The Philadelphia Eagles now have a 68% chance of qualifying for the postseason (via FiveThirtyEight) following Monday Night Football. The Miami Dolphins beat the New Orleans Saints 20-3 to increase their odds.
What has to happen next? Well, it’s an uncomplicated and very likely series of events. First, Philadelphia (8-7) needs to beat the Washington Football Team (6-9) on the road on January 2 at 1 p.m. Then they need either the San Francisco 49ers (8-7) to beat the Houston Texans (4-11) at 4:05 p.m.; or the Carolina Panthers (5-10) to top the Saints (7-8) at 4:25 p.m. on January 2.
Lastly, the Eagles need the Green Bay Packers (12-3) to defeat the Minnesota Vikings (7-8) on January 2 at 8:20 p.m. That’s it. Cheer for Justin Jefferson to fail! If all three of those things come to fruition, then Philly clinches a playoff spot in Week 17. They would own the seventh seed. Not bad for a rebuilding franchise that started the season at 2-5. Press on, guys, press on.
“Let your roots grow, your flower roots grow, right?,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “I’m not thinking when the outside world might be thinking about playoffs, I’m thinking about how I’m going to get better today to get better tomorrow, the next day, the next day, so we can go 1-0 this week. It’s just staying in the moment and going a little bit at a time.”
Eagles can clinch a playoff spot Sunday if:
🏈 Eagles win in Washington
🏈 Vikings lose to Packers
🏈 Saints lose to Panthers or 49ers beat Texans
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Eagles Place 4 Players on COVID-19 List
The recent COVID-19 spike continues to hit NFL locker rooms, including in Philadelphia where four more players entered health and safety protocols. Defensive end Derek Barnett, cornerback Andre Chachere, and defensive end Tarron Jackson are all in danger of missing Sunday’s game. The team also placed tight end Noah Togiai on the Practice Squad COVID-19 list.
#Eagles injury updates:
Miles Sanders = broken hand, will miss this game
Nate Herbig = knee sprain
Jordan Howard = good MRI on stinger
K’Von Wallace = hip pointer, fine
Brandon Brooks (IR) = no update
Sirianni was asked to provide a new injury update for right guard Brandon Brooks, too. There was speculation that maybe he had a setback from his pectoral strain, or something else was limiting him. Not the case.
“Still working through that pec strain,” Sirianni said. “Again, no timetable. We’re playing each week, week by week and trying to figure it out.”
Sirianni Isolating Quarterbacks Room
The Eagles have adopted stricter protocols inside the NovaCare Complex to guard against a COVID-19 outbreak. They started the process a few weeks ago before the NFL issued new mandates. One of the things they are doing is keeping the quarterbacks – Jalen Hurts, Gardner Minshew, Reid Sinnett – in separate rooms so if one guy gets infected then it doesn’t wipe out the whole depth chart. Sirianni said other changes were on the horizon, but he’s still working through those things.
“I talked to a couple other head coaches and tried to figure out what they’re doing because we all know – to win this game this week, we’re going to need all hands-on deck,” Sirianni said. “And so, what is the best course of action? And, obviously, we’re talking to our doctors and our trainers to figure out the best course of attack. And we’re going to make some adjustments.”
IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE 🎄
Head Coach Nick Sirianni has cleared the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols and WILL be on the sideline tomorrow‼️
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Merry Clinchmas: Eagles Playoff Scenarios Revealed