Three Eagles MVPs from Week 15, plus five things I think about the Birds

Presenting The 60-Second Eagles Review, where we relive each 2018 Eagles game in no more than a minute, complete with a weekly trio of Birds MVPs:

Find previous recaps on Bleeding Green Nation right here.

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Five things I think about the Birds

1. I think Sunday night was the most fun any Eagles player, coach or fan may have had all year. It took until mid-December the season after a Super Bowl title, but my goodness, it’s not every day you go to another team’s stadium as two-score underdogs — with your backup quarterback and backup defense, no less — and win big.
2. I think lost in the inevitable and already returning debates over Carson Wentz and Nick Foles as the team’s starting quarterback is a simple appreciation for both guys. Wentz obviously played through a lot this year, still posting respectable numbers. Yet Foles was nothing but calm and collected in this do-or-die moment (again), and you cannot deny with him at the helm that things were clicking so much smoother on Sunday night. If a playoff run is to be had, this is a good problem to have, too.
3. I think Alshon Jeffery is more important to the Eagles’ offense than we realized. Is that easy to say after a 160-yard game from No. 17? Yes. But something about Wentz’s connection with the big man had been off for weeks. Whether or not that had to do with Wentz’s back injury is up for speculation, but either way, utilizing the No. 1 WR is actually a good thing to do, it turns out. You could see how fired up Jeffery was to be back involved, too.
4. I think, regardless of whether the Eagles actually pull off an improbable return to the playoff picture, Sunday night helped make up for a disappointing year. Will it satisfy fans in January if the Birds aren’t in the postseason? Probably not. But if you consider where this team was at entering this weekend, it’s truly a miracle they hit the Rams right in the mouth the way they did. They could’ve easily thrown in the towel. And they did the opposite.
5. I think, whether because of Wentz’s deep-ball issues with the back injury, his durability in general or recency bias after Sunday, I’d almost be more confident in Doug Pederson’s offensive game-planning with Foles under center entering Weeks 16-17. That said, if Wentz is somehow actually in contention to return, that’s an awesome weapon in the waiting.