Philadelphia spent the first 15 weeks of the NFL season stacking wins and preparing for home-field advantage, but injuries at key positions and poor play on both sides of the football now have this team fighting for the top spot.
NFL seasons can fall apart in a hurry and the Eagles are now facing a must-win scenario in Week 18 after a disastrous 20-10 loss to the Saints on Sunday.
Returning home to Lincoln Financial Field for the first time in three weeks, quarterback Gardner Minshew was sacked six times on the afternoon, and went 18-32 passing for 274 yards, one touchdown, and one interception that was returned for a touchdown in the loss.
Minshew looked out of sorts at times and made several costly errors while trying to bring Philadelphia back from a 13-0 first-half deficit.
The scenario has been simple since the end of Week 15, with Philadelphia needing to win one of their final three games to win the NFC East and clinch home-field advantage in the NFC.
Without Jalen Hurts on Christmas Eve, the Eagles were defeated by the Cowboys 40-34, after an impressive performance from quarterback Dak Prescott.
On Sunday, the Eagles’ defense was solid, breaking the franchise record for sacks in a season, but they struggled to get off the field on third down, and couldn’t withstand one of the NFL’s top offenses being held to 10 total points.
Philadelphia will now host the New York Giants at home in the season finale, in a game in which the visitors could rest their starters after clinching a playoff berth with a 38-10 beatdown of the Colts.
1. A.J. Brown is electric
BIG PLAY AJ BROWN❗️#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/M254SP06N0
— JAKIB Sports (@JAKIBSports) January 1, 2023
Brown is now 12 yards away from breaking Mike Quick’s Eagles single-season record of 1,409 set in 1983.
2. Gardner Minshew tossed away shot at being an NFL starter
Minshew had a two-game audition as a starting quarterback for teams around the league and his performance against New Orleans left a ton to be desired.
You gotta be kidding me… pic.twitter.com/DEerUmGsv8
— JAKIB Sports (@JAKIBSports) January 1, 2023
Minshew has three interceptions in two starts after going 18-32 passing for 274 yards, one touchdown, and pick six.
3. Eagles aren't the same without Lane Johnson
Gardner Minshew was sacked six times on the afternoon and Jack Driscoll struggled at right tackle in place of an injured Lane Johnson Philadelphia may be forced to look elsewhere at the position if Johnson can’t return.
The Eagles are 12-21 in the 33 games he has missed since 2013. That includes going 3-10 since 2020.
4. Shane Steichen needs the system
So much for Jalen Hurts being a system quarterback, but the entire program doesn’t work without the third-year Pro Bowl quarterback.
Philadelphia’s run-pass ratio is beyond poor with four capable running backs on the roster. The Eagles attempted 10 more passing attempts than runs on the afternoon, while New Orleans stuck to what they do best over the past three weeks and they came away with the win.
5. Eagles defense too passive
Philadelphia only allowed 20 points and Alvin Kamara didn’t totally go off, but the Eagles’ defense was 7-16 on third downs and allowed a nine-minute drive to start the ball game.
Even if they secure the Homefield advantage, the discussions about Jonathan Gannon’s passive approach won’t be going away.
