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After starting out the season 2-2, the Philadelphia Eagles are officially guaranteed a spot in the 2024 NFL playoffs.
That's right, their win streak has officially reached ten after a commanding win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15. They've beaten all sorts of teams in all sorts of different ways. And they now can control their destiny down the stretch in the pursuit of the NFC East pennant even if they drop a game or two down the stretch, depending on how Washington plays in their first year under Dan Quinn.
Do you want a team that can beat an opponent down on the ground, putting together some all-time great rushing efforts in 2024? That's the Eagles. Or how about a team that can air it out while efficiently moving the ball down the field through the air? That's the Eagles, too, as they thoroughly proved in Week 15 against the Steelers.
Factor in an incredible defense that can attack with their impressive front and stay with their man in the secondary, and you have a team with very few flaws and more than enough talent to get things done when it matters most.
But in the playoffs, all teams are not equal.
Sometimes, one of the better teams takes a skid in the middle of the year and has to make their Super Bowl push coming out of a wild card berth. Or a team will draw a nightmare matchup well before the Super Bowl, leaving an otherwise promising season effectively thrown off the rails. Need proof? Well, look no further than the San Francisco 49ers in 2022, when, in a game against the Eagles, they lost both of their quarterbacks, and we're forced to run the ball exclusively on the way to a heartbreaking loss that players on the team still aren't over.
Could that happen to the Eagles? I mean, probably not, but there are some scenarios that look much worse than others and could have fans in their feelings in the lead-up to the game. No bye? Facing the reigning Eagles killers? Or even a date with Detroit? Yikes, things could get ugly.
Wildcard Round Eagles disaster: No bye
The worst-case scenario for the Eagles in the Wildcard round is that they have to play it at all, failing to secure a bye because Detroit has the better divisional record or losing to Dallas, Washington, or New York to close out the regular season.
On paper, that shouldn't matter; usually, if you're the better team, you should be able to be able to win two games instead of three no problem, especially if you already ripped off ten-straight on the way to the Super Bowl. But this isn't the regular season, where the team can write off a loss for any number of reasons, but instead a single elimination format where any mistake instantly ends this season. Even if the Eagles drop against the team with eight wins, their run is over, and no one would ever hear the end of it in Philadelphia for years to come.
Need proof? Look no further than last year, with folks still talking about the dynamic between Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, and AJ Brown to this day. After seemingly easy tensions in Week 15, a disastrous wildcard round loss could inflame things once more and lead to ugly changes that effectively dash any dynasty dreams once and for all.
Now granted, could that still happen if the Eagles lose in the divisional round or even the conference finals? Sure. Could Brown dislike his usage and demand a trade, someone like Lane Johnson could decide their career is over and retire, or could someone suffer an injury that derails their 2025 eight months before it starts? Sure, but an impressive playoff showing would do a lot to avoid that worst-case scenario, which has to be goal number two right behind a Super Bowl victory.
2. Divisional round Eagles disaster: Playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If there's one team in the NFL that seemingly has the Eagles' number, it's the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Led by another player who transferred to Oklahoma to put up a Heisman-level performance under then-head coach Lincoln Riley, the Buccaneers are undefeated in the Baker Mayfield era against the Eagles in 2024, with a win back in January bumping Philadelphia from the playoffs and another in September calling this season into question.
But why? Is it because of how the Eagles' offense simply doesn't match up well against Todd Bowles' defense, even now that it's an amalgamation of Nick Sirianni's staples and Kellen Moore's flourishes? Or does Mayfield simply understand how to pick apart a Vic Fangio-style defense, with Sen Desi and Matt Patricia running a brutalized version of the scheme back in January and the genuine article allowing the diminutive starter to put up 347 yards and two touchdowns in their last showdown? Is it the presence of Vita Vea, who is among the best run-stuffing nose tackles in the business?
You know, it's hard to say, really, maybe six of the first or a half dozen of the latter, but for whatever reason, the Eagles just can't seem to look like the world beaters they've proven to be in 2024 when they are lined up opposite the Buccaneers. While the third time may be the charm, especially since the game would technically take place in 2025, most Eagles fans would happily take the Commanders, Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, or even the Minnesota Vikings over the Buccaneers, regardless of if they are the third or seventh seed when the final season rankings shake out.
3. Conference round Eagles disaster: Playing the Detroit Lions
Can a worst-case scenario be the most likely outcome? If yes, then this has to be the worst-case scenario because there simply isn't a better team in the NFC that doesn't call Philadelphia home than the Detroit Lions.
On paper, it makes sense, right? The Lions are also 12-2 after taking a loss to the Buffalo Bills over the weekend, and even in a diminished state, down a dozen defensive players of note, they are still finding ways to win games both through the air and on the ground with their impressive collection of talent across the board.
If you're a fan of the NFL and want to see the best teams duke it out on the grandest stage with the ultimate prize on the line, a spot in the Super Bowl, then this has to be the matchup you are rooting for. But if you're a fan of the Eagles and want to see the team secure a win on the easiest path possible to the Super Bowl, well, does a showdown against the Lions really fit that bill? Goodness, even with David Montgomery out for the remainder of the season, Aiden Hutcheson unlikely to return in time for the NFC Championship game, and Jared Goff one of the more perplexing players in the NFL, Dan Campbell has still found a way to remain effective in 2024 regardless and could keep that good fortune going into the future.
Could the Eagles still pull out the win against the Lions if push came to shove? Sure, but Detroit's offense has recorded the sixth-most rushing yards on the fourth-most rushing attempts and the second-most passing yards on the 18th-most attempts on the season so far, making the challenge incredibly difficult, to say the least, even if their defense is below average across the board.
