January 01, 2023
The 13-2 Philadelphia Eagles are on the brink of clinching an NFC East title, as well as the 1 seed in the NFC, which would give them a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Of course, they were on the brink of that stuff last week too, but celebrations were delayed after a Christmas Eve loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Birds will try to take care of business at home against the New Orleans Saints, and commence resting starters.
The Eagles will be without MVP candidate Jalen Hurts for this matchup, like they were last weekend, as he continues to heal up from a sprained shoulder suffered Week 15 against the Chicago Bears. With Hurts out, Gardner Minshew will get the start, and Ian Book will back him up. The Saints, meanwhile, have injury concerns along their offensive line, and at wide receiver. You can find the full Eagles-Saints injury report here.
As we noted in our five matchups to watch, the Eagles will be facing a Saints offensive line that is missing both of its starting guards, and is starting a replacement-level player at left tackle. The Eagles' defense leads the NFL in sacks, with 61. They are on track to break the team's single-season record of 62, set in 1989, and they have a shot at the NFL's all-time mark of 72, set by the 1984 Chicago Bears.
The Eagles are 5.5-point home favorites. Here are our staff writer picks as well as who some others around the country are picking.
Fell free to discuss the game in the comment section below.
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