January 13, 2024
The playoffs are finally here, but many probably didn't expect the Eagles to arrive to them like this – crumbling for the past month, losing five of their last six in increasingly humiliating fashion, and letting the division and a shot at the No. 1 seed all slip away.
The Eagles, for all the talent they have, have been at a level of burnout not seen since the Chip Kelly era came crashing down. And while, yeah, they're still in the dance, and could still somehow go on a miraculous run...how much do you really believe that right now?
Here's how we're feeling heading into Monday night's Wild Card game against the Bucs down in Tampa...
TV: ABC, ESPN (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters)
RADIO: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick)
| Sportsbook | Spread | Money Line | Total O/U |
| DraftKings | PHI -2.5 | PHI -142 TB +120 | 43.5 |
| FanDuel | PHI -2.5 | PHI -154 TB +130 | 43.5 |
| BetMGM | PHI -3 | PHI -150 TB +125 | 43 |
| UniBet | PHI -3 | PHI -157 TB +130 | 43 |
| PointsBet | PHI -3 | PHI -150 TB +125 | 43 |
All season long it has felt like whoever won the NFC South would be a mere speed bump for whichever of the Eagles or Cowboys didn't win the NFC East and instead had to settle for the 5 seed. Now? Ehhhh, not so much.
On paper, the Eagles have the better quarterback, running backs, wide receivers (if A.J. Brown plays), tight end, offensive line, and pass rush in this matchup.
Unfortunately, the Eagles' schemes, both offensively and defensively, are a mess.
The Bucs are not a very good football team, but at least they're organized.
If the free-falling Eagles were playing literally any other team in the NFC playoff field, I would pick them to lose. But the Buccaneers couldn't even score a touchdown against the 2-win Panthers last week while they were trying to secure their playoff spot.
The Eagles have talent and veteran experience, and while I think they are a very far cry from being true Super Bowl contenders, I think they'll add one last win this year before they get ripped apart in San Francisco on a short week in the second round.
The Eagles have too many injuries piling up at the worst possible time during their end-of-the-season collapse. Nothing is going right.
They played their most complete game of the year back in Week 3 in Tampa, but that feels eons ago with how this season has unfolded.
You can’t be great every year.
This team is out of gas and out of time to get their act together.
They'll say all the right things – about the playoffs resetting them to 0-0, about accountability and belief in themselves, and that they're that not far off from being the contenders we knew again...but they said all of those same things leading up the Giants game last week.
It was the last chance for the starters to "get right," for Matt Patricia to plug the holes in a defense that's gone from leaking to outright sinking, and for Nick Sirianni and Brian Johnson to put even just a semi-competent offensive gameplan together.
None of that happened. The Eagles got embarrassed by an awful team, and all the reasons why that happened just aren't getting fixed within a few days.
The Bucs aren't a great team, but they still won nine games and their division. If Tyrod Taylor can come in and torch the Eagles for a basement dweller going nowhere, Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans will absolutely do the same and then some for a Tampa team that can still very much play some solid football.
I want to be wrong, believe me, but this team for the past month has given me little reason to think otherwise.
The Eagles need a win. For so many reasons, the Eagles need a win. They enter this game riding a brutal stretch to end the regular season, paired with a dubious history for road teams coming off of a division loss. There’s just so much working against Philadelphia that it’s hard to pick them. The Bucs are bad on defense, specifically stopping the pass. This seems to work in Philly’s favor because even if Tampa was a gaping hole in the ground, we still couldn't be sure that Nick Sirianni – I mean, Brian Johnson – would run the ball.
So much of this game, and pick, is predicated on Baker Mayfield’s health. If he’s good to go and not ailing, then this becomes an uphill battle for Philadelphia. The Eagles are the more talented team, but that rarely works out this early for struggling good teams. That’s exactly what the Eagles are right now. Don’t be shocked to see this come right down to a final play. I’ll take one of the lone spots of consistent play and say Jake Elliott wins it.
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