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Eagles Perspective After Week 14
As of this writing, the season is not over. The Eagles don't quite control their own destiny, but they're getting close. We'll get into that over the jump. I said it at the time, but it's worth stating again. Last week's win over the Giants was the best game this team has played since the Super Bowl run back in 2004. The Eagles defense was stifling, somehow stifling without coming away with a single sack nor a single turnover.
The story of the game, however, was the play calling. Andy Reid finally put the ball in Brian Westbrook's hands and the load on the offensive line's broad shoulders. By the third quarter, the o-line had completely demoralized the Gaints' defensive front. They were routinely pushing them 3 or 4 yards off the line of scrimmage. It was a great game to watch, and a huge win for a team who is looking to peak at just the right time.
After the jump we'll take a look at the schedule, standings and what needs to happen for the Birds to get into the playoffs.
| WEEK | OPPONENT | RESULT | RECORD |
| 1 | St. Louis | Win, 38-3 | 1-0 |
| 2 | @ Dallas | Loss, 41-37 | 1-1 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh | Win, 15-6 | 2-1 |
| 4 | @ Chicago | Loss, 24-20 | 2-2 |
| 5 | Washington | Loss, 23-17 | 2-3 |
| 6 | @ San Francisco | Win, 40-26 | 3-3 |
| 7 | |||
| 8 | Atlanta | Win, 27-14 | 4-3 |
| 9 | @ Seattle | Win, 26-7 | 5-3 |
| 10 | New York Giants | Loss, 36-31 | 5-4 |
| 11 | @ Cincinatti | Tie, 13-13 | 5-4-1 |
| 12 | @ Baltimore | Loss, 7-36 | 5-5-1 |
| 13 | Arizona | Win, 48-20 | 6-5-1 |
| 14 | @ New York Giants | Win, 20-14 | 7-5-1 |
| 15 | Cleveland | -- | -- |
| 16 | @ Washington | -- | -- |
| 17 | Dallas | -- | -- |
Three games left, two at home. All three must be wins if this team is going to make the playoffs. That may not even guarantee them a spot. Here is their competition for the Wild Card berths, with their remaining schedules:
- Tampa Bay (9-4) @ Atlanta, vs. San Diego, vs. Oakland
- Atlanta (8-5) vs. Tampa Bay, @ Minnesota, vs. St. Louis
- Dallas (8-5) vs. NY Giants, vs. Balitmore, @ Eagles
- Eagles (7-5-1) vs. Cleveland, @ Washington, vs. Dallas
- Bears (8-6) vs. Green Bay, @ Houston
- Redskins (7-6) @ Cincinnati, vs. Eagles, @ San Fran
That means the only competition we need to worry about off the field comes from the NFC South, Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Keep in mind that there are two Wild Cards to go around. What it boils down to is this.
For the Eagles to finish ahead of...
- Tampa Bay, the Bucs would have to drop two and the Eagles win out.
- Atlanta, the Bucs would have to drop one and the Eagles win out.
So that's what is at stake. We won't talk about Reid's failures over the fist 11 games for now. We'll table that discussion until the Eagles' season is officially in the books. For now, we're going to concentrate on getting into the playoffs. One hurdle at a time.
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