And just like that, it's official, the Philadelphia Eagles are NFC East Champions, NFL regular season champions, and the top overall seed in the NFC playoff picture. That's right, despite playing well below their usual standards, with Jalen Hurts by his own admission not close to 100 percent and a number of mistakes allowing the Giants to stick around for far longer than they had any right to, considering they were almost exclusively playing second and third-string backups, Philly's finest pulled out the W, secured fulfilled their destiny, and get to spend next weekend resting and relaxing, and hopefully getting a little healthier before they go head-to-toe against either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Dallas Cowboys, depending on how Super Wildcard Weekend shakes out.

For Nick Sirianni, this is a major milestone; after backdooring himself into the playoffs last season with a 9-8 record off the strength of a four-game win streak from Week 14-17, the Eagles' second-year head coach has secured his first-ever NFC East Championship trophy, matching his predecessor, Doug Pederson, who accomplished the feat in his second year too.

If Sirianni is as lucky as Pederson, who also won his division with the Jacksonville Jaguars, maybe he too can join the second-year Super Bowl club, and get a trophy outside of The Linc, assuming he comes up with a clever nickname for a trick play.

But for the Eagles to make it to the Super Bowl, they first have to win two more games to get there, a task that's easier said than done, even with home-field advantage throughout the remainder of the playoffs, especially if they end up facing the Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers back-to-back. No, while the path isn't without obstacles, if there's any team who can pull out the win down the stretch, it has to be this one, as the team has worked together through the ups and down and now appear primed for a genuine push to the degree that no other midnight green team has had since that fated Super Bowl squad.

Will it work? Only time will tell, but why not make some Eagles bold predictions and see how it shakes out?

3. The Eagles' defense remains potent

The Eagles' defense is good, like really good. While some may quibble over declaring it the best in the NFL, as the 49ers and even the Cowboys can make claims at that title in the NFC alone, Jonathan Gannon has built a defense that can rush the quarterback to a pretty impressive degree, coming just two sacks shy of Buddy Ryan's Chicago Bears record, play solid coverage thanks to a pair of top-notched cornerbacks in James Bradberry and Darius Slay, and slow down the run from a Cover 2 shell, which is easier said than done.

Of the teams left in the playoffs, there are some good offenses left on the proverbial board, with the Minnesota Vikings, the 49ers, and the Cowboys all fielding impressive attacks on the ground and through the air, but none of those teams have the sort of unstoppable howitzer of an offensive attack that can easily best the boys from South Broad. Barring any injuries, expect the Eagles' 2022 regular season defense to translate into 2023.

2. Shane Steichen eases off of Miles Sanders despite fan outcry

Though Shane Steichen is a charismatic play-caller who built an impressive attack around his quarterback's idiosyncrasies, when the going gets rough, he occasionally defects from his run-heavy approach to instead get a bit too pass-happy to the detriment of the team's offensive versatility.

When that happens, and unfortunately, it likely will happen against an elite defense like that of the Niners, Steichen will likely ease off of giving the appropriate number of carries to his featured back, Miles Sanders, as was the case with Gardner Minshew under center, even if it is 100 percent not the correct decision, especially if Hurts isn't 100 percent. Still, If the Eagles are able to overcome a game where Hurts out-rushes Sanders in terms of both carries and yards, one would assume the local outcry would be strong enough to ensure he doesn't make the same mistake again.

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1. Philly will live or die on the play of Jalen Hurts

For better or worse, the Eagles are only as good as their quarterback, Jalen Hurts; if he can play like the first nine weeks of the season, the Eagles will be hard to beat regardless of who they match up with from week to week, and if he's too injured or just too rusty to keep that electricity free flowing, the Eagles will look more like Week 18 than Week 15, which was arguably his best performance of the year.

Will it work, will Hurts put it all together and look like the sort of player worthy of the MVP? Or will the Eagles peter out despite having arguably the deepest roster in franchise history? That, as they say, is why we fans tune into the games.