{"id":494854,"date":"2026-01-05T20:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/494854\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T20:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:31:11","slug":"eagles-news-the-philadelphia-eagles-are-perhaps-the-most-confusing-team-in-the-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/494854\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles News: \u201cThe Philadelphia Eagles are perhaps the most confusing team in the playoffs\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eagles Question of the Day:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your biggest concern heading into the Eagles\u2019 game against the 49ers? Head over to The Feed<\/a><\/strong> and weigh in with your answer and explanation!<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Every NFL playoff team, ranked by its 2026 Super Bowl chances \u2013 SB Nation<\/a>
7) Philadelphia Eagles: In a confusing season, the Philadelphia Eagles are perhaps the most confusing team in the playoffs. Their Week 17 win over the Buffalo Bills is a perfect example. Are they the team we saw in the first half, which got out to a double-digit lead over the Bills on the road and held them scoreless? Or the team we saw in the second half, which sputtered offensively and let Buffalo back into the game? Philadelphia went three-and-out on four of their five second-half possessions against Buffalo, and it was only a missed throw from Josh Allen on a two-point conversion that allowed Philadelphia to escape with the win. If there is a foundation for their success and hope for another deep playoff run, it might be their defense. The Eagles have been one of the best defensive units down the stretch (particularly against the pass), and if that unit keeps performing at this level, it might be enough for Philadelphia to get back to a Super Bowl. Especially if the offense shows up on a more consistent basis.<\/p>\n

NFL playoff bracket preview: Schedule, Super Bowl odds, stats \u2013 ESPN<\/a>
Reason for concern: An inconsistent offense. The offensive line has regressed, and the playcalling has been spotty \u2014 two contributing factors in the decline of a once-exceptional running game led by Saquon Barkley. The lack of success on the ground has created tougher sledding for quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has had standout moments but also stretches of unproductive play. The output has not matched the talent for much of the season.<\/p>\n

Despite their flaws, the Eagles are capable of beating anybody in the postseason \u2013 NBCSP<\/a>
Then there\u2019s this, and I think this is huge: This is a battle-tested team that rolled through the playoffs and won a Super Bowl 10 months ago. They know how to win, and they believe they can do it again. They have one of only five quarterbacks to reach two Super Bowls before his 27th birthday and one of only five coaches to take his first five teams to the postseason. This roster is jammed with guys who\u2019ve reached the pinnacle of the NFL and made plays on the game\u2019s biggest stage. There\u2019s tremendous value having guys who not only believe they can win a Super Bowl but already have and know what it takes. We can come up with plenty of reasons the Eagles won\u2019t go on a deep playoff run, and they\u2019re all valid. It won\u2019t be easy just to get past the 49ers on Sunday. But there\u2019s also a world of potential in that locker room, and the Eagles have shown they have the ability to beat anybody anywhere at any time. And that\u2019s a pretty powerful thing this time of year.<\/p>\n

NFL Playoffs 2026: Eagles open as standard home favorites against 49ers \u2013 BGN<\/a>
The Eagles should be entering the playoffs feeling pretty good about Vic Fangio\u2019s defense. It\u2019s possible they could stifle a 49ers offense that was looking red hot prior to San Francisco\u2019s Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Kyle Shanahan\u2019s squad mustered just a mere three points at home with the No. 1 seed on the line. The Niners\u2019 defense is banged up and bad; San Fran ranks 24th in EPA per play, 27th in DVOA, and 30th in success rate. Of course, we\u2019ve seen the Eagles\u2019 offense struggle to take advantage of bad defenses this season. Look no further than their narrow win against the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n

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NFL playoff schedule: The 49ers will face the Eagles on Sunday \u2013 Niners Nation<\/a>
The last time these two teams faced each other, Deebo Samuel had a day to remember in Philadelphia, and the 49ers won 42-19. The Niners avenged their loss the year prior in the NFC Championship, when they played without a quarterback. Week 18\u2019s result wasn\u2019t surprising, as the Eagles didn\u2019t play their starters. If you\u2019re the 49ers, don\u2019t you take that personally? A team sits their starters, essentially telling them to forfeit a win so they can play you. Some fans may have wanted the 49ers to get the fifth seed, as that would be the \u201ceasier\u201d path against a lesser opponent. The schedule was the fascinating outcome. What day would the Niners play on? After all, this team had gone through the cycle of playing on Sunday, Monday, and Saturday night. An extra day of rest could be the difference in Trent Williams or Ricky Pearsall playing.<\/p>\n

Eagles Draw 49ers in First Round. First Impressions with BLG! \u2013 The Ringer\u2019s Philly Special<\/a>
The Eagles have their playoff opponent set, as old foe the San Francisco 49ers will be coming to town. Sheil is joined by Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation to discuss the matchup, as well as the Eagles\u2019 24\u201317 loss to the Commanders with the No. 2 seed in the conference on the line. The big question is whether the Eagles should have played their starters. How realistic is it for the Eagles to make a Super Bowl run? Should we pump the brakes on Tanner McKee? Plus, a quick discussion on the Sixers and Flyers.<\/p>\n

The Winners and Losers of the NFL Week 18 \u2013 The Ringer<\/a>
Loser: Nick Sirianni. The teams in the NFC playoff field were already set by the end of Sunday\u2019s early slate, but with the Eagles and Bears vying for the no. 2 spot in the conference, there was still plenty to sort out in the second wave of games. Philadelphia didn\u2019t seem too interested in earning it. A win over the lowly Commanders combined with a Chicago loss to Detroit would have pushed the defending Super Bowl champs to second place in the NFC and set up a first-round matchup with the injury-depleted Packers. The Lions did their part to make it happen, knocking off the Bears with a last-second field goal. But with Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni choosing to rest his starters\u2014except for DeVonta Smith, who played long enough to get over 1,000 receiving yards for the season before calling it a day\u2014the Eagles lost, 24-17, to the Commanders. The loss means the Bears get the 2-seed, and the Eagles are no. 3, which will make the path back to the Super Bowl exponentially harder to navigate. Philadelphia will now face the 12-win Niners team that was rolling before its loss to Seattle. Survive that, and the Eagles have a potential trip to Chicago, which might be the best-case scenario. The other option is a visit from the Rams in the divisional round, should the Bears lose to Green Bay in the wild-card round.<\/p>\n

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Former coach, others rip Nick Sirianni\u2019s decision to rest Eagles\u2019 starters: \u2018Makes no sense\u2019 \u2013 Inquirer<\/a>
\u201cI don\u2019t understand Nick Sirianni not playing for the 2 seed Sunday,\u201c Peter King wrote in his newsletter. \u201dMakes no sense. If you\u2019re the 2 seed and you win the Wild Card game, you\u2019re home for two playoff games. If you\u2019re the 3 seed and the 2 seed wins the Wild Card game, you\u2019re home for only one playoff game. Seems like a missed opportunity to me, sitting so many of your guys in a game you\u2019d likely win. Sirianni said he opted for resting guys who needed it. We\u2019ll see if impacts the next two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Commanders game \u2013 PhillyVoice<\/a>
5) The \u2018PLAY HIM IN REAL GAMES!\u2019 Award \ud83d\ude24: Tank Bigsby. Bigsby had 16 carries for 75 yards and a TD, despite rarely having any room to run. He consistently gets yards after contact, and finds yards that aren\u2019t blocked up. Watching the Seahawks-49ers game on Saturday night, it was fun watching the Seahawks use their one-two punch of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet to bludgeon the Niners on the ground. The Eagles don\u2019t have to spilt Bigsby\u2019s snaps evenly with Saquon Barkley, obviously, but it makes sense for them to give Bigsby 5-10 carries per game, (a) because he produces whenever he plays, and (b) he can help Barkley be more effective by keeping him fresh throughout the game.<\/p>\n

NFL Week 18 takeaways: What We Learned from Sunday\u2019s 14 games \u2013 NFL.com<\/a>
Tanner McKee\u2019s stock takes a dive. Lost in the undying buzz that surrounds the Eagles (both positively and mostly negatively) is the optimism regarding their backup quarterback, Tanner McKee. A preseason hero who carries intrigue that stretches beyond Philadelphia, McKee received the start in a backup-heavy game for the Eagles on Sunday and showed why he\u2019s an understudy. McKee\u2019s stat line does him more favors than the tape. On multiple (often key) occasions, McKee struggled with accuracy and\/or wasn\u2019t on the same page with his intended receiver. He threw an ugly interception in the end zone on a pass he anticipated would be open if Washington\u2019s Jeremy Reaves had carried the nearest pass-catcher in coverage, but Reaves instead sat on the throw McKee eventually fired, picking him off to stop an Eagles drive that likely would have finished in the end zone. Throughout the game, McKee sailed passes over open targets and when the Eagles desperately needed a touchdown drive to preserve their chances of victory or extending to overtime, McKee looked unqualified, struggling with pressure and missing targets. McKee has thrived in preseason action to a degree that has even led some to wonder whether he might become a starter elsewhere (or, depending on the week and which Eagles fans you speak to, in place of Jalen Hurts). He didn\u2019t look anything like that on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Spadaro: 9 takeaways from the Eagles\u2019 regular-season finale \u2013 PE.com<\/a>
Dropping an edge rusher in coverage works. Gotta give second-year outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt a huge amount of credit for the jump he has made in his second NFL season. He led the Eagles in quarterback sacks with 6.5 during the regular season and also, remarkable as this is, picked off three passes during the season. Three interceptions. For an edge rusher. On Sunday, he dropped into coverage and did a masterful job of closing on a sideline pass for wide receiver Deebo Samuel and made the interception. Just a textbook play, athletic as could be and perfect and, yes, when it\u2019s appropriate, dropping an edge defender in coverage works.<\/p>\n

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Instant observations from Commanders 24, Eagles 17: Eagles get their rest, miss out on the No. 2 seed \u2013 PHLY<\/a>
Bo Wulf: Why in the world was A.J. Dillon still in the roster for this game? Tank Bigsby played the majority of the running back snaps and Will Shipley was there to take most of the rest. Dillon has not been active since Week 6. He is on a one-year contract. Meanwhile, the defensive line was so short-handed that Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Moro Ojomo and Brandon Graham all had to play real snaps. In the secondary, there was only one backup \u2014 Mac McWilliams, who was forced into action when Brandon Johnson suffered a heartbreaking injury. If the Eagles do not repeat as Super Bowl champions, karmic payback for this roster malpractice will be the reason.<\/p>\n

Eagles player responds to fans who are calling for him to be cut: \u2018Love yall too\u2019 \u2013 NJ.com<\/a>
Ringo was criticized on social media. Some fans begged the Eagles to cut him and others ripped him in his Instagram DMs. In response, he trolled fans with a sarcastic post: \u201cLove yall too,\u201d accompanied by a laughing emoji and a red heart.<\/p>\n

Arizona Cardinals fire Jonathan Gannon per reports \u2013 Revenge Of The Birds<\/a>
Gannon is among the worst coaches in NFL history in terms of win percentage, finishing his first stint as a head coach with a 0.294 win percentage. That, coupled with a defense that never improved over his three seasons, as a defensive focused head coach is why this was going to happen. Over the nine game losing streak, the Cardinals allowed 35.2 points per game, including four games over 40 points, including 40+ points in at least one game each to division rivals.<\/p>\n

Dolphins GM candidates start to emerge \u2013 The Phinsider<\/a>
Pelissero added that Miami has also requested an interview with Philadelphia Eagles Assistant General Manager Alec Halaby. Halaby joined the Eagles in 2007 an intern, then was hired as a player personnel assistant in 2010. He has named the Assistant GM in 2022.<\/p>\n

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Closing thoughts on the Cowboys 2025 season \u2013 Blogging The Boys<\/a>
Complete defensive rebuild is needed: One of the scariest aspects of this offseason for the Cowboys is how much work is needed to be done on the defensive side of the football. Heading into 2026, the Cowboys need to completely rebuild their secondary with DaRon Bland coming off another foot injury, Shavon Revel Jr. having an unevenrookie season, and Trevon Diggs now in Green Bay. Along with the struggles in the secondary, the Cowboys pass rush room needs a lot of attention. Outside of Donovan Ezeiruaku, the only player in the defensive end room who played above expectations in 2025 was Jadeveon Clowney (who was signed after the start of the season). Dallas should be in a good spot to draft an impact edge rusher in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft, but needing help at edge, corner, safety, and linebacker, the Cowboys investment in defensive players will need to be aggressive throughout free agency, trades, and the draft this upcoming offseason.<\/p>\n

Commanders Vs. Eagles (Game Two) \u2013 Studs and Duds \u2013 Hogs Haven<\/a>
Josh Johnson made some really good plays during the game, including a rushing touchdown where he made Kelee Ringo turn his back and run away from him (I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen that dumb of a play by a defender in years) on his way to an easy score. He also made some bone-headed ones, including a bad interception and a fumbled snap where he just took his eyes off the ball.<\/p>\n

NY Giants retain GM Joe Schoen; search for best head coach fit continues \u2013 Big Blue View<\/a>
Joe Schoen will continue as New York Giants general manager despite a 13-38 record over the past three seasons, 7-27 the past two years. The Giants announced the decision on Monday morning. [BLG Note: Lol Giants.]<\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

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