Philly Front Office

There are 3 weeks left in the season and there are only 5 teams left to be eliminated from playoff contention. The Dallas Cowboys can be knocked out as soon as Saturday. Damn near every game this week has something to do with either the playoff mix or the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Things are getting tight.

Eagles Postgame: …and Breathe

Thursday Night Football

• Los Angeles Rams (37) at Seattle Seahawks (38)
  • The Rams become the first team EVER to rack up 400+ yards, give up no turnovers or sacks, and get 3 takeaways to lose a game. It doesn’t even seem possible! They were up 2 scores and had the ball with 10 minutes left and lost to Sam Darnold. As for the 2 point conversion, it was a weird play, but the right call. The reason for the confusion is that literally no one did what they are taught to do, jump on the damn ball no matter what. If everyone does that, then there is no weirdness. It was the casual attitude that made it strange. It was a backwards pass and a live ball. The Ref blowing the whistle is immaterial when there is a clear recovery. It is what it is.
  • It also completely changes the NFC playoff picture. Not only does Seattle vault to the #1 seed, but it places the 49ers in play for the top seed too. We’ll get to them, but if the Seahawks win out against the Panthers and 49ers, #1 is theirs.

Saturday Games

• Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders
  • Win and we are almost assured of the #3 seed. Lose and the season is once again over. You knew what this was! This is an all or nothing fanbase, but it’s true. I wrote earlier in the week about how this and the Raiders are the first back to back get right games of the year. If they don’t get right, then what are we doing? Jayden Daniels is not playing and there is no reason to think that the defense won’t give the offense leeway to experiment. The real question is probably who are we going to play in the first round of the playoffs. After the Seahawks win, the chances of it being the Rams just increased exponentially. If SF wins the division, they will be #1 with the Rams likely falling to 6. If Seattle or the Rams win the West, then it will probably be the 49ers at 6. All the villains are here.
  • What an absolute disaster of a season in Washington. This team really thought it was right behind the Eagles last year as maybe the second-best team in the league. It was completely delusional. They blew there minimal chance on the #1 pick by beating the Giants last week.
• Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
  • GAME OF THE WEEK
  • Just when Packers fans were starting to believe in their team, Micah Parsons goes down. That absolutely sucks. They are currently just that stupid tie with Dallas away from leading their division and claiming the #2 seed in the NFC. This game against the Bears may determine the division.
  • The Bears put a beatdown on the Eagles in a way I didn’t think was possible. It has been a real uplifting season in Chicago, but none of it matters if they choke this thing away. I am not trying to be negative with that, they just have a gauntlet remaining. Packers, 49ers, Lions to end the season. WTF! They could very easily go from #2 seed with dreams of #1 to going home. I really hope that doesn’t happen.

Eagles vs Commanders: Where Did Washington Go Wrong?

1PM Games

• Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns
  • I have been negative on the Bills all year mostly because I hate how the media covers Josh Allen and how his narrative ignores all negatives. In reality, I just want that for my QB I guess. They were down 21 to the Pats last week and won and are just a game out of a division it looked like they lost 2 months ago. That’s really good. Now he doesn’t have Patrick Mahomes in his way. This went from a lost season for the Bills and Allen to their best chance to exercise all their demons.
  • Hang the Myles Garrett sacks banner in Cleveland! You get banners for those right? It’s a weird situation. Garrett is a singular force in the NFL, one of the best pass rushers we have ever seen. Yet he’s in Cleveland and voluntarily so. Seems like a big waste for him and them. It would be better for all parties if they divorced this offseason (which is VERY possible).
• Los Angeles Chargers at Dallas Cowboys
  • The Eagles Chargers game went about as bad as possible for me personally. I am an unabashed Herbert Hater. If he had crushed us, I would have tipped my cap and admitted that I was wrong. If we beat them with him playing EXACTLY how he played, I would have taken a victory lap for being right. So, what happened? He won, no thanks to him with Jalen having his worst game in years. He gets the credit for doing nothing with ZERO criticism and I can’t say shit. They somehow only have 4 losses despite not actually looking like a good team. They are virtually locked into the 5 seed.
  • Hear me out on this. Assuming the Eagles win on Saturday, we should want the Cowboys to win. No, this isn’t because I am petty about Herbert, it is simply for draft position. The Cowboys are looking at a top 15 pick with 11 as a real possibility. Because of their tie, they are behind four teams with 6 losses but ahead of two teams with 7 wins. Something to keep an eye on.
• Kansas City Chiefs at Tennessee Titans
  • Eliminated and it feels so gooood. Just a very weird season for the Chiefs. So many of their wins last year were close or come from behind victories. It wasn’t sustainable to do that again. Their schedule was hard as anything too. There isn’t really one thing to point to about why they imploded, maybe they just need to turn over a lot of this roster?
  • The Titans need to not screw around and beat Gardner Minshew this week. They can’t afford it, not with their Strength of Schedule. Any more wins virtually eliminates them from contention for the #1 pick as they lose all tiebreaks. They get a gift next week as the Raiders play the Giants, so hanging tough in this one may take them from #1 or #2 all the way down to #6!
• Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Dolphins
  • Does Joe Burrow really want out of Cincy? HE SHOULD!!! This team has been run by buffoons for years. They have an aura of semi-respectability solely because of Burrow. I know he isn’t having the best of years, but he is still the only active QB in the AFC to have beaten Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs. Don’t listen to the people trying to take him down, that means something. Get the hell out of Dodge Joe!
  • After winning 5 in a row, the Miami Dolphins floundered big time on national TV and decided that was the time to bench Tua. That means they were ready to pull the trigger for weeks, but he just kept pulling out wins. Now we get to see Quinn Ewers in action while Dolphins fans get to be squeamish about just how bad they are screwed by Tua’s contract (and others).
• Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants
  • JJ McCarthy didn’t look terrible against the Cowboys last week. That is truly all that matters for the Vikings down the stretch: Do they have their QB? I don’t think anyone really knows. He seems likable and a leader, but the QB skills aren’t exactly coming along. With a good offensive coach and a great receiving corps, they have to decide if JJ is the guy before throwing away another year. This team had no business not being good this season.
  • All that being said about the Vikings QB, he was playing Dallas’s horrid defense last week. The Giants pass rush has the potential of giving him nightmares. Odds are Jaxson Dart will be evaluated for a concussion at some point in this one, but that shouldn’t stop NY from keeping it close. A win would be a disaster. They are in the poll position for the #1 pick with a seismic game against the Raiders coming next week. As an Eagles fan, I absolutely hope they do what they did last year and win games toward the end to blow their draft position.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
  • Losers of 5 out of 6, Tampa is trying desperately not to make the playoffs. Losses to New Orleans and Atlanta are simply unacceptable and should probably lead to some job losses in the offseason barring a miraculous playoff run. This team was a contender but seems to be going through 2023 Eagles syndrome. No one is rooting for them right? It is 4th seed or bust for the Bucs. Next week Tampa has the opposite of a Florida showdown when they travel to Miami.
  • Carolina isn’t much better! They have now lost to the Saints twice this season and New Orleans might be the least talented team in the league. Still, they are in this. These teams play twice in the next 15 days with Seattle sandwiched in the middle. Right now, the Bucs own the tiebreaker based on common opponents. It will stay that way too. The best chance Carolina has is taking both these games against Tampa making a likely loss to Seattle next week a moot point.
• New York Jets at New Orleans Saints
  • The Jets still have an outside shot at winning the #1 pick but need to lose this week. With Buffalo and New England the final matchups of the season, this would likely be the final test. They are currently in the 5 spot but have the Giants-Raiders tilt next week to probably bump them up a spot. They win tiebreakers over everyone but Cleveland (we’ll see about the Giants).
  • New Orleans, what are you doing? The plan was going great. They had no talent and were 1-8. Now they are 4-10 and out of the running for the top spot! IT won’t get any easier for them either with the Jets, Titans, and Falcons to end the season. They could realistically go from #1 all the way down to #15! There biggest concern is whether they want to give Tyler Shough a real chance at being the starter next year or not.

Who Might Trade for Tanner McKee?

4PM Games

• Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos
  • Who would have thought this game would be so big? A win for the Jags puts them a game behind the Broncos with a tiebreak and 2 games to play. While the Jags have a reeling Indy squad and an awful Tennessee team, the Broncos have KC and the Chargers who could steal the division. With the Patriots and Buffalo close, the #1 seed could come down to 5 teams! IF the Jags lose though, then they are dangerously close to losing the division to the resurgent Texans. They split the season series and would be equals in the division making the tie come down to common opponents. If they win out, that’s tied too! Next up is Strength of Victory which would go to the Texans. Damn!
  • If the Broncos win, they come that much closer to the #1 seed in the AFC. A loss brings in that whole mess above. I’m in between on a rooting interest because I hate the Broncos but am rooting for the Texans, plus I really enjoy pandemonium.
• Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals
  • The Falcons have nothing to play for other than looking less foolish in trading their 2026 first round pick to the Rams. It is already a bad trade, but it had the possibility of being catastrophic there for awhile.
  • The Cardinals really do not have a shot at the #1 pick even though they only have 3 wins. They lose tiebreakers to every team except Tennessee. Considering their messy QB situation, they desperately need options and those options start with higher draft picks.
• Pittsburgh Steelers at Detroit Lions
  • Just when you though the Steelers were done, they started playing better and facing crap opponents. This week will be a little different than the Lions. This week I wrote about top situations for Eagles back up Tanner McKee. Assuming Rodgers doesn’t come back, the Steelers were my top choice. He makes a lot of sense to come lead a veteran led team considering they have punted their QB situation for years.
  • The Lions are fighting for their lives. They are currently sitting in 8th place, 1.5 games behind the Packers and 2 games behind the Bears for the division. Here is how it works for them. Winning out puts everything in play considering they will have a tiebreak over the Bears. With that in mind, a Bears loss to the Packers this week could possibly bounce Chicago from the playoffs in the end. If the Bears win this week though, the Lions would be perilously close in the standings with another Packers loss being the Lions hope. This will all get clearer by the end of the weekend.
• Las Vegas Raiders at Houston Texans
  • The Raiders might get some people hurt this week. After getting shutout by the Eagles, the Texans might do them even dirtier if that’s possible. I don’t know what the record is for the feeblest back-to-back games in history are, but it has to be on the table. The Raiders have their big showdown with the Giants next week and this game should do nothing to mess that up.
  • The Texans are on fire. After starting 2-4, they have won 7 of 8 and 6 in a row behind a relentless defense that may sack the QB on every play in this game. CJ Stroud simply can’t give games away and they have as good a shot as anyone to win the AFC. They are a game up on the dying Colts and a game back of the Jags.

Worst Front Office Series: The Raiders’ Plan

Sunday Night Football

• New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens
  • The Patriots may have let the division slip through their fingers last week against Buffalo. They had it. No time to panic though. They go to Baltimore this week before facing the Jets and Dolphins. This is it for them. Beat Baltimore and the division plus maybe the #1 seed is in sight. Lose though and things get VERY tough. All of a sudden, they are tied with the Bills, and the Chargers, and the Jags. They could go from #1 to #6 in two weeks.
  • The Ravens are in a fight only with the Steelers in the race for the #4 seed and they have to go through New England, Green Bay, and Pittsburgh again to get it. They are a game back. The Steelers likely own the rest of the tiebreaks, so Baltimore cannot afford to lose this one.

Monday Night Football

• San Francisco 49ers at Indianapolis Colts
  • Somehow the 49ers are in a position to get the #1 seed in the NFC. With Seattle’s win against the Rams, SF would need to obviously keep winning including beating Seattle to end the season. This would give the 49ers the tiebreaker on Seattle and the tiebreak on the Rams. This would drop the Seahawks to 5th and the Rams to 6th. Meaning the Eagles and Rams might be a first round matchup!
  • The Colts were 7-1, then 8-2, now they are 8-6 with no first round pick for 2 years and a broken QB. This season may have been smoke and mirrors anyway, but when that magic ran out, it disappeared. Their path to the playoffs is a tough one that would need them to win out against the 49ers, Jags, and Texans PLUS get some help. Yikes.