Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni will have a tough decision to make regarding his starters and whether they play on Sunday against the Washington Commanders in Week 18.
As things currently stand, the Eagles hold the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoff race, which means they could play the Los Angeles Rams, who are the No. 6 seed after losing on Monday Night Football to the Atlanta Falcons.
Now this potential playoff matchup could change as the Eagles could move up to the No. 2 seed, but that would require Philadelphia winning and hoping for the Chicago Bears to lose to the Detroit Lions, who have nothing to play for in Week 18.
If you’re an Eagles fan, you probably like Philadelphia’s chances against Green Bay more than you do against the Rams or even the San Francisco 49ers, who could be the sixth seed as well.
We saw the Eagles play the Rams in the playoffs last year in the snow, which was a nail-biter. And then saw these two teams play each other in Week 3, where the Eagles won thanks to a game-winning blocked field goal by Jordan Davis. It wouldn’t be an easy game for the Eagles, hence why the idea of playing the starters is worth having a conversation about.
Nick Sirianni Still Undecided on if Eagles Will Play Starters in Week 18
According to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Nick Sirianni was on Sportsradio 94WIP on Tuesday and said that they’re still talking through their plan for Week 18 and haven’t made a final decision yet.
As you can imagine, most of the fanbase would rather the starters sit for Sunday’s game to get a nice break before the second season, aka the postseason begins. Washington will likely start Josh Johnson, who didn’t fare well in his brief appearance against the Eagles in Week 16.
Therefore, the question that Sirianni and his staff must answer is, can the Eagles' backups beat the Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday?
It’s not impossible to think that couldn’t happen, as we saw a Tanner McKee-led squad in Week 18 last year defeat the New York Giants, 20-13. And with the Bears playing at the same time as the Eagles, Philadelphia won’t necessarily have the time to focus on what Chicago is doing.
All they can do is control what they can control and hope for the best. The worst thing you want to do is throw your starters out there, and someone gets hurt. We already know that Bears head coach Ben Johnson will be playing his guys, as the second seed at least guarantees two home playoff games.
The Eagles would love to get the second seed again, as that played a part in them getting to the Super Bowl last year. However, the road this year could be tougher, depending on the seeding and what Sirianni decides to do.