Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) reacts during the third quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
It's a sure bet that Eagles fans sitting at home on their couches Sunday night got a good chuckle out of another loss by the Dallas Cowboys.
In a game that all but ensured the Eagles will become the first team to win back-to-back NFC East titles since they did it from 2001-2004, watching the Cowboys crumble to end another season of disappointment was certainly a reason to celebrate.
But, might the Cowboy elimination have come too soon for the Eagles?
OK, come along on a winding journey with me here.
Let's start by saying this, the Eagles need to only win one of their final three games (or have the Cowboys lose one of their final three) to clinch the NFC East.
So, the only way the Eagles aren't hosting at least one playoff game is by virtue of a seismic collapse that includes losing to Marcus Mariota and the 4-10 Washington Commanders twice in three weeks.
Not happening. The Eagles will win the NFC East, probably as soon as Saturday in D.C.
Let's assume they win that game.
Then what?
That's where things get really interesting in my mind, and why Dallas' loss Sunday night may have done more harm than good.
Joe DeCamara feels the Eagles 31-0 win over Raiders was a reminder that "the Eagles can still win the Super Bowl." pic.twitter.com/I1sCY3usOz
Once the Eagles win the division, they are pretty much locked into their spot in the playoffs. Whether they finish as the No. 2 or No. 3 seed is mostly irrelevant.
Sure, there could technically be a second home game if they are the No. 2 seed as opposed to being the No. 3 seed, but really, that doesn't matter so much. Teams aren't laying it all on the line for the difference between the two.
They'll be jockeying with either Green Bay or Chicago for that seeding. They beet the Packers in Lambeau this year. They lost to the Bears in Philly.
Is there an advantage to playing at home? Sure, but it's not the be all, end all — unless you are playing for a bye, in which case, it matters a lot.
But the Eagles' odds of getting the lone bye available in the NFC are very long.
The Eagles would need to win out; have the Bears, Rams and Seattle all lose twice in the final three weeks; and have the Packers and San Francisco lose once.
That's a lot of losing by five good teams.
Here are their remaining schedules:
The one that really sticks out is the Rams. You can see them losing to Seattle, but the other two are big-time longshots.
The Seahawks could lose two games, but the best-case scenario for the Eagles is for them to beat the Rams and then lose out.
The Bears likely will need to lose to both Green Bay and San Francisco, although Detroit could be an interesting challenge if that game has meaning.
The Packers are going to be favored against both Baltimore and Minnesota, so, really, the Eagles' best path is to have them lose to Chicago and then the Bears drop their last two.
All told, five teams with a combined record so far of 51-18-1 would have to go a specific 7-8 in their final 15 games, while the Eagles win out.
See why it's unlikely to happen?
Now, knowing that you are likely going to be locked into the No. 2 or No. 3 slot, how should the Eagles handle the final two weeks of the season after Saturday, again, assuming a win?
We've been down this road before. Should the Eagles rest their starters? Should they not? Should they basically give themselves a bye week?
This isn't meant to be one of those posts.
There's a difference this time. The Eagles' offense still isn't what it needs to be.
Sure, everything was clicking in Sunday's 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. But, come on — it was the Raiders. That team was so bad I'm not sure how they won two games at all this season. They'd have a hard time with Roman Catholic and La Salle High School.
Yes, I'm being a bit facetious. But that might be the worst team in the NFL this year. It's hard not to look good against them.
There were some positive wrinkles to the Eagles offense that came out in that game, however.
They weren't new, per se, but new to this season — namely Jalen Hurts being under center a bit more, additional called runs for Hurts, and some fun things with Dallas Goedert through shovel passes.
The return of the RPO!
This time, the Eagles run the RPO to Grant Calcaterra, but the Raiders pick him up, leaving Jalen Hurts free to run to the edge. It is so hard to defend this properly. pic.twitter.com/eRHSHbTSQk
This was a sign of innovation, of finally adding some flavor to the vanilla.
It's not enough to beat the good teams, but it's a start.
The question is, how do you continue to evolve it? Especially if the games likely won't matter?
Yeah, they have to win one more. And yeah, if the Seahawks lose one of their next two games, by the time the Eagles and Bills kickoff on in Week 17, the No. 1 seed will still mathematically be up for grabs for them, so, technically, things can still matter for two more weeks.
But at some point you have to wonder is it worth pursuing something that's a long shot when you know you'll be in the postseason anyway?
And with that, how do you continue to add more nuance to the offense? Do you just practice it and let the backups handle a majority of the last two games of the season — assuming a win Saturday, of course?
Or, does this offense need to put some of these new ideas and concepts into practice and you give them a chance to do it against actual opponents in games?
Some will argue that they may have already done enough:
.@PSchrags weighs in on Eagles-Raiders and says the "barbarians were at the game" 😂 pic.twitter.com/FQVUuS4sKb
But is it?
Buffalo will certainly still have something to play for. Their win in New England Sunday kept them alive for the AFC East title. That Week 17 game could have a playoff-type feel to it, if the Eagles are going full boar.
But we've also seen how injuries have hurt the Eagles. Do you risk playing guys in games that have little bearing on where you finish in the seeding of playoff teams?
Or does the offense need all the work it can get in preparation for the playoffs?
It's pretty much a forgone conclusion that the Eagles are going to have a difficult first-round opponent. It's going to be one of those five teams mentioned above. All are a challenge for different reasons.
The Eagles' defense is good enough to stop every one of them. The offense, though, despite the precision and dominance against the Raiders, still has many questions that need to be answered.
Whether or not to use the games they have left as a proving ground is what is so uncertain. Do you even want to get some new stuff on tape for other teams to prepare for? Or have things been so shaky this season that you need to still find out if new concepts could work before actually running them out there in a do-or-die playoff game?
Had the Cowboys won Sunday, this wouldn't be a question. The Eagles would still have needed to win two more games to lock up the division, and all of these games would have mattered. The offensive modifications would have had to be put into practice in games with substance and meaning behind them, and injury risk wouldn't be a priority concern because, well, you had to win.
The Cowboys losing made the Eagles path to the playoffs far easier, but created more uncertainty about how to ensure the offense will be where it needs to be come the weekend of Jan. 10.
Thanks, Dallas.
