Giants stand in the way of Eagles’ last opportunity to clinch top spot in NFC
PHILADELPHIA — Here’s a familiar refrain these days around Philly: All the Eagles have to do is win one game and they are the NFC East champions, hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC, have a postseason bye and own homefield advantage in the playoffs.
The Eagles couldn’t reach those goals two weeks ago when they lost at Dallas.
They flopped with those prizes at stake last week at home in a debacle against New Orleans.
With a loss Sunday to the playoff-bound New York Giants — a team the Eagles smoked 48-22 last month — the Eagles (13-3) open the door for Dallas or San Francisco to potentially snag the top seed in the conference.
There are myriad scenarios involved that could make that happen — and all start with an Eagles’ loss at Lincoln Financial Field.
“We were looking too far forward,” Eagles cornerback James Bradberry said. “We kind of lost track of being in the moment and taking advantage of the opportunity we had at hand.”
Help might be on the way. Jalen Hurts was a limited participant at practice this week for the first time since he sprained his right shoulder three weeks ago in a win at Chicago. Hurts led the Eagles to 13 wins and stamped himself an MVP contender with 35 total touchdowns. Without him, the Eagles’ offense sputtered behind backup Gardner Minshew. They were shut out in the first half last week against the Saints and scored a season-low 10 points.
Led by QB Daniel Jones, the Giants (9-6-1) are in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and are locked in as the No. 6 seed in the NFC. Coach Brian Daboll has yet to say if he plans to rest any of his players in the regular-season finale to have them healthy for the postseason.
“You just got to make a good decision based on information and the things you talk about with the people on your staff and make the decision that you think is right for your team,” Daboll said. “If you go out there and lay an egg, it’s the wrong decision. If you win, it’s the right decision.”