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This is a point I've brought up a few times this week, but I think it bears further discussion. Is the Eagles season already over?
Here's the argument. The Eagles are 3-5 right now. So that means if they run the table, they'll finish at 11-5. That will get them in the playoffs, but they're not going to run the table.
If they lose just one more game, they'll be 10-6. Barring some really bad tiebreakers, that probably gets them into the postseason with at least a wildcard. The loss to Detroit might hurt if they also go 10-6, but I would bet that if the Eagles got 10 wins, they'd be in the postseason.
Problem is, does anyone think they can go 7-1 the rest of the year?
If the Eagles go 6-2 from this point on, they'll end up at 9-7, which would put them on the edge of a playoff spot. That's where the loss to Detroit could really hurt. 9-7 doesn't look like it will win the NFC East this year and with the Bears or Packers looking likely to take up one wildcard, a team like Detroit could knock the Eagles out of the postseason if both finished at 9-7.
If the Eagles go 5-3 from here on out, they'll finish at 8-8, which doesn't seem like it will cut it in the NFC this year.
So what does the road look like? Here's the Eagles remaining schedule.
| Dallas | Sun 11/11 | 4:25 PM EST |
| @ Washington | Sun 11/18 | 1:00 PM EST |
| Carolina | Mon 11/26 | 8:30 PM EST |
| @ Dallas | Sun 12/02 | 8:20 PM EST |
| @ Tampa Bay | Sun 12/09 | 1:00 PM EST |
| Cincinnati | Thu 12/13 | 8:20 PM EST |
| Washington | Sun 12/23 | 1:00 PM EST |
| @ New York Giants | Sun 12/30 | 1:00 PM EST |
Let's say at a minimum, the Eagles need 6 more wins. At this juncture, other than the Carolina game, I'm not sure if you can feel really confident in the Eagles beating anyone... But other than the Giants, who always struggle with the Eagles, there isn't a team with a winning record left. There's 2 against Dallas, who at 3-5 are just as dysfunctional as the Eagles and facing similar questions at coach & QB. There's the 3-5 Bengals, the 4-4 Bucs and the 2-6 Panthers.
The schedule, objectively, really isn't that bad. But we can't forget that the Eagles are also just 3-5 and most of these teams are also looking at them as beatable.
So the hole the team has dug itself into is deep, maybe too deep. Like I said, they can afford one, maybe two more losses and that's it.
So today's topic of discussion is... Does this team have a 7-1 or 6-2 run in it?