The NFC
playoff picture is still fully loaded with only two weeks left in the regular
season. Usually, this would have been the AFC’s situation in years past, but
this year, as of the start of week 16, the NFC still has six teams on the
bubble. Green Bay seems likely safe as the sixth seed, though Washington, which
currently holds seventh place, should be worried. Under the 9-5 Commanders there are still five
teams licking their chops awaiting an opportunity in hopes that Washington will
accrue a few more losses, allowing one of them to jump into a playoff spot. From the body of work the Commanders have
accomplished this season I believe it is a rather easy assumption to say they
will make the playoffs and seal up the final spot for the NFC. The only three teams currently on the outside
looking in that I think could still possibly make it in would be the Seahawks,
Falcons, or Cardinals, however, I could only see that if they were to overtake
the leaders of their divisions.
The
Philadelphia Eagles are firmly placed in the discussions as one of the NFL’s
top five teams. They are presently
riding a ten-game win streak, coming off a heck of a performance in which they exploded
for over 400 yards of offense on the 9th-ranked defense running 77 plays. Philly beat the Commanders at home in week 10
when they ran their way to a victory (228 yards) over one of the worst run
defenses in the league. This time
shouldn’t be much different as they still pose the best-rushing offense (186.2
yards) alongside the league-leading rusher Saquon Barkley (1,688 yards). Nick Sirianni has been constantly proving
doubters wrong all year long. He has kept
the Eagles winning games people said they couldn’t, held the team together when
the media was trying to break up a coach and his QB, and kept the locker room calm
and level-headed when one of their players had misspoken to the media, prevailing
through it all. Barkley has also proven
a whole lot of doubters wrong as well.
Barkley looks likely to surpass 2,000 rushing yards within the next two
games and has been the biggest piece to the puzzle for their success this
season. Jalen Hurts hasn’t been too
shabby himself and leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 14 while also maintaining
the 5th best passer rating (104.5).
Philly boasts one of the top O-lines this year in both pass and run protection. Predominantly known as a run-first offense though
don’t get it twisted because Hurts can beat you with his arm if push comes to
shove. Philly still employs a top receiver
duo in Smith and Brown plus they have one of the best-kept secrets from the
tight end position in Dallas Goedert, when healthy. To repeat the sentiments of my previous article
on the Steelers, and Ravens game, this Philadelphia Eagles defense is also a very
big part of why the Eagles are continuing their great success and momentum that
has provided them with a ten-game win streak.
Vic Fangio is an architect at designing supreme defenses leaguewide. It leaves one to ponder how it didn’t work
out for the Miami Dolphins with coach Fangio.
My thoughts are that some of the veteran players just didn’t understand
his coaching methods or maybe they hadn’t been exposed to an old-school coach’s
beliefs in how to turn around a unit and make it a great one. I don’t exactly know, but what I do know is
as a Broncos fan I saw Denver’s defense become the best in the league with a
bunch of young guys outside of Von Miller and Justin Simmons. The man just knows how to bring the best out
of players, and it shows!
EAGLES OFFENSE:
POINTS P/G- 26.4 (8TH)
TOT YARDS P/G- 373.2 (6TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 186.2
(1ST)
PASS YARDS P/G- 187.0 (28TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 39 (22ND)
EAGLES DEFENSE:
POINTS P/G- 17.6 (1ST)
TOT YARDS P/G- 275.6 (1ST)
RUSH YARDS P/G-102.2 (7TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 173.4 (1ST)
TOTAL SACKS- 39 (T-9TH)
The Washington
Commanders have been very impressive this season. They have accomplished the unthinkable within
one season after performing as a bottom-barrel team for the past handful of
seasons. What their first-year head
coach Dan Quinn has done for Washington has not gone unnoticed. They drafted a rookie QB, who was thought to
be the second or third-best of his draft class, and with the help of the
coaching staff in addition to Jayden Daniels’ pure athleticism and abilities has
turned into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Let's not take that for granted or sweep under
the bed. Jayden and the Commanders have
been one of the biggest headlines of this NFL season, if you don’t know you
better ask somebody! Not to sound like a
broken record but Daniels has broken both franchise and NFL rookie records this
year and may continue to do that throughout his career. Kliff Kingsbury may be in the discussion for
head coaching jobs as soon as next season.
Dan Quinn, a defensive-minded coach, has helped his DC Joe Whitt Jr. by turning
this defense around throughout the season.
They were at the back end of every statistical category to start the
season yet have steadily brought them towards the front of the list. With brand new ownership along with a new
General Manager, the Commanders brought a lot of veteran talents into their locker
room to help bring along the youngsters with both their experience and guidance. Bobby Wagner has been a monumental part of
what Quinn wants his defense to look like, hard-working smart players, who will
lay it all out on the line for their teammates every single week. Frankie Luvu, Dante Fowler Jr., and Marshon
Lattimore are all the epitome of the type of players that Dan Quinn wants on
his team. I have no doubts that this
team is going to wind up being a frequent playoff team for the foreseeable future
with the player personnel alongside the coaching staff that they have in the
building.
Kliff
Kingsbury has also had a lot to do with this team's good fortunes. If they can keep him in Washington, then they
will be a dominant scary offense that nobody will want to play. Just this season as a rookie Daniels has been
amazing in his rapport with star wideout Terry McLaurin. One of the best moves they had made in the off-season
was signing seasoned tight end Zach Ertz.
Ertz has been one of Jayden's main go-to targets outside of scary Terry. Adam Peters also got a deal done with one of
the better running backs of the last 5 seasons, signing ex-Charger Austin
Ekeler. They brought in more experience upfront
to bolster their line while also bringing back receiver Jamison Crowder for his
third stint in Washington. They even
drafted rookie Luke McCaffrey, which I have a feeling will wind up as another big
playmaker for them in the next few seasons.
So go ahead and count them out if you want to but they are ascending at
the right time with the Giants and Cowboys plummeting. The NFC may be the Eagles' division right now,
but it is big enough for both teams to make the playoffs for years to come. Technically Washington has not yet clinched a
playoff berth, however, with a win tomorrow afternoon, they can pretty much lock
up the 7th spot. Full disclosure,
they would also need a little help in addition to a victory over Philly. They would also need the Seahawks to lose to
prevent one from overtaking their wildcard while also needing the Falcons to
get a loss for the same reason. I don’t
think that either of those teams will realistically take the Commanders' spot
but instead could potentially wind up winning their respective divisions. With that said, it was reported earlier this
morning that the Atlanta Falcons are considering releasing quarterback Kirk
Cousins, so I don’t believe that the rookie Penix Jr. will be able to win out
and overtake the Buccaneers as the winners of the NFC South. That’s one less thing the Commanders will
need to worry about.
COMMANDERS OFFENSE:
POINTS P/G- 28.3 (6TH)
TOT YARDS P/G- 373.9 (5TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 155.5 (3RD)
PASS YARDS P/G- 218.4 (16TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 38 (21ST)
COMMANDERS DEFENSE:
POINTS P/G- 22.5 (16TH)
TOT YARDS P/G- 321.8 (11TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 132.1 (25TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 189.6 (4TH)
TOTAL SACKS- 35 (T-14TH)
The Philadelphia
Eagles have been on a roll, but I don’t think we can completely rule out a
possible upset here. Two division rivals,
one looking to take ownership of the number one seed, the other trying to make
their first playoff appearance in the last four years. While it is likely that both situations will
play out for these two franchises regardless of the outcome of this game, I like
Washington in this game in an upset. My
thinking here is strictly that with Philly running hot for so long they will
eventually have a down game. That’s where
I believe the Commanders, +3.5 underdogs will sneak in and come away with a win
at home.
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