The Eagles finish the season 14-3 for the second time in three years after beating the Giants 20-13. The Birds went 5-1 against NFC East opponents, and their only loss was to Jayden Daniels and the Commanders. Philly outscored the G Men 48-16 in their two matchups this season; the only touchdown the Giants scored was a 45-yard TD pass from Drew Lock to Malik Nabers, who had an outstanding rookie season. Third-string quarterback Tanner McKee threw 41 passes on Sunday, completing 27 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Hurts is still in concussion protocol but is reportedly trending towards playing January 12th against the Packers, but if he were to miss it, McKee could have the chance to reprise the Nick Foles role.
Next Man Up
The Eagles had already clinched the two seed in the NFC before Week 18, so they decided to rest their starters for the final game and performed. It wasn't anything flashy, but everyone played well enough to beat a team with its starters; that being said, it's the starters for the 3-14 Giants, but little to no mistakes were made, and the Birds came out on top. The run game never got going as the team only carried the ball 25 times for just 51 yards and no touchdowns. It was just the second time this season the Eagles had no rushing touchdowns in a game, the only other time being in Week 6 against the Browns. Ironically, those two games are also the only games in which the Eagles scored precisely 20 points.
Thankfully, everyone else on offense showed up, with Tanner McKee throwing over 40 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie WR Ainias Smith had his first career TD reception.
So did TE EJ Jenkins, who reeled in a seven-yard reception for his only target of the game. If you say he scored a TD every single time he was targeted, it sounds a lot more impressive.
Dallas Goedert made his return and caught four passes for 55 yards, the second most on the team. Jahan Dotson, who hasn't done much of anything since Philly traded for before the season, had a team-high seven receptions for 94 yards. He was targeted 11 times; no other player was targeted more than six. Rookie RB Will Shipley had only 32 rushing yards on 10 attempts but also added four receptions for 35 yards through the air.
Well Rested for Playoffs
While it's unfortunate Saquon Barkley didn't get to see the field being just 101 yards away from breaking the single-season all-time rushing record, it was indeed the wise decision as some notable NFL players, such as Jaylon Johnson, Terrion Arnold, Christian Watson, Jordan Love, Riq Woolen, and more were all injured during their games and did not return to action. Jalen Hurts hasn't played since the first quarter of the Commanders game three weeks ago, which begs the question, is Jalen Hurts going to be in playoff form after missing 11 straight quarters of football? Nick Sirianni thinks, "We've got so much faith in him and the things he can do." He followed, "Just being locked in and focused all week, got a lot of faith in Jalen." Hurts, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Nakobe Dean are all listed as "questionable" on the team's current injury report. However, it's a near guarantee they will all be suited for their Wildcard matchup against the Packers. Most, if not all, starters should be well-rested and primed for playoff football.
Final Score: Eagles 27, Steelers 13
Dixon's Three Stars
1st Star- Tanner McKee (65% Completion Percentage, 269 Yards, 2 Touchdowns)
2nd Star- Oren Burks (17 Tackles, 2 Tackles for Loss)
3rd Star- Jahan Dotson (7 Receptions, 94 Yards)
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