Moore.
Three plays after the Bears stopped Green Bay on its drive in overtime, quarterback Caleb Williams found Moore, an Imhotep Charter graduate, off a play-action post route to score the walk-off touchdown, his sixth touchdown reception of the season.
“I just had to run, run like I did in practice and connect like we did at practice,” Moore said of his winning reception. ”It was really a practice rep but we did it in a game. Like I said, it was just amazing that we did it against the Packers.”
The victory moved Chicago to the NFC’s No. 2 seed and put the Bears in the driver’s seat to win the NFC North for the first time since 2018. The Bears haven’t made the playoffs since 2020.
Moore is the Bears’ leading receiver this year with 664 yards and is tied for the team lead in touchdowns with Rome Odunze.
Now in his eighth season in the NFL after a standout career at Maryland, Moore has scored three of his touchdowns in the last two games. This is his third year in Chicago after getting traded from the Carolina Panthers after the 2022 season and he has led the team in receiving each of the last three years.
That means the Birds will host at least one playoff game at the Linc, where the Eagles haven’t lost a postseason game since the 2019 playoffs.
It’s the first time a team has won the NFC East in back-to-back seasons since the Birds won four straight division titles from 2001 to 2004. It will also be the fifth straight postseason appearance under Birds head coach Nick Sirianni.
Another fun fact: Since being named the Birds’ starting quarterback in 2021, Jalen Hurts has never taken a snap in a game where the Eagles have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. He did start four games after replacing Carson Wentz at the end of the dreadful 2020 season, where the Eagles finished 4-11-1.
Now that the Birds locked up the division, the focus shifts to playoff seeding. The Eagles are currently the NFC’s No. 3 seed, and odds are good that’s where they’ll end the season. That would mean hosting a wild-card game against the No. 6 team, currently the San Francisco 49ers (10-4).
The Eagles missed out on a chance to clinch No. 3 seed or better because the Carolina Panthers (8-7) defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) Sunday.
If the Eagles and Panthers both end the season with a 10-7 record, Carolina would win the tiebreaker with a better record among common opponents. That would force the Birds down to the No. 4 seed.
The good news is a win next week against the Buffalo Bills (11-4) or just one more Panthers loss will lock the Eagles into the No. 3 seed or better heading into the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the current playoff picture for the Eagles and the rest of the NFL:
NFC East standings, Cowboys eliminated
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The Eagles’ win officially eliminated the Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1) from the playoffs, since winning the NFC East was their only remaining path to the postseason.
It’s the second-straight season Dak Prescott and company have failed to advance to the postseason. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took responsibility for the failed season earlier this week on Dallas sports talk radio.
“I take it real serious,” Jones said, according to The Athletic. “I’ve got to live with when we’re out of money and we want to sign a player and we don’t have any money left under the [salary] cap. I have to live with that.”
Both the Commanders and New York Giants (2-13) have been eliminated from the playoffs for weeks.
NFC playoff picture
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The Seattle Seahawks (12-3) clinched a playoff spot and moved into the No. 1 seed Thursday night, thanks to their thrilling overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams (11-4), who dropped down to No. 5.
The Seahawks now control their own playoff destiny. If they win out, they’ll end the season with the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The same goes for the 49ers, who clinched a playoff spot Sunday thanks to the Detroit Lions (8-7) wild loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Despite being one game back, San Francisco and Seattle face off in Week 18. The 49ers defeated the Vikings way back in Week 1, so a win in Week 18 would clinch a tiebreaker and send the NFC playoffs through Santa Clara, where this year’s Super Bowl is being held.
The Lions loss also benefited the Chicago Bears (11-4), who clinched their first playoff spot since the 2020 season.
Then there’s the NFC South, where the Panthers took over sole possession of first place thanks to their 23-20 win against the Buccaneers. Both teams will play again in Week 18 in Tampa Bay.
AFC playoff picture
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Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos (12-3) had a chance to clinch the AFC West, but lost to the surprising Jaguars (11-4), who have a decent chance of ending the season as the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
The New England Patriots (12-3) clinched a playoff spot Sunday night, defeating the Baltimore Ravens (7-8) and decreasing their already-slim playoff hopes.
Three teams will clinch a playoff spot if the Colts lose to the 49ers Monday night — the Jaguars, Chargers, and Bills.
Can the Eagles still end up with the NFC’s No. 1 seed?
Yes, but you’d have better odds buying a Powerball ticket.
The Eagles have less than a 1% chance of ending the season with the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, according to the New York Times, but weird things have happened before.
In 2018, the Eagles needed a host of things to happen to secure a wild-card spot down the stretch, and they all did, pushing the Birds to the postseason.
Same thing happened in 2008, with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing to give the Eagles a shot at the playoffs if they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the final game of the season, which they did in a 44-6 blowout.
So while it is highly unlikely the Eagles get all the help they need to move up to the top playoff seed, here what would need to happen, according to Wharton professor Deniz Selman:
Eagles win their final two games against the Bills and Commanders
49ers lose to the Colts Monday and the Bears in Week 17
Seahawks lose their final two games against the Panthers and 49ers
Bears win against the 49ers in Week 16 and lose to the Lions in Week 17
Rams lose one of their final two games against the Falcons or Cardinals
If all that happens, the Eagles would finish the season with a 12-5 record and would win a three-way tiebreaker with the Bears and Seahawks.
The path to the No. 2 seed is more realistic. If the Eagles win out, all they would need is for the Bears to lose their final two games to move up to the No. 2 seed. In that case, they’d host a wild card game against the No. 7 seed, currently the Green Bay Packers.
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.
Here are the sites announced for future Super Bowls:
After overcoming a 16-6 deficit late in the fourth quarter Saturday night, the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers, in overtime, 22-16, thanks to a 46-yard touchdown reception from Philly native DJ Moore.
Three plays after the Bears stopped Green Bay on its drive in overtime, quarterback Caleb Williams found Moore, an Imhotep Charter graduate, off a play-action post route to score the walk-off touchdown, his sixth touchdown reception of the season.
“I just had to run, run like I did in practice and connect like we did at practice,” Moore said of his winning reception. ”It was really a practice rep but we did it in a game. Like I said, it was just amazing that we did it against the Packers.”
The victory moved Chicago to the NFC’s No. 2 seed and put the Bears in the driver’s seat to win the NFC North for the first time since 2018. The Bears haven’t made the playoffs since 2020.
Moore is the Bears’ leading receiver this year with 664 yards and is tied for the team lead in touchdowns with Rome Odunze.
Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell tackles the Bears’ DJ Moore on Nov. 28.
Now in his eighth season in the NFL after a standout career at Maryland, Moore has scored three of his touchdowns in the last two games. This is his third year in Chicago after getting traded from the Carolina Panthers after the 2022 season and he has led the team in receiving each of the last three years.
After Saturday’s game, Moore wore a cheese grater hat, a reference to the Packers’ cheesehead hats that fans are known for wearing.
Bears WR DJ Moore pulling out the cheese grater hat is perfect. 😂
Moore and the Bears face the San Francisco 49ers next week and end the regular season by hosting the Detroit Lions. Chicago controls its destiny to win the division and clinch a playoff spot.
CLEVELAND — James Cook rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, Josh Allen played through a foot injury, and the Buffalo Bills drew closer to a playoff berth with a 23-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Ty Johnson also had a rushing score for the Bills (11-4), who have won four straight and five of six.
Allen played the second half despite injuring his right foot during the second quarter. The Bills will host the Eagles next Sunday at 4:25 p.m. (Fox29).
The reigning NFL MVP, Allen was favoring the foot after being sacked by Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Alex Wright for a 22-yard loss to Buffalo’s 1-yard line with 60 seconds remaining in the first half. The half-sack gave Garrett 22 on the season. He needs one more sack in the final two games for the Browns (3-12) to pass Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt for the single-season mark.
Allen was 12 of 19 for 130 yards and also rushed for 17 yards on seven carries.
Shedeur Sanders completed 20 of 29 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. He also was the Browns’ leading rusher with four carries for 49 yards. The fifth-round pick also threw two interceptions, which accounted for 10 of Buffalo’s points.
Browns running back Quinshon Judkins is tackled by Bills linebacker Dorian Williams in the first half.
Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. scored both Browns’ touchdowns, including a 1-yard run in the third quarter to get them within 23-17.
Raheim Sanders rushed for 42 yards on 11 carries. He was pressed into action when Quinshon Judkins was carted off with a potentially season-ending leg injury late in the second quarter. NFL Network reported that Judkins had a broken leg.
It was the ninth 100-yard rushing game this season for Cook, tied with Thurman Thomas for second in franchise history. OJ Simpson holds the single-season mark with 11. The four-year veteran also took over the NFL rushing lead with 1,532 yards. Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor is second with 1,443 with the Colts facing San Francisco on Monday night.
Cook tied it at 7 midway through the first quarter on a 44-yard run up the middle where he eluded tackle attempts by Cleveland’s Mohamoud Diabate and Adin Huntington at the line of scrimmage. Grant Delpit had a chance to make a stop at the 27, but was spun around and unable to make the tackle.
Cook then extended Buffalo’s lead to 20-10 with 2:23 remaining on a 3-yard carry up the middle.
Buffalo converted both of Sanders’ interceptions into points — Johnson’s 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter and a 41-yard field by Michael Badgley in the third quarter.
Quick start for Browns
Cleveland got the opening kickoff and scored when Sanders rolled right and connected with Fannin for a 13-yard TD. Sanders was 5 of 5 for 58 yards on the drive. It was also the first time in five starts that Sanders directed Cleveland to points on its first possession.
It was the seventh straight game in which the Bills’ opponent opened the scoring.
Injuries
Bills LB Shaq Thompson (neck) was injured in the first quarter and did not return.
After Cowboys’ loss, Jerry Jones says ‘we all underachieved’
The Dallas Cowboys’ slim playoff hopes were dashed by the Eagles Saturday night. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers poured alcohol into the wound with a 34-17 romp of Dak Prescott and company at home.
“We all underachieved,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said following the game, reflecting on the team’s lost season.
Baker Mayfield congratulates Bryce Young after the Panthers’ 23-20 win against the Buccaneers Sunday.
After Saturday’s win against the Washington Commanders, the Eagles would’ve clinched the No. 3 seed or higher with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Sunday.
Unfortunately, the Carolina Panthers defeated the Bucs and took sole possession of first place in the NFC South.
If the Eagles and Panthers both end the season with a 10-7 record, Carolina would win the tiebreaker with a better record among common opponents. That would force the Birds down to the No. 4 seed, where they would host the No. 5 seed in the wild card round, currently the Los Angeles Rams.
The good news is a win next week against the Bills or just one more Panthers loss will lock the Eagles into the No. 3 seed or better heading into the playoffs.
The Eagles have less than a 1% chance of ending the season with the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, according to the New York Times, but weird things have happened before.
In 2018, the Eagles needed a host of things to happen to secure a wild-card spot down the stretch, and they all did, pushing the Birds to the postseason.
Same thing happened in 2008, with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing to give the Eagles a shot at the playoffs if they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the final game of the season, which they did in a 44-6 blowout.
So while it is highly unlikely the Eagles get all the help they need to move up to the top playoff seed, here what would need to happen:
Eagles win their final two games against the Bills and Commanders
49ers lose to the Colts Monday and the Bears in Week 17
Seahawks lose their final two games against the Panthers and 49ers
Bears win against the 49ers in Week 16 and lose to the Lions in Week 17
Rams lose one of their final two games against the Falcons or Cardinals
If all that happens, the Eagles would finish the season with a 12-5 record and would win a three-way tiebreaker with the Bears and Seahawks.
The path to the No. 2 seed is more realistic. If the Eagles win out, all they would need is for the Bears to lose their final two games to move up to the No. 2 seed. In that case, they’d host a wild card game against the No. 7 seed, currently the Green Bay Packers.
Jake Elliott missed two field goal attempts Saturday night.
There is an isolating nature to Jake Elliott’s job.
Hundreds of micro moments impact a given game. There are passes and runs and blocks and tackles and situational coaching decisions. All of those things can work in harmony on a given day and success or failure could still hinge on your swinging foot.
The Eagles won going away, 29-18, over the Washington Commanders Saturday night and clinched the NFC East title along the way. But inside a happy locker room was a frustrated kicker who missed two field goal attempts, who has missed five over the past five games, who also missed a point-after attempt during that stretch.
It is not the isolating part that is getting to him, Elliott said. In fact, the soon-to-be-31-year-old kicker in his ninth NFL season wishes it were a mental thing at this point.
“It would be easier to fix,” Elliott said.
“It’s just frustrating.”
#Eagles K Jake Elliott on whether his recent struggles are mental: “No, honestly, not at all. That’s kind of what’s frustrating about is I don’t feel that way at all. I kind of wish it was. Easier to fix.” Elliott asked if he worries about the team exploring other options, says… pic.twitter.com/dNgUj5auRy
Saturday’s frustration was amplified by the fact that Elliott struck the ball well during warmups, he said. He hit from 52, 55, 58, and 60 yards during pregame. He entered the game, he said, with a good plan, “and when they don’t go through in the game it’s no one to blame but yourself. That’s where we’re at. I got to figure some stuff out.”
Lane Johnson, Jalen Carter expected back next week: ESPN
Lane Johnson on the sideline ahead of Saturday’s Eagles-Commanders game.
The Eagles could be getting some major reinforcements ahead of next week’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports right tackle Lane Johnson (foot) and defensive tackle Jalen Carter (shoulders) are expected back next week and could take the field against the Bills.
It’s also possible both could be healthy and the Eagles choose to rest them, considering the odds of moving up to the No. 2 or No. 1 seed are incredibly low.
Johnson missed the last five Eagles games after suffering a Lisfranc sprain in his foot during the Birds’ win over the Detroit Lions in Week 11 on Nov. 16.
Carter has missed the past three games after undergoing a procedure on both of his shoulders earlier this month. Carter had been dealing with a shoulder injury since the beginning of training camp.
Cooper DeJean’s celebration was a tribute to John Cena
// Timestamp 12/21/25 9:49am
The Tush Push is dead
The Eagles have tried to locate the past magic of the Tush Push this season. The quest has been elusive.
Here at Northwest Stadium, just 35 miles from the city that was the setting for David Simon’s magisterial series The Wire, it is only fitting that, as if attending a barstool wake among Baltimore po-leece, we eulogize the Tush Push. The play that once gave the Eagles a physical, psychological, and strategic edge over every opponent they encountered is, by all available indications, dead.
Three times during their 29-18 victory Saturday over the Commanders, the Eagles tried to run their unique and once-unstoppable version of the quarterback sneak. Three times, it failed. Once, tackle Fred Johnson committed a false-start penalty. Once, Hurts gained no yardage. Once, guard Landon Dickerson committed another false-start infraction. And with his offense facing a (relatively long) fourth-and-1 on its first possession, coach Nick Sirianni had the Eagles punt from their own 41 instead of attempting the play.
This was the flat line across the echocardiogram screen. In 2023, the Eagles led the NFL in fourth-down conversion percentage, at 67.9%. Last season, they were third, but their efficiency rate (71%) was higher. This season, they entered Saturday at 61.1%, seventh-best in the league — good, but not dominant, not close.
“Teams adjust; we’ve got to continue to adjust,” Sirianni said. “Credit to them. They did a really good job of stopping us there. … We have to get this play working the way it’s been in the past, which we’ll work our butts off to do. But we were really able to overcome.”
That means the Birds will host at least one playoff game at the Linc, where the Eagles haven’t lost a postseason game since the 2019 playoffs.
The Eagles could also clinch the No. 3 seed or better if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) defeat the Carolina Panthers (7-7) Sunday.
While the odds are slim, the Eagles are still technically alive in the hunt for the No. 1 seed. But their remote chances for the NFC’s top playoff seed (and a first-round bye) will end if the San Francisco 49ers (10-4) defeat the Indianapolis Colts (8-6) on Monday Night Football, according to Wharton professor Deniz Selman.
NFC playoff picture
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The Seattle Seahawks (12-3) control their own playoff destiny after defeating the Los Angeles Rams (11-4) Thursday night. If they win out, they’ll end the season with the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The same goes for the 49ers.
Despite being one game back, San Francisco and Seattle face off in Week 18. The 49ers defeated the Minnesota Vikings (6-8) way back in Week 1, so a win in Week 18 would clinch a tiebreaker and send the NFC playoffs through Santa Clara, where this year’s Super Bowl is being held.
First the 49ers still need to clinch a playoff spot, which they would do with with a win against the Colts Monday night or a Detroit Lions (8-6) loss.
As for the Bears, they’ll clinch their first playoff spot since the 2020 season with a Lions loss.
Then there’s the NFC South, where the Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) play twice over the next three weeks, beginning Sunday in Charlotte. Those two games will decide who hosts a playoff game and who heads home.
Finally, the Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1) were officially eliminated from the playoffs by the Eagles clinching the NFC East, since winning the division was their only remaining path to the postseason.
Nakobe Dean leaves the field Saturday with a hamstring injury
Tyler Steen was ejected late in the fourth quarter following the Eagles’ two-point conversion for his involvement in a scuffle that broke out between the two teams.
Nakobe Dean injured his hamstring halfway through the first quarter when he was attempting to tackle Burks. Jihaad Campbell took his place. Dean was ruled out in the third quarter.
Jordan Love was forced to leave Saturday night’s game against the Bears.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love exited with a concussion after he was hit hard in the second quarter, and Green Bay blew a late lead in a gut-wrenching 22-16 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears.
Love was shaken up after a helmet-to-helmet hit by defensive lineman Austin Booker on a sack. Booker was flagged for roughing the passer.
The 27-year-old Love eventually jogged off the field and went into the blue injury tent on Green Bay’s sideline. Then he walked to the visiting locker room.
There was no update on Love after the loss.
“I hollered at him after the game, just really quickly,” said backup quarterback Malik Willis, who replaced Love. “I mean, I didn’t get to really get into it too much with him. Just let him know I’m praying for him and hope he’s ready to go.”
— Associated Press
// Timestamp 12/21/25 7:50am
‘If that’s how they want to get down’: Commanders coach angry at Birds following game
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn wasn’t happy over the Birds’ late two-point conversion.
Near the end of the Eagles’ win against the Washington Commanders, a brawl broke out on the field that led to three players being ejected, including Birds offensive lineman Tyler Steen.
“Look out, Tyler Steen is throwing punches,” Fox’s play-by-play announcer Joe Davis said during the broadcast. “This is getting ugly.”
The fight took place after the Eagles scored a late touchdown and went for a two-point conversion rather than have Jake Elliott – who missed two field goals – attempt an extra point.
After the game, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was asked about the melee, and he suggested the two-point conversion and the feeling the Birds were running up the score played a role in the brawl.
“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.”
"If that's how they want to get down, all good. We'll play them again in 2 weeks”
-Dan Quinn If Commanders Felt Disrespected by Eagles leading to Fight after the 2 point try in the 4th pic.twitter.com/rizBKM0KPt
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni denied attempting to run up the score.
“To get one more point in my mind is not running up the score,” Sirianni told reporters after the game. “We’re doing that to give ourselves the best chance to win.”
Eagles to face the Bills next week still alive for No. 2 seed
The Eagles head up to Buffalo next week to face Josh Allen and the Bills.
The Eagles will still have a chance at moving up to the No. 2 seed when they take on the Buffalo Bills next week in frigid Highmark Stadium.
The Eagles have already clinched the NFC East and could clinch the No. 3 spot or better Sunday with a Carolina Panthers win. The Birds currently have a 16% chance at landing the No. 2 seed, according to the New York Times playoff calculator, but that would improve to 27% with a win over the Bills.
Considering the Eagles entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed last year and went on to win the Super Bowl, it might be something worth playing for.
The game will mean something for the Bills, too. Buffalo could still be fighting for a playoff spot (they’ll clinch Sunday with a win against the Cleveland Browns and losses by either the Indianapolis Colts or Houston Texans) and could still be trying to overtake the New England Patriots and win the AFC East for the sixth straight season.
The last time the Eagles faced the Bills was 2023 at the Linc, with the Birds rallying to win in overtime. The celebrations didn’t last long, as the Eagles went on to lose five of their final six games and suffer an early playoff exit.
LANDOVER, Md. — Saquon Barkley had rushed for just 52 yards on 14 carries when he came to the sideline late in the third quarter. The Eagles had taken a 14-10 lead after a 17-play, touchdown-scoring drive, but they did so in spite of the struggles in the running game.
It’s been a season-long slog on the ground, but there have been glimpses of hope in recent weeks. And Barkley, who’s had to run into more stacked boxes than ever in his eighth year, felt that he wasn’t taking advantage of opportunities against a weakened Commanders defense.
“We got a little fired up on the sideline, but it was good,” Barkley said. “It’s all out of love, let’s say that. We want to do what’s best for the team when we’re winning games and hold each other accountable. But thank God it happened for me, to be honest, because it put me in my bag, as people would say.”
It was a 12-yard touchdown run off left tackle. The stat sheet account of the play doesn’t do Barkley’s seventh rushing score of the season justice. Jordan Mailata gave perhaps the best description.
“That was an angry run by Say,” the Eagles left tackle said. “Kind of expected that from him by the way he was acting on the sideline. He was just very adamant, being very positive, like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna get it.’”
Barkley’s touchdown wasn’t exactly the final nail. But he drove the last spike with a dazzling 48-yard run two drives later. And backup Tank Bigsby buried the Commanders with a 22-yard bolt into the end zone of the Eagles’ eventual 29-18 win at Northwest Stadium on Saturday.
Most important, the victory clinched the NFC East for a second straight year — the first time that’s happened in the division in 21 years. But in terms of the bigger picture, stacking strong performances on the ground in consecutive weeks suggests the Eagles might have a chance in the postseason.
The last two opponents — the Raiders and Commanders — might not have provided playoff-caliber competition. But the offense needed glimmers after a three-game losing streak, and really, a whole season of never looking quite right.
But diversifying the calls, and involving quarterback Jalen Hurts more in the running game, has opened the playbook some for offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
“O-line blocking well. Saquon running well. Jalen faking well and being a threat to carry it as well,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Tank coming in, giving good carries. The receivers block, tight ends … Kevin’s doing a good job calling it and putting the guys in position.
“So, yeah, I think there’s a lot to be encouraged on. We’ve got to build on it.”
It may be no coincidence that the offensive improvement came after Sirianni asserted more of his authority on that side of the ball three games ago. There were bright moments in the overtime loss to the Chargers, but Hurts had five turnovers.
Actually, there were improvements in run design the week before against the Bears. But the Eagles defense didn’t meet its usual standard and the offense couldn’t compensate. The numbers in the last four games, though, suggest that Barkley and Co. are doing something better.
The Eagles have averaged 4.96 yards per carry over that span. In their first 11 games, they averaged only 3.91 yards.
They’ve done it various ways. Last week, they ran from under center more than normal. This week, it was mostly from the shotgun. In the former, Barkley and Bigsby combined to rush 77 yards on just five totes. In the latter, it was 20 carries for 93 yards.
It was from under center, with six offensive linemen, that the pair broke off their two long runs late in the game. Barkley’s 48-yarder put him at 132 yards on 21 carries for the day. He went over 1,000 yards on the season earlier in the game and has 1,072 yards total through 15 games.
Saquon Barkley picks up yards during the fourth quarter vs. the Commanders.
It’s not quite the 2,000 yards he gained last season in 16 games. But considering all the angst over the running game this season, breaking the thousand mark for a fifth time in his career is still an accomplishment.
“I mean, 1,000 is great every time, but I can’t even say it’s a slog,” Barkley said. “Most importantly, I’m all about winning. And even when I was rushing for 2,000 yards, the message and the mindset was the same.”
But maybe for the first time this season, Barkley looked his 2024 self for a brief period. He spun out of would-be tackles, shed defenders, and picked up yards after contact. He’s been trying to find the balance between when to be flash and when to be power.
“There’s so many ways you can do it,” Barkley said. “A mindset this game was run like I’m 230, 235. That’s what my coach said. There’s times I don’t. I have games where I rush for 200 yards because I’m able to be more like a scat back.”
He squirted out of two tackle attempts on the 12-yard touchdown run and carried a Commander across the goal line. On the 48-yard scamper, he twirled away from a defensive lineman who shot into the backfield untouched, stiff-armed the safety, and picked up an extra 30-plus yards thanks to a downfield block by receiver DeVonta Smith.
“Apparently, Smitty said I’ve got to [expletive] score, so I’ve got to go back and watch it,” Barkley said.
The house-call touchdowns haven’t been as prominent this season. And maybe that skewered Barkley’s numbers from 2024, or more likely, expectations for this season. But there isn’t another player on the roster whom the Eagles feed off more than the 28-year-old running back.
Even Hurts conceded as much.
“It was good to see him out there earning those yards like he did,” Hurts said. “He was very physical. He ran very hard today. Very hard. He had a hell of a game. I think it always has a component to energize a team. I think it energizes him.”
Bigsby might have had the exclamation point after the 48-yarder, but Barkley came out and converted the two-point attempt with another tough carry. A melee that got right guard Tyler Steen and two Commanders ejected from the game followed the conversion.
A late brawl involving Eagles guard Tyler Steen could have implications when the teams meet again in two weeks.
Washington coach Dan Quinn’s response to a question about the fight suggested that his players didn’t like the Eagles going for two.
“I can only answer from my side and what I would do,” Quinn said. “But hey, man, like that’s how they want to get down then. Like, all good. We play them again in two weeks.”
Sirianni said the Eagles’ analytics suggested the risk to have a 19-point lead vs. 18 with a little over four minutes left was worth the try.
“To go up one more point is, in my mind, not running up the score,” Sirianni said.
It’s quite possible the season finale will be meaningless for the Eagles, who are now locked into at least the No. 3 seed. They face a stiff test next week at Buffalo. A step back there might negate some of the positive from the last two games.
Hurts had some impressive throws in the passing game, but he also had his share of shaky moments. He brought a dynamic that’s been missing for most of the season with five scrambles for 40 yards. His lone non-Tush Push designed run went for zero yards.
But Hurts’ legs, Barkley’s characteristic strong December, better blocking schemes, and Bigsby as the second punch could be the recipe for the Eagles in the postseason. They need their running game to be successful — 2,000-yard season or not.
“I know personally, would love to have gotten [Barkley] back to 2,000, but I think it’s cool,” Mailata said of eclipsing 1,000 yards. “I think we just have high standards, and don’t want to rain on the parade, but we wish we got the running game going earlier.
“I wish we were executing at a higher rate early in the year, just to help him get closer to the goal that we set in the year.”
We are football followers, Eagles followers, so … no lies between us.
The Tush Push had its moments. Yes, it did. You remember the first touchdown of Super Bowl LIX, the ease with which Jalen Hurts slipped through the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive line and into the end zone? The Tush Push was the first sign of the rout to come. And the fourth-and-1 from the Eagles’ 26-yard line against the Miami Dolphins two years ago? In a one-score game? That was the Tush Push at its best. And the NFC championship game in January. The two Hurts TDs from the Washington 1-yard line. The Frankie Luvu leaps. The high comedy.
The Tush Push took a lot of close games and put them away. Yes, indeed. It won more games for the Eagles than it lost, as much as any strategy or ploy. Did it tick off an NFL coach or three? No doubt. I think the league actually kind of got used to it, thank God. Did it cause controversy and enrage owners and get people in the media saying silly things about “nonfootball plays?” Hell, yes. Was it as much a fad, a passing fancy, as the run-and-shoot and the Wildcat and an RPO-based offense? Abso-freaking-lutely. But the Tush Push stood against that dark tide, and it helped make the Eagles of Philadelphia a great team. A championship team.
♦ ♦ ♦
LANDOVER, Md. — Here at Northwest Stadium, just 35 miles from the city that was the setting for David Simon’s magisterial series The Wire, it is only fitting that, as if attending a barstool wake among Baltimore po-leece, we eulogize the Tush Push. The play that once gave the Eagles a physical, psychological, and strategic edge over every opponent they encountered is, by all available indications, dead.
Three times during their 29-18 victory Saturday over the Commanders, the Eagles tried to run their unique and once-unstoppable version of the quarterback sneak. Three times, it failed. Once, tackle Fred Johnson committed a false-start penalty. Once, Hurts gained no yardage. Once, guard Landon Dickerson committed another false-start infraction. And with his offense facing a (relatively long) fourth-and-1 on its first possession, coach Nick Sirianni had the Eagles punt from their own 41 instead of attempting the play.
This was the flat line across the electrocardiogram screen. In 2023, the Eagles led the NFL in fourth-down conversion percentage, at 67.9%. Last season, they were third, but their efficiency rate (71%) was higher. This season, they entered Saturday at 61.1%, seventh-best in the league — good, but not dominant, not close.
“Teams adjust; we’ve got to continue to adjust,” Sirianni said. “Credit to them. They did a really good job of stopping us there. … We have to get this play working the way it’s been in the past, which we’ll work our butts off to do. But we were really able to overcome.”
They were. They got Hurts’ 15-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert late in the third quarter — a nifty bit of improvisation after Dickerson’s penalty and a holding call against Johnson had pushed them back from the Commanders’ 1. They got Saquon Barkley gaining 132 yards and running like all the members of Washington’s defense had insulted his mother. And they got the benefit of playing a bad team that started its backup quarterback (Marcus Mariota) and had to turn to its third-stringer (Josh Johnson).
But the demise of the Tush Push is real, and it has to be a worry as the Eagles look ahead to the postseason. Hurts has made it clear that he had grown tired of running it anyway, and the league officials had raised their level of scrutiny of it, calling more penalties against the Eagles this season. It has gone from an automatic first down to an unreliable chore. They will have to find a new way to remain aggressive, and to succeed, in fourth-and-short situations.
“The play might not even be around next year, to be honest, the way they’re officiating it,” tackle Jordan Mailata said. “Last week, it was that our shoulders have to be parallel to the line of scrimmage. They can’t be angled in. Great. They’re officiating us a little harder. If this is the last year that we can run it, we’ll just run it till we can’t run it anymore.
“The history that we have with that, we’re pretty successful, so when we lean on that play, you expect us to convert. One-yard line — we just didn’t do it. I was pretty happy that Dallas and Jalen could bail us out on that one, but sometimes, that’s just how it goes. Teams this year have done a great job of stopping that play, so we’ve got to do a better job of executing it and go from there.”
Understand: The Eagles brought these challenges upon themselves, in the best way possible. They pioneered the Tush Push, then perfected it, then used it so frequently in the course of winning a Super Bowl that they inspired a campaign against it. Teams are better prepared for it now, and the officials are eyeballing the Eagles every time they line up to run it. And yet, like mourners over a casket, they spoke Saturday as if they haven’t reconciled themselves to the hard, heartbreaking truth. “It’s in a good place,” Hurts said, and center Cam Jurgens insisted, “It’s still our bread and butter. It might get a little dry at times, but bread and butter is bread and butter.” But these words seemed the bittersweet valediction for a play that will send an opposing defense to its knees no more.
The Tush Push worked, and now its prime has passed. Raise your glass. It was called. It served. It is counted.
LANDOVER, Md. — There is an isolating nature to Jake Elliott’s job.
Hundreds of micro moments impact a given game. There are passes and runs and blocks and tackles and situational coaching decisions. All of those things can work in harmony on a given day and success or failure could still hinge on your swinging foot.
The Eagles won going away, 29-18, over the Washington Commanders on Saturday night and clinched the NFC East title along the way. But inside a happy locker room was a frustrated kicker who missed two field goal attempts, who has missed five over the last five games, who also missed a point-after attempt during that stretch.
It is not the isolating part that is getting to him, Elliott said. In fact, the soon-to-be-31-year-old kicker in his ninth NFL season wishes it were a mental thing at this point.
“It would be easier to fix,” Elliott said.
“It’s just frustrating.”
Saturday’s frustration was amplified by the fact that Elliott struck the ball well during warmups, he said. He hit from 52, 55, 58, and 60 yards during pregame. He entered the game, he said, with a good plan, “and when they don’t go through in the game it’s no one to blame but yourself. That’s where we’re at. I got to figure some stuff out.”
Elliott’s first miss was a 43-yard attempt with the Eagles leading, 7-3, six minutes into the second quarter. He was “a little quick” on his swing and hooked it left. It was just his second miss of the season inside 50 yards.
The next, with the Eagles trailing 10-7, came near halftime. There were two, but only one of them counted. He first missed from 57 yards but Washington was offside, which gave the Eagles a first down. The Eagles could not get any positive yardage on the next play and they sent Elliott back on the field to kick from 52 yards out. Elliott was happier with his kick, but he thought the wind took it late.
Elliott is now 17-for-24 on the season. His success rate of 70.8% is the worst of his career.
Jake Elliott kicks an extra point after a Dallas Goedert touchdown during the third quarter against Washington.
Elliott, a two-time Super Bowl champion, a second-team All-Pro in 2023, and a Pro Bowler in 2021, is under contract through the 2028 season. He came back after the All-Pro selection in 2023 with an inconsistent 2024, when his make percentage dropped from 93.8% to 77.8%. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Eagles explore other kicking options after the season. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Eagles explore bringing a kicker in for the homestretch here, either.
“I understand it’s a production-based business,” Elliott said when asked if he was worried the Eagles could bring in a new kicker. “You see it all the time. That’s out of my hands, that’s out of my control, all I can do is kind of put my head down and keep pushing.”
Nick Sirianni said he has the “utmost confidence in Jake.”
“I have a ton of confidence in him that he’ll respond and rebound from this because he’s mentally tough and a great kicker,” Sirianni said.
Punter and holder Braden Mann does, too.
Mann said Elliott has consistently carried the right mindset into his job. His next-kick mentality has been a constant.
“He’s got the history,” Mann said. “His confidence is through the roof. Everyone here, all of our confidence is high for him. He’s just a consistent guy. He doesn’t get too high or too low in big moments, and he’s come through in big moments a lot in the past. It’s easy to rely on a guy like that who really wants the big moment.”
Jake Elliott reacts after his missed 52-yarder.
Elliott hit a similar rough patch late in the season last year. He missed four field goals over the final five games of the regular season, then missed an extra point in a wild-card round win over Green Bay. Then, in the snow, he missed two extra points but was 3-for-3 on field goals in a divisional-round victory over the Rams. He then missed from 54 yards in the NFC title game but made seven point-after tries.
It was a bumpy ride that ended with perfection in the Super Bowl: 4-for-4 on field goals, including two makes from 48 and another from 50, and 4-for-4 on extra points.
Will he lean on that experience?
“It’s all the same thing,” Elliott said. “It’s dealing with success, it’s dealing with failure. It’s all the same. I feel proud that I’ve handled all that kind of the exact same over the years. I’ve had a long career and have learned a lot throughout that on both sides of it.”
Elliott wasn’t interested in getting overly philosophical about the mental part of the game, the isolation of being a kicker, and what happens next.
“I just got to put the ball through the uprights,” he said. “That’s my job, man. That’s it. It’s not any deeper than that.”
