Eagles-Giants: Birds hold off New York to close out regular season, will host Packers in NFL playoffs

Quarterback: B+

Tanner McKee got his first career NFL start with the Eagles resting most of their starters. Jalen Hurts couldn’t have played either way as he has yet to clear concussion protocol. Kenny Pickett, who got the NFC East-clinching win a week ago, dressed as an emergency, but a rib injury kept him from playing.

So McKee got the call and he answered it. He executed the offense efficiently in the first half and completed 17 of 26 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown before the half. He wasn’t as sharp after the break, but a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end E.J. Jenkins gave the Eagles all the points they would need.

A trip to Orchard Park to face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills? Jalen Hurts vs. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead?

Thanks to the Eagles’ first-place finish in the NFC East, the Birds’ schedule next season is going to be brutal, at least on paper.

For the 2025 NFL season, the Eagles will face teams from the AFC West and NFC North, two of the best divisions in the NFL this season.

The Eagles started the regular season against the Packers in Brazil. Now they’re going to start the playoffs against Green Bay, this time with a home game in Philadelphia.

If you haven’t thought about the Packers since early September, we’ve got you covered with answers to some of the biggest questions surrounding the Birds’ wild-card matchup with the Packers.

When is the Eagles-Packers game?

Move over, Ainias Smith, EJ Jenkins has his first-ever touchdown catch, too.

The depth tight end caught a seven-yard touchdown from Tanner McKee on the first play of the fourth quarter. Jake Elliott's extra point extended the Eagles' lead to 17-3.

The catch was also the first reception of Jenkins' career. He was promoted to the active roster in early December, but has mostly been a practice squad player since entering the league after going undrafted in 2023.

The Giants are on the board.

New York drove 58 yards on 10 plays and then kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut the Eagles' lead to seven. More importantly for the Eagles and everyone else, more than five minutes ticked off the clock.

Was that a get-on-the-board kick or a tank kick? Seemed like a spot you'd try to score a touchdown, unless of course you don't want to win the game.

Both starting quarterback Jordan Love and receiver Christian Watson left the Packers’ game against the Bears in the first half and are considered questionable to return.

The Packers announced that Love left the game with a right elbow injury, and Watson was carted off the field with a knee injury, which kept him out of practice in the week leading up to the game. Malik Willis replaced Love in the game at QB.

Pro Football Talk later reported that Love hit his funny bone.

Eagles fans (and Saquon Barkley) might never forgive Tiki Barber, the former Giants running back who said Barkley was “dead to him” after signing with the Eagles. But come Week 18, Barber was put in the position to potentially call Barkley’s NFL-record-setting game.

Barkley was among the Eagles' inactives Sunday, keeping him just 101 yards short of the record, but Barber was complimentary of his season on the broadcast despite the offseason controversy.

“Selfishly, we wanted to see him break a 40-year-old record, held by Eric Dickerson in 1984, but Nick Sirianni just didn’t want to let it be,” Barber said to open the broadcast.

To the surprise of no one, a slew of starters are inactive for the Eagles in their regular-season finale against the Giants.

Among the offensive inactives are quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Maialta, and guard Landon Dickerson.

On defense, cornerback Darius Slay, linebacker Nakobe Dean, linebacker Zack Baun, and defensive tackle Jalen Carter are all inactive.

Zack Baun’s “movement patterns” gave Vic Fangio confidence that the Eagles had gotten more than they thought when they signed the former New Orleans Saints linebacker to a one-year deal.

Baun had primarily been used as an edge rusher and special teamer, and depth at a relatively small salary cap hit — $1.6 million — was on the mind when Howie Roseman signed Baun. The Eagles, though, got much more than they bargained for.

Fangio was right. Baun wasn’t an edge rusher, he was an off-ball linebacker. Not just an ordinary one, either. Baun has been one of the Eagles’ best defensive players this season, and one of the surprises of the NFL. On Thursday, Baun, who leads the Eagles with 151 tackles, good for fourth in the NFL, was named to his first Pro Bowl three days after his 28th birthday.

Jason Kelce officially entered the world of late-night television, and he brought his foul mouth with him.

The retired Eagles star-turned-ESPN personality is probably best remembered for his profane victory speech following the Birds’ Super Bowl victory in 2018. So it’s only fitting the first episode of his new show, They Call It Late Night With Jason Kelce, was filled with language you don’t often hear on the Disney-owned sports network.

“Is this not the f— best?” Kelce said early on to his pregnant wife, Kylie, who serves as the show’s announcer.

Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of the NFL single-season rushing record will end 100 yards short.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni revealed Wednesday the running back will be among the starters rested for the team’s regular-season finale against the New York Giants this Sunday. As a result, Barkley will finish the season with 2,005 rushing yards, exactly 100 yards shy of the mark Eric Dickerson set in 1984.

“We’re going to rest some guys,” Sirianni said. “… He’ll probably be someone that rests.”

The final week of the NFL regular season is here. The Eagles have already clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, and Nick Sirianni already shared that he plans to rest many of the starters — including Saquon Barkley — against the New York Giants in Week 18.

With the Eagles digging into their depth chart, the game should still be an intriguing watch for Birds fans to get an extra look at the backups, rookies, and potential future rotation pieces. The Giants are currently in the race for the No. 1 overall draft pick, so you’ll still be in for a competitive matchup. The oddsmakers have the Eagles as three-point home favorites.

Here’s how the Inquirer’s beat writers and other local and national media are predicting Sunday’s game …

With nothing to play for Sunday, the Eagles plan to rest their starters against the New York Giants as they prepare for their fourth straight playoff run.

The Eagles will enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the NFC for only the second time in the Super Bowl era (the first was in 1980 when they made it to the Super Bowl for the first time). The Birds will host every postseason game they play this time around at the Linc, unless they face the eventual No. 1 seed — either the Detroit Lions or Minnesota Vikings — in the NFC Championship game.

What we don’t know heading into Sunday is the Eagles’ opponent during the wild-card round of the playoffs. It will end up being one of two teams — the Washington Commanders or the Green Bay Packers.

The Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) face the New York Giants (3-13) Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. The game will air on CBS at 1 p.m.

Andrew Catalon, former Giants running back Tiki Barber, and former Patriots defensive back Jason McCourty will be in the booth for CBS, with AJ Ross also joining in from the sidelines.

Eagles-Giants will also air on the radio on 94.1 WIP, where fans can listen to the familiar voices of Merrill Reese and former Eagles receiver Mike Quick. Devan Kaney will handle sideline reporting duties.