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The Philadelphia Eagles have one game remaining before they can officially close the book in this disappointing 2014 season. The team will travel up the turnpike for a 1:00 PM game on Sunday against the New York Giants in the Week 17 finale.
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The game itself won't have a lot of meaning due to the fact both teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. At this point, New York and Philadelphia are both playing for pride. But just because the Eagles have been knocked out doesn't mean Kelly will mix in younger players to evaluate him. Kelly gets paid to win and that what he's going to try to do.
So it comes as no surprise, then, when Kelly announced that Matt Barkley will not start against the Giants. It will be veteran signal caller Mark Sanchez making the final start for the Birds in 2014. Nick Foles still isn't healthy enough to play due to a fractured collarbone suffered in Week 9.
The Eagles are 3-4 in games that Sanchez starts this season. He's completed a career-best 64.1% of his passes but has only thrown 12 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
As for Barkley, the Eagles not wanting to start him might tell you all you need to know about how much the team really values him. The team was reportedly trying to trade the second-year USC alumnus during final cuts in late August.
"Mark’s our quarterback," Kelly told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Monday morning. "Again, I thought Mark played a really good game [against Washington]. He goes 37 of 50. He was 37 of 49 before that last pass. I’m sure he wants that pass back, everybody wants that pass back, but I think Mark played a good game and we’ll continue to go with Mark."
So much for Mike Kaye's argument that the Eagles should start Barkley...
"If Barkley has an awful game, then you calmly and confidently move on from him in the offseason. If he plays well, you can shop him for used dish towels or perhaps, a conditional pick or you can keep him as the third but malcontent quarterback on the roster throughout the offseason. Either way, playing Barkley over Sanchez makes sense from an information standpoint. This is a road game that means nothing, why not give it some propose by testing out a barely-used, highly-ridiculed asset?"