PHILADELPHIA – This is about as must-win as it gets for the Eagles. If they lose Sunday to the two-win Las Vegas Raiders at home, the prediction here is they won’t even make the playoffs. The collapse will be similar to 2023 when the Arizona Cardinals came to town on New Year’s Eve with four wins and rallied from a 15-point deficit to win, 35-31.
This has to be a get-right game for the Eagles, who are favored by as many as 12.5 points, though the line has come down slightly but is still in double-figures.
The Eagles (8-5) would need help to make the playoffs with a loss on Sunday – and assuming they find a way to squeeze out another win or two – and that help would have to come from the Dallas Cowboys, who, at 6-6-1, would have to lose once or twice, something they are capable of, but their two toughest games left – this weekend against the Vikings and next week against the Chargers – are both at home.
Still, a loss to Las Vegas would be devastating. It would deflate the locker room, even an experienced and battle-tested team like the Eagles. They would have three remaining games, two against the Commanders, a team that has been eliminated from the postseason, but could prove challenging to beat, having to play them twice in three weeks, with a trip to Buffalo in between.
That could be a 1-2 slate, so if the Raiders spring an upset, the Eagles could finish at 9-8. That’s a doomsday scenario, but not even close to being out of the question.
Homecoming For Three Raiders
Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett (7) looks on during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
As for the Raiders, Kenny Pickett is coming home. Again. He was named Las Vegas’ starter for Sunday because Geno Smith, who wasn’t very effective this season, is injured. Pickett grew up in South Jersey, attending Eagles games, and was the starting quarterback for his hometown team when they clinched the NFC East title with a 41-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17. He did it with broken ribs.
On the other side of the ball, Devin White has taken every defensive snap for the Raiders this season and has 133 tackles, which is 29 more than the Eagles’ tackler leader, Zack Baun.
Remember White? He was in camp with the Eagles in the summer of 2024. He was signed to a one-year deal but couldn’t get on the field. He was released on Oct. 8 and landed with the Houston Texans, playing seven games with them and 38 percent of the defensive snaps.
You know White remembers the Eagles, and how his time in town didn’t turn out the way he had hoped. White, though, never complained and was always upbeat in the locker room, somehow able to bury his bitterness behind his smile and laugh.
Then there’s defensive tackle Thomas Booker, who traded for cornerback Jakorian Bennett in August. That deal was a win for the Raiders, with Booker playing more than 50 percent of the snaps in Las Vegas while Bennett has been injured and can’t get on the field even when healthy.
Can those three ruin their former team’s season by beating them in a game that is a must-win for the Eagles? By Sunday evening, the answer will reveal itself.
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