The Philadelphia Eagles snapped their three-game skid on Sunday afternoon with a dominant blowout win over the Las Vegas Raiders. It was the perfect get-right spot for the Eagles, who must keep pace with the other teams in the NFC playoff race.
As things currently stand at the end of Week 15, the Eagles have a 9-5 record, which is good for third in the NFC. Philadelphia is also only one game behind the Chicago Bears for the second seed, which is not a bad spot to be in with three games left.
Luckily for the Eagles, their three-game sprint to the end of the regular season will begin on Saturday night against the Washington Commanders. The Commanders are playing out the string as they look to rebound in 2026. Washington would love to play spoiler, but it might be hard to do so without their star quarterback.
On Monday, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Commanders have shut down QB Jayden Daniels for the final three games and will turn to Marcus Mariota. Rapoport adds that the young signal-caller was re-evaluated today and not cleared to return from an elbow injury.
Jayden Daniels News Adds Wrinkle to Eagles’ Playoff Seed Scenarios
This means the Eagles will see the ex-Philadelphia QB twice over the next three weeks, which should help them in their quest to get the No. 2 seed. However, the Eagles have to win those games and then hope for some things to break their way.
In fact, X user Deniz Selman broke down the various playoff scenarios for the Eagles if they were to finish a 12-5 or 11-6 record. If you are an Eagles fan, you would love for them to finish 12-5, which means they would win out.
However, let’s just say the Eagles finish 11-6, with the two wins coming over the Commanders to end the season. As Selman points out, Philly will have clinched at least the No. 3 seed. But for them to get the No. 2 spot, they would need at least both of these outcomes to also happen.
The Bears lose their final three games, or Chicago loses twice, and Detroit wins outThe Packers lose twice in their last three games
Something to keep in mind is that the Eagles have the H2H tiebreaker over the Lions and Packers, but not the Bears. What also complicates matters here in this scenario is that the Packers and Bears will play each other in Week 16, and the Bears and Lions will face off in the regular season finale in Week 18.
As we previously mentioned, the path for the Eagles to get the No. 2 seed with a 12-5 record gets a bit more convoluted. That said, Philly can only control what’s in front of them, which is the Commanders on Saturday night.
Eagles fans would love to see this team pick up where they left off against a bad Las Vegas squad. Mariota poses an issue as a dual-threat QB, not at the same level as Daniels. But the veteran quarterback has been turnover-prone in his seven starts this season – five interceptions and two fumbles lost.
You never know how NFC East games will go, but if the Eagles want to make one last push for the No. 2 seed, they need to take advantage of this gift from Washington. That means using everything they know about Mariota to their advantage.
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