Eagles vs. Saints preview

 The Philadelphia Eagles and the New Orleans Saints will battle each other in Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season. The Eagles are looking to clinch the top seed in the NFC, while the Saints are looking to get closer to the playoffs, which will likely require them to win the NFC South because of how weak the division is. The Eagles are coming off a loss to the Dallas Cowboys, while the Saints are coming off a win over the Cleveland Browns.  

The Eagles are standing at 13-2, the best record in the NFL. But they have lots of injuries on the team. MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a shoulder sprain in a Week 15 win over the Chicago Bears. Offensive tackle Lane Johnson suffered an abdominal tear last week, causing him to miss the final two weeks of the regular season. Cornerback Avonte Maddox injured his toe last week; he's out indefinitely. When coach Nick Sirianni was asked about Hurts' injury, he said that it was uncertain, but that they were preparing for both Hurts and backup Gardner Minshew. There's no telling who the starter will be.

The Saints are 6-9, but somehow still have a chance to win the NFC South. The division has all 4 teams under .500, and three are still in the mix to win the division. The Saints need a win and a Panthers win over the Buccaneers to stay in the competition. If both happen, they're still alive, but if only one of them happens, the Saints will be eliminated. 

Now, for my prediction. Being an Eagles fan, I'm a little nervous, but I think they will get the job done.

Prediction: Eagles win 31-20

Regardless of who the QB is, I think the Eagles will be okay. With Minshew, they put up 34 points, despite the loss. Hurts is 2-0 against New Orleans in his career. I think the Eagles take the division and home-field advantage, but this is the last time I will pick them to win, no matter what happens. (If they win, they'll likely rest all their starters.)

Eagles suffer heartbreaking loss in Dallas

On Christmas Eve 2022, the Philadelphia Eagles lost on the road 40-34 to their archrival Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles had a chance to clinch the NFC East and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but that will have to wait another week. Not to make excuses, but the Eagles were without MVP candidate Jalen Hurts, who sprained his shoulder in the Eagles' win in Chicago. This was the Eagles' second loss of the year, and first and only on the road. 

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni talked to reporters following the loss. "I thought [Eagles backup QB] Gardner [Minshew] played a good game. On the first interception, I thought it was a good play by 27 [Jayron Kearse], hats off to him, he's a good player. And the second one was kind of a-the ball was in both of their hands and the guy came away with it. So, Gardner played a really good game."

Sirianni said that he was unsure who would be the starting quarterback in next week's game against the New Orleans Saints, but he said if Hurts was ready to go, he'd go.

The Eagles suffered two big injuries in this game, losing cornerback Avonte Maddox for an unknown period of time and guard Lane Johnson for the rest of the regular season. However, both could return in time for the playoffs.

This was a very tough loss, but if I was a Cowboys fan, I wouldn't be impressed. Yes, Eagles fans celebrated beating your backup QB in Week 6, but you don't have to return the favor. You needed to put up 40 points to win this game. Your defense is really bad outside of Micah Parsons. As much as the loss stung, it didn't feel like a loss to me, and this game was kind of irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. There's no need to panic. We'll be fine.  

The Eagles will try to clinch the division and home-field advantage at home against the New Orleans Saints on New Year's Day. Will they do it? We shall see.