December 16, 2024
Jayne Kamin/Imagn Images
The Chiefs' Carson Wentz played in relief of an injured Patrick Mahomes in Week 15.
The Eagles are 12-2 following their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and are legitimate Super Bowl threats. After Week 15 as we get into the stretch run this holiday season, I'm going take a look around the NFL with a slight Birds slant...
Patrick Mahomes is considered "week-to-week" with a right ankle injury he suffered in Kansas City's Week 15 win over Cleveland. The Chiefs' No. 2 quarterback? None other than Carson Wentz. I'll believe Mahomes isn't suiting up and starting when I see it, but Wentz came in relief of Mahomes on Sunday. The former Eagles franchise QB was 2-for-2 threw the air for 20 yards. He also had a couple of kneel downs to end the game.
Again, Mahomes is a magician and seeing is believing when it comes to him missing time, but Kansas City has a unique schedule over the next two weeks that could complicate things. They play on Saturday this week followed by a Wednesday Christmas Day game. The Chiefs are 13-1 and still in a fight for the No. 1 seed with Buffalo, who owns the tiebreakers over Kansas City. Their margin for error is slim when it comes to the first-round bye, but would Andy Reid want to minimize risking Mahomes' health for a potential third-straight Super Bowl win by letting him rest for over these next 10 days?
It's a hard decision for Kansas City, but football fans could be facing a world where Carson Wentz is starting two nationally televised games in a five-day span in 2024.
I don't care if the Buccaneers simply limp into the postseason with a 9-8 record, as they did last season. They are a scary offense with a great defensive mind running the show.
They are versatile offensively.
Fourth-round rookie back Bucky Irving has been electric. He's averaging a whopping 5.6 yards per carry and is coming off a 117-yard performance in Tampa's 40-17 smackdown of the Chargers.
Then there is, of course, the Baker Mayfield-led passing attack.
Mayfield's revitalization with the Buccaneers is reminiscent of Carson Palmer in 2015 in Arizona. Palmer was older, but the former first-overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner's career went a bit awry after a strong start before landing in a high-octane offense with great receiver talent.
On the other side of the ball, Todd Bowles is the head coach now, but the Bucs won a Super Bowl with him calling the shots on D, too. Maybe he's not an elite head coach, but his football IQ and schematics remain outstanding even if Tampa's defense rates out as merely so-so in 2024.
For an Eagles wrinkle, he has been Jalen Hurts' kryptonite dating back to the Eagles' brutal Wild Card Round loss to the Bucs following the 2021 season. The Eagles' losses to Tampa the last few seasons have come without A.J. Brown in the lineup, but still!
There is just something about the Buccaneers that should strike fear in the Eagles fan base. Maybe its Bowles' history. Maybe its the fiery nature with which Mayfield. Maybe it's just the ghosts of Jan. 19, 2003. I do not say this lightly: I'd be more confident in the Eagles' chances of beating the Lions in Detroit than I would be in them beating the Bucs in South Philadelphia.
Early in 2023, I wrote that Jonathan Gannon would be a one-and-done head coach with the Cardinals. That clearly was not the case, but Arizona is in the playoff mix because of more so their offense, not Gannon's middle-of-the-road defense.
The Cards just beat the Patriots 30-17 to move to .500 with an outside chance at the postseason as either the NFC West champions or the final Wild Card team.
They're not a tough, physical team. They're mediocre. In looking to January for potential Eagles playoff matchups, the Eagles against this Cardinals team at Lincoln Financial Field would be comedy.
Was Lions-Bills a Super Bowl preview? Maybe! In full disclosure, I didn't see a second of the game live given that it overlapped with the Eagles-Steelers game in the afternoon window, but in watching some clips after the fact, it looked to be what football fans wanted. A whopping 90 total points were scored, but Buffalo was ultimately in control most of the game. Detroit fought hard at the end.
There has been a lot made that this would be the "best" Super Bowl atmosphere given the two fan bases and their respective tortured histories. Apologies to Lions super fans Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson, but the obvious answer to the top Super Bowl vibes is Eagles-Bills:
Eagles-Bills Super Bowl tailgate would look like a Dothraki wedding
— shamus (@shamus_clancy) January 4, 2020
Easily.
Two Week 16 "Monday Night Football" games? Sure, the NFL is king. You'll miss it come the spring and summer. Still, it's not a great slate on Monday evening. Bears-Vikings has some playoff implications for the Eagles with Minnesota's No. 1 seed tiebreakers aspects, but they're touchdown favorites. Falcons-Raiders as well? Not great.
What I hate most is that the first game kicks off at 8:00 PM and the second one is just 8:30 PM. Why? Why? The Raiders play in Las Vegas! Start the game at least at 9:30 PM, if not 10:00 PM, to stagger things a little. The best setup for a "MNF" two-for-one is a 7:00 PM East Coast game followed by a 10:00 PM one out West. The league used to do this occasionally. I don't get it!
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