THE GEEK’S GAME OF THE WEEK
Dallas at Philadelphia
Have you ever seen a Super Bowl contender that has looked less like a Super Bowl contender than the Eagles?
Sure, they’re 13-2, and have the NFC’s No. 1 seed locked up — home-field advantage with it — but the sense of dominance they once invoked has dissipated in the wake of a series of uninspiring performances since Carson Wentz went down with injury.
Their Christmas Day win over the Oakland Raiders should have been a statement game, but it took the Black and Silver falling all over themselves for Philly to pull out the win. They needed a Raiders missed field goal, two late turnovers, and Derek Carr turning into David Carr to pull out the win.
The week before, their defence was shredded by the New York Giants and their merry band of no-name receivers, and were lucky to pull out the W in that one, too.
They may have won their games, but they lost their spirit when Wentz went down, the belief that they were true contenders. There may have been talk of their strength of schedule calling their legitimacy into question beforehand, but that was talk from outside the lockerroom. These doubts are coming from within.
While most of the playoff teams are thinking of resting their starters this week, you can’t think that Philly will do the same with Nick Foles. His sample size of work isn’t enough to feel comfortable heading into the playoffs, where you’re two games away from being in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles might be the top seed in the NFC, but they’re not the best team in the conference.
Pick: Cowboys
The Greek says: At the start of the season, I said Dak Prescott is the most overrated quarterback in football. In the past two weeks, when it matters most, he has thrown zero touchdowns and four interceptions. It’s one of the few tough calls I’ve got right this season.
That being said, Eagles QB Nick Foles hasn’t been much better and will be in for a rude awakening come playoff time.
Pick: Cowboys
Mike ‘The Greek” Raptis (148-92) went 12-4 in Week 16, narrowing the gap to one game against J.J. “The Geek” Adams (149-91), who went 11-5. Who will take the 2017 Geek vs. Greek crown?