By: KO Kelly
“So you’re telling me there’s a chance?!”
That’s how many of us are feeling about our Birds’ playoff hopes after our two wins in a row against hobbled divisional foes.
Those two - sloppy at times but nonetheless – wins have Eagles’ nation dreaming about a playoff berth for Christmas (and all the other winter holidays as well).
It will not be an easy road with three tough opponents over the next few weeks but it is feasible with a little help from an old friend . . . and long-time foe.
While I am not ruling out the Eagles catching fire in these last 4 weeks and running the table, I am also not banking on it. Our secondary, while serviceable, is still banged up. Hicks and Jernigan are slow in getting back on the field. It completely baffles me that we do not score +30 pts/game given our four talented wide receivers, a record-smashing TE and his understudy plus a budding run-game. I understand Wentz is still recovering but if we could just get out of our own way that would be a huge help (e.g. the two red-zone failures from Monday night).
But I digress, let’s get back to the friends/foes we need help from:
1) Frank Reich & the Colts – Dallas heads up to Indy next week for what we hope is a QB clinic from Luck and a second loss in a row for Jerry’s boys
2) The Giants – this week against Washington and the final game of the season against Dallas
If Washington loses this week, they are pretty much out of the picture and even if they don’t lose, with Mark Sanchez at QB – they are not going too far.
If Dallas loses one of these two games, it opens the doors for the Eagles to claim the NFC East crown even if they were to loss another game in the final three games. It would not be a pretty crown but it is still a ticket to the dance!
There are a couple other scenarios with the Vikings, Seahawks, and Panthers in the mix for the wild-card spots, but that was more “what-if” forecasting that I was willing to invest mine time in - so let’s just hope they all lose or tie for the next few weeks.
Now onto this week. I called a pretty good game last week with Tate’s break-out game, Ertz’s etching his name into the records books, and the exact score – so I am hopeful I will be as on point in this match-up.
With Dallas coming off the big win against the Saints, they are certainly feeling themselves a bit. I am sure our Birds are gaining confidence as well but given the trials and tribulations they have been through this year, I do not see them taking this game lightly.
The Dallas D has been much better of lately but now that we have figured out how to incorporate Tate into the offense and are relying on the run again, we are going to see the offensive explosion we have been waiting for. Wentz will have a few head-scratching moments but this will become one of his defining games where he orchestrates a masterful performance as the Eagles rally to come back from an early deficit.
As for the other QB on the field, Dak will unfortunately play decent as well. With our battered secondary and a focus on stopping Zeke, Dak will have opportunities to connect with his new favorite target Amari Cooper. He will come to know Kamu Grugier-Hill, though, when he gets sacked hard for a loss. (I am not huge fan of trash talk but is it trash talk if it is just the facts?!)
It would be nice if this were a Week 16 match-up because then there would be the chance that Ertz breaks Witten record in Dallas but alas we will have to settle for him scoring two monster touchdowns to end the first half and start the second.
At the end of the day, we will walk away with the W and some more swagger in our steps, which we will need as we then take on two of the hottest teams in the NFL: Rams & Texans.
Eagles Win 38 - 24
Record 7-6
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