Score break down week 9-14

9- Chargers @ Eagles- 27-24 (L)

10- Eagles @ Broncos 30-13 (W)

11- Saints @ Eagles 40-29 (W)

12- Eagles @ Giants 7-13 (L)

13- Eagles @ Jets 33-18 (W)

Eagles BYE WEEK 14

Current Record- 6-7

Last 5 games: 3-2

The Eagles are right outside the Wildcard window, and if they win out 10-7, they have a good chance of making the playoffs. Although many do not see the Eagles making the playoffs, the next four games are crucial. First, the team must decide whether Jalen Hurts is the guy play, or if they should move on. They also must decide their goal for free agency, the draft, so the front office will be watching very closely. 

In the past five weeks, Jalen Hurts has had some great games and some bad games. So much so that fans are switching sides every week; some are adamant he is not the franchise quarterback, but others beg to differ. He has the chance to be great, for he has all the fundamentals and athleticism, but he just needs more experience and development.  

The defense has been fantastic sometimes, but there have been times where the Eagles take the lead but they play soft and allow the other team to score. Although that is fine against weaker teams, that cannot be done in the playoffs because good teams will take advantage and win. So, that is one thing to watch for the future.

The Coaching staff has been phenomenal. They have improved drastically since the beginning of the season. They helped get the penalties down, efficiency up, and play-calling has been much better. 

Washington has multiple injuries on defense, and the Eagles will be coming off their bye week hungry for a win. This coming game will be a huge deciding factor in whether the Eagles will make the playoffs. 

Expectations for weeks 15 to 18:

It seems that Nick Sirianni opened his ears as the team started to emphasize the run against the teams that they faced these past 5 games. Rushing the ball proved to be effective over the past few weeks, and that will be a big factor moving ahead. All the games moving ahead are all divisional games, and the Eagles must win out, especially with the loss to the Giants in week 12. 

On December 19th, the Eagles play Washington at home. Both the teams are 6-7, and a loss for either side could spell the end of their chance to make the playoffs, thus, this game is one of great importance. Though both teams are almost equal statistically, Washington has happened to have more misshapenness than usual. The defense has not been playing up to their 2021 expectations, and this is proved further by the loss to the Cowboys in week 14. Washington has also faced other mishaps such as the 10 players that were confirmed/suspected to have COVID-19. The Eagles, though not by much, are a better team as of this writing, so I predict the score to be 33-28 this coming Sunday. I believe that the Eagles would overtake Washington as the 7th seed in the NFC Playoff Picture.

The Eagles play the Giants in the final game of the calendar year in the Linc. The Giants have started to gain some traction with star player Saquon Barkley coming into play. With more involvement, this Giants offense should see a significant improvement compared to weeks prior. So, the Eagles will have to take advantage of their opportunities.

The Eagles did not capitalize too much on their opportunities, and they stopped running the football for a bit. The running game against the Giants in week 16 will have to be more creative than usual since the Giants seemed to counter the Eagles’ running game pretty well. I suspect that Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen, the Offensive Coordinator, would be able to create a scheme good enough to beat the Giants on the ground, and this will only be helped if the Eagles get back Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard. The Eagles should get back on track with the Giants, so I see them winning this game 20-14. The Eagles would remain with the seventh seed but are inching up on the San Francisco 49ers.

The Eagles will then head to DC, where they face off against Washington once more. Washington seems to be getting worse since many of their key players are either hurt or are affected by COVID. I feel that the Eagles would be rolling in with steam now they would have won 2 in a row against devisal rivals, and I feel that they would be able to keep this hot streak up. I predict the Eagles to win against the Washington Football Team 34-31 down to the wire. The Eagles would move up a spot in the playoff rankings and overtake the 6th seeded 49ers. 

In week 18 of the NFL Season, Dallas comes to Philly for Dallas week. Dallas is a team that has often beat the Eagles, and I feel that this time is no exception. The Dallas Cowboys are a balanced team on both sides, and the absolute dominance proves this claim shown by the Cowboys to the Washington Football Team. Though the atmosphere in Philly might “elevate” the Eagles’ players, I feel that as of now, the Cowboys are just the better team offensively and defensively. I think that the Eagles will loose 27-21 on that January night. I think the Eagles move down a playoff spot but remain in a playoff spot even with a divisional loss to Dallas.

 Overall, I predict the Eagles will finish with 9 wins and 8 losses, a seventh seed position in the playoffs, and a second-place spot in the division.