The Philadelphia Eagles entered Week 18 with a shot at overtaking the Chicago Bears for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
But as the Bears lost, 19-16 on a walk-off field goal to the Detroit Lions, the Eagles weren’t in prime position to capitalize. Head coach Nick Sirianni opted to rest his starters against a four-win Washington Commanders team playing with third-string quarterback Josh Johnson.
Advertisement
The Commanders beat the Eagles’ backups 24-17, and the Bears held on to the No. 2 seed in the NFC despite losing, relegating the Eagles to the No. 3 seed.
[Get more Eagles news: Philly team feed]
What Eagles lose by not clinching No. 2 seed
The Bears and Eagles will each host playoff games in next week’s wild-card round. If both teams advance to the divisional round, the Bears would host the Eagles with the winner advancing to the NFC championship game.
That’s the primary advantage the Eagles surrendered when they started Sunday’s game with Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and Co. on the bench.
The Eagles had a chance to fight for the No. 2 seed on Sunday but opted instead to rest their starters for the playoffs.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The games were played at the same time, and Sirianni couldn’t have known that the Bears would lose. But he prioritized rest over giving the Eagles their best chance at the No. 2 seed, and they’ll go into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed instead.
Advertisement
Why did Sirianni rest starters?
Sirianni explained his decision to prioritize rest while speaking with reporters on Friday.
“At the end of the day, it’s not a guarantee we can get the 2 seed,” Sirianni said. “But I guarantee that I can rest the starters. Just thought that was the best thing for our football team.”
He was asked postgame if he had any regrets given the outcome.
“No, you go through your process, Sirianni said. “You make the best decision for your football team.”
Starting safety Reed Blankenship, who did not play on Sunday, told reporters postgame that he agreed with Sirianni’s decision.
“You can play the what-if game,” Blankenship said. “I mean, yeah, when the Lions win — when you’re on the sideline, like ‘man, I wish I would have played.’
“But you don’t know that. I’d rather have a week of rest and have my body recovered than go out there and be in a dog fight and then feel bad going into a playoff game.”
Starting receiver DeVonta Smith was 44 yards short of a 1,000-yard season entering Sunday’s game. He did start and told reporters that Sirianni had offered him the choice to do so. He didn’t record another catch after tallying 52 yards to eclipse 1,000 for the season.
Advertisement
He told reporters after the game that he wasn’t given an option to keep playing with the No. 2 seed still at stake.
“Everybody told me to get the hell out,” Smith said, per The Athletic’s Brooks Kubena.
Eagles still had a shot after Bears lost
The Lions secured their win over the Bears as the result of Commanders-Eagles remained in the balance. With Detroit’s win in the books, the Eagles forced a Commanders punt with 1:04 remaining and a chance to tie the game.
But backup quarterback Tanner McKee threw three incompletions and took a sack for a turnover on downs, allowing the Commanders to kneel out the clock on their win.
Advertisement
Both the Bears and the Eagles finish at 11-6, and the Bears hold the tiebreaker. As the No. 2 seed, Chicago will host the rival Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) in next week’s wild-card round in a rematch of one of the best games of the NFL season that the Bears won on a walk-off touchdown in overtime.
The Eagles will host a banged-up San Francisco 49ers team that finished 12-5, but struggled while playing without multiple injured starters in a Saturday loss to the Seattle Seahawks that determined the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Both matchups are tough, and neither the Bears nor the Eagles, of course, are guaranteed to advance to the divisional round.
Advertisement
The Eagles reduced the risk of injury and wear and tear on their starters while sacrificing their best shot at hosting a divisional-round playoff game. Only time will tell if that decision pays off as the Eagles seek their second consecutive Super Bowl championship.
Leave a Reply