Playoffs or not, Eagles’ season hasn’t been a loss

PHILADELPHIA » Saquon Barkley rushed for 189 yards last week. He has the talent to rush for 190 this week.

Daniel Jones has had four 300-plus-yard passing games as a rookie. He has the ability to make it five before the New

York Giants close their season.

The Giants had the same amount of points as the Eagles after 60 minutes when last they met in the Linc. They could have one more point Sunday in the encore Sunday in the Meadowlands.

It could happen, all of that. It could happen Sunday and the Eagles could end their season at 8-8 and if the favored Cowboys defeat the Redskins in Texas, that will be that. There would be no playoffs for the Eagles this season. What then?

What if?

What to think?

Try this: All things considered, there will have been satisfactory progress.

The Eagles haven’t been saying that, nor should they. But they would all say it within 10 seconds of that possible defeat.

So why not clear out a landing spot? Why not pre-approve them to declare some measure of success, no matter what happens in Week 17?

Even if they win Sunday and reach the playoffs for a third consecutive season, the Eagles will not have matched their preseason hype. But because of injuries to DeSean Jackson, Darren Sproles, Nel

son Agholor, Jordan Howard, most of their secondary, Lane Johnson, Alshon Jeffery and so many others, they were something different, much different, than expected. By definition, they would become a rebuilding team. By what definition? This one: They promoted 11 players from their practice squad during the season. Eleven.

Were they were supposed to win 14 games that way?

“Credit to Howie (Roseman) and his staff,” Doug Pederson said. “They are always out there looking and finding guys that can come in, and if we do promote a guy. So we’re constantly looking to develop the practice squad players for these opportunities.”

By season’s end, the Eagles had learned they were better with taxi-squad grad Greg Ward than they ever were with the deteriorating Jeffery. They learned that Boston Scott could be a suitable replacement for Sproles. They never did replace the unique abilities of Jackson, and that’s a large reason why, if they win the NFC East at all, it will be well after dark on the last weekend of the season. But through all of that, at least they will be in the playoff race until way after dark on that last weekend of the season.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Carson Wentz said after a victory last Sunday over the Cowboys. “I’m so proud of them. It’s been really fun. Obviously we’ve had our backs against the wall for a while now. You can see the sense of belief these guys have, and you see it each week with them getting better and better and believing in themselves and believing in this team. I can’t say enough good things about these young guys that are continually stepping up for us. And we are going to need these guys down the stretch.” That’s a notch down from a promise to cram the Linc with multiple Lombardi Trophies. But it was accurate. The Eagles were down and were injured, discovered some young talent that should contribute for years and won an elimination game over the Cowboys. “That was a playoff game,” Pederson said. And it was. And because it was, and because Wentz was the best player in it, the Eagles are bound to emerge from this season with their most haunting question answered. Yes, Wentz could produce on a day when a loss would have ended a season. While Pederson Friday tried to call the Giants game Sunday a “playoff game,” that was not accurate. The Eagles could lose and remain alive. But the Dallas game, and the way Wentz has taken previously unknown players and pushed them to the brink of a postseason, was as valuable as anything short of a Super Bowl championship that the Eagles could have desired this season. For that, Pederson has braced this week against a letdown, fearful that the Eagles could have drawn too much satisfaction from winning a Week 16 game for first place. “Yeah, that’s a real thing,” Pederson said. “For me, it’s just about communication and just bringing it to kind of the forefront of my messaging to the team. We poured a lot into that win on Sunday. The thing, coming into the next week, is not having that mental and emotional letdown. “This, to me, is a bigger game obviously than last week. I know our guys are going to be ready. They’ve prepared this week that way. But for me as the coach, I just keep reminding them of the importance of this week and the importance of this game and staying focused and all that.” After a practice Friday in the Linc, the Eagles sounded like they’d heard the message. “Once the last game is over, it’s over,” Rasul Douglas said. “We are not thinking about the Cowboys anymore. We’re thinking about the Giants. That’s it.” The Eagles always beat the Giants. Typically, it’s because Eli Manning looks at them and panics. But even without Manning at quarterback, there is the history. If necessary, the Giants will surrender a punt return for a touchdown, or hand the ball off and fumble when they should just kneel down. But they are playing well. And the Eagles have had some disappointing performances this season. So Sunday, the Eagles could play for the final time this season. If so, it will be OK.

To contact Jack McCaffery, email him at jmccaffery@21stcenturymedia.com; follow him on Twitter @JackMcCaffery