Eagles’ playoff hopes on life support
With four teams ahead of them in the hunt for two NFC wild-card playoff spots, the Philadelphia Eagles might not have to run December’s five-game table to have a chance at defending their Super Bowl championship. But, at 5-6, it wouldn’t be a bad idea, starting Monday against one of those teams, the visiting 6-5 Washington Redskins (8:15 p.m. EST, TSN via ESPN). “I think it’s unfortunate where we are,” Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said Saturday. “We’ve kind of dug this hole for ourselves, and the only way to climb out of it is one game at a time. I think that’s been the focus of the team, been my focus, obviously, this week. “We have to control only what we can control, and we have the Redskins on Monday night and it’s going to be a great divisional battle. “All the things they are talking about, we have to do, and we can’t worry about playoff scenarios. “We just have to make sure that we take care of our business and see if that’s good enough at the end.” The Eagles have endured more than their share of injuries, but reasons are multiple for their losing record entering Week 13. First and foremost, the regression of offensive production. A year ago this week, the Eagles led the NFL in scoring with 31.9 points per game. Now, the Eagles rank 24th with 20.9 points per game. Similarly, whereas Philly ranked third at this time in 2017 in total offence, now they rank 19th. It’s not that Carson Wentz, upon returning to the starting lineup in Week 3 once fully healed from a left ACL tear, has performed poorly. If anything, he’s the only reliable offensive playmaker. “I’ve seen teams that have had success (that) struggle the next year, very similar to what we’re doing,” Pederson said. “I think it just proves the point, there’s a mindset. There’s a mentality that has to go along with winning. And along with winning comes people tugging at you to do other things, and maybe take you away from your job or whatever you’re focused on with the team. So there’s a little bit of that. “(We) still control our own destiny. We know what’s ahead of us. It’s a long road.” The game means just as much to the Redskins. With a win they’ll move into a statistical tie with Dallas atop the NFC East at 7-5. This is the first of two December games between Philadelphia and Washington. Pederson said he expects a playoff-type atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field.