3 positive takeaways from the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 17 win
Welp, it’s officially official: The Philadelphia Eagles have clinched a spot in the playoffs.
While the chances of securing a playoff berth were already pretty darn good heading into the weekend, just under 70 percent according to FiveThirtyEight, by taking care of business against Jonathan Allen and the Washington Football Team, watching the San Francisco 49ers secure a win over the Houston Texans, and then catching the Minnesota Vikings drop their Sunday Night Football bout against the Green Bay Packers, the floor was officially set.
That’s right Philly fans; regardless of whether or not the Eagles win or lose in Week 18 versus Dallas, they are in the playoffs as a Wildcard team and could even be the sixth seed if the New Orleans Saints secure the final spot over the San Francisco 49ers.
Life is good, as are the Birds, and fans, players, and writers alike get at least one more game of “free” football to enjoy before the offseason rolls around like a harsh, cruel winter.
With the Week 18 game now flexed to 8:15 PM on Saturday – ew – Philadelphia Eagles fans have one less day to prepare for the final regular season game of the year, which might mean re-watching Week 17 a few fewer times than one might like. If you fall into that category fear not, for I have three positive takeaways from that game that should hold you over until the playoffs, as very few starters will likely take the field for the January 8th showdown in at the Linc.
Boston Scott held it down for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Coming into the contest, the Philadelphia Eagles placed a good bit of their offensive burden on Boston Scott‘s shoulders. With Miles Sanders not on IR but out for the foreseeable future with a broken hand and Jordan Howard technically healthy enough to play but clearly operating with an injured shoulder, Scott earned the start, ran the ball 14 times, and continued his late-season heroics by scoring both of the team’s touchdowns.
Needless to say, if you were one of those people who played Scotty in fantasy football this week, you were not disappointed.
While Scott’s 47 rushing yards weren’t anything to write home about on their own, he supplemented them with 39 more through the air and finished out the game with 86 all-purpose yards on 18 touches, to go with his two rushing touchdowns.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that Scott was one of the beneficiaries of one of the most improbable touchdown runs you’ll ever see? Because he was. Jalen Hurts got tripped up at the one-yard line on fourth and goal, and the second-year QB pitched the ball out to Scott for an easy six with lead blocking by Dallas Goedert and DeVonta Smith.
If there was ever a play to encapsulate the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2021 season, it would be that one.