PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brandon Graham had just defended coach Nick Sirianni’s decision to choose rest for his starters over playing them in a game that decided seeding — a loss to Washington that cost the Eagles the No. 2 seed in the NFC — when he was told San Francisco was on deck in the playoff opener.
“Oh? That’s who we’ve got,” Graham asked. “You know what? That’s cool. We know we’re going to have to see everybody, whoever we see.”
In other words, at home or on the road, the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles are ready to play any team in any location.
Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, Graham and most Eagles players are loaded with big-game experience — heck, Graham has two Super Bowl rings — and the Eagles are proven road warriors in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Yet, Sirianni’s decision to play second-teamers not only backfired in the moment when the Eagles lost to the Commanders and Detroit beat Chicago, it’s fair to wonder if the homemade bye week was really worth the gamble once the Eagles lost a shot at hosting at least two games in the playoffs.
“I have to do what I think’s best for the football team moving forward, and that’s what I did,” Sirianni said.
It’s down to one guaranteed home game for the Eagles, on Sunday against the 49ers. Survive that one, and the Eagles could face a divisional game in Chicago and an NFC title game in Seattle.
Think home field and seeding doesn’t matter?
The Eagles won three home playoff games last season to reach the Super Bowl. Only five No. 3 seeds ever have played in a Super Bowl and none out of the NFC since Carolina in 2003.
The other fair question is this: How much tougher would a repeat title be had Hurts or Barkley or Cooper DeJean been lost to injury against Washington?
Consider this: The Bears were only a 1-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, as of Monday to win at home against the seventh-seeded Packers. So how much is that home game for the Bears really worth?
The final answer won’t be decided until the Eagles’ season is over.
And if they do win the Super Bowl, well, it won’t happen in Philadelphia anyway.
What’s working
Brown and DeVonta Smith slogged through down stretches to each top 1,000 yards receiving.
Smith (team-high 1,008 yards receiving) and Brown (1,003) are the only wide receiver duo in franchise history to each produce 1,000-plus receiving yards in the same season (2022, 2023 and 2025).
What needs help
The Eagles could be in trouble if they need to rely on backups in the postseason.
Outside of running back Tank Bigsby, the rest of the second-teamers failed to meet the moment and had poor games in the finale. Tanner McKee quieted the critics who wanted him to replace Hurts when the Eagles lost three straight games and cornerback Kelee Ringo was flagged for a late pass interference call that aided the Commanders’ game-tying drive.
Is Nick Foles still available?
Stock up
The Eagles found a gem when they selected Jalyx Hunt in the third round of the 2024 draft. The edge rusher became the first player to lead the team in both sacks (6 1/2) and interceptions (3). Hunt was the second player in franchise history with 6-plus sacks and at least three picks in a season (Seth Joyner 1991 and 1992). Hunt capped a monster second season with an interception and a fumble recovery against Washington.
Stock down
Kevin Patullo. The embattled offensive coordinator spent most of the season fending off criticism of his offense that led to statistical regression in Hurts and Barkley. Could it be that Hurts and Barkley and Brown all had coincidentally down seasons? After watching the Eagles’ backups struggle to do much of anything against Washington’s backups, Patullo again took the heat for calling plays that amounted to not much of anything, especially in the second half. One reason to play the starters was giving Patullo at least one more game to find some chemistry, some rhythm with the players expected to lead a Super Bowl run. But all the Eagles found was one more reason to put their first-year coordinator’s playbook under the microscope.
Injuries
Two-time All-Pro offensive lineman Lane Johnson could return for the first time since he suffered a foot injury in Week 11 against Detroit.
“You’ve got have your players available,” Sirianni said.
Key num
ber
Get the Eagles to the red zone, and they are tough to stop from scoring.
The Eagles finished this season with a league-leading 70.5% red zone TD efficiency, marking their best red zone offense since at least 2000 (previously 67.8% in 2022).
Next steps
There’s plenty for each team to draw from in recent games in the rivalry.
Hurts had one of Philadelphia’s four rushing touchdowns and Purdy was knocked out of the game with an elbow injury when the Eagles thumped the 49ers three years ago in the NFC championship game.
Purdy was healthy in the December 2023 rematch when he threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns in the 49ers’ 42-19 win.
Both games were in Philadelphia.
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