As we all know, the Eagles need a number of things to go right for them over the next two weeks to make the playoffs. They need to beat Dallas and Washington, they need the Jets to beat the Giants this week and those Giants to beat the Cowboys in week 17. It seems somewhat farfetched, but the last time the Eagles needed a crazy scenario to play out to get them in the postseason... they got it.
At the end of the 2008 season, the Eagles needed the Bears and Buccaneers to lose early in the day and then they needed to beat the Cowboys later on. The Bears were eliminated by the Texans, the Bucs were knocked out by the Raiders and the Eagles eliminated the Cowboys with a 44-6 trouncing at the Linc. The least likely of those results was the lowly Raiders beating the Bucs.
Nnamdi Asomugha was a part of that team and recalls a pep talk from then Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan which encouraged them to play spoiler to help the Eagles into the postseason.
"I think a few things had to happen, it wasn't just us. But we knew going into it - we weren't playing for the Eagles at that point - and we were saying that we were playing the spoiler role. And we knew that if we win and this happens then the Eagles would be in. I remember us talking about it, [and former Oakland defensive coordinator] Rob Ryan made it a point in the meetings talking about it and letting us know that we can let some other teams get in. And these guys talk about it all of the time when they talk about this year versus things that have happened in the past. So it kind of lets you know that anything's possible and you kind of have to take care of your own business and see what happens."
Ironically, Nnamdi Asomugha and Rob Ryan will probably play a large part in whether the Eagles get into the postseason this year.