Eagles Set Up For Strong Stretch Run

At 8-2 the Eagles have taken control of the NFC East and the top seed in the conference is in reach.

Nov 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni before action against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - It’s an indictable offense at the NovaCare Complex to look ahead. The good news here is we are not governed by Nick Sirianni and Co. so the so-called mini-bye is a perfect opportunity to digest the landscape in the NFC and what to expect moving forward.

Thursday night’s dominant fourth quarter put Washington (7-4) at arm’s length in the NFC East and top-seeded Detroit (8-1) is in the Eagles’ orbit, an organization that has now started 8-2 or better in three consecutive seasons (Philadelphia got off to 9-1 starts in its Super Bowl 2022 season and its collapse in 2023).

The Lions also are starting to show some flaws and nearly lost at Houston last week albeit persevering despite five interceptions from Jared Goff, something that is a little scary if you think about it,

Detroit, which hosts 2-8 Jacksonville on Sunday with backup quarterback Mac Jones set to start, is almost assuredly going to keep the pace car for another week. 

Long-term, however, the Lions are dealing with a much tougher division with two other potential playoff teams in the NFC North: 7-2 Minnesota and 6-3 Green Bay. 

The good news for Detroit is that it has already topped both teams on the road, needing a last-second field goal from Jake Bates to top the Vikings in Week 7 and taking advantage of a banged-up Jordan Love to get the best of the Packers two weeks later.

The rematches are both at Ford Field, Dec. 5 against Green Bay and Week 18 against Minnesota, so the Lions will be favorites and expected to win both. However, If each brings their “A game” on a particular day they are capable of beating anyone, including the Lions.

Detroit has two other games against playoff-level teams on Dec. 15 when it hosts Buffalo and Dec. 30 at San Francisco, whose current 5-4 record belies what it might become if Christian McCaffrey returns to form in the coming weeks.

There’s plenty of room left on the Lions schedule for hiccups.

The Eagles have their own obvious hurdles starting with a cross-country visit to Los Angeles next week before a daunting Dec. 1 trip down the I-95 corridor to powerful Baltimore.

Philadelphia’s biggest advantage over the Lions is the division where Dallas and the New York Giants are dead in the water in advance of trips to Lincoln Financial Field, and the Commanders proved that they are not quite ready-for-primetime players just yet.

Pittsburgh is another playoff-worthy foe left for the Eagles but that game is also at the Linc, which has not been kind to the Steelers in the past when crossing the Keystone State.

The rear-view looks promising for the Eagles as well due to Sam Darnold’s declining performance with the Vikings, and a built-in tiebreaker vs. the Packers due to the Week 1 win in Brazil. Although the Falcons have a tiebreaker over Philadelphia they are now two-games south of the Eagles and don’t have the horses to run tables.

The Eagles are in a strong position moving forward if they don’t do what we just did – look ahead.

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