Eagles news: Nakobe Dean offers injury update; Merrill Reese calls Commanders 'cranky' losers'; updated playoff scenarios

Fans across the Delaware Valley will be rooting for 44-year-old Philip Rivers to lead the Indianapolis Colts to victory tonight against Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers.

Why? A Colts win preserves the Eagles' slim hopes of ending the season as the NFC's No. 1 seed and securing a first-round bye.

The Eagles aren't the only team that has a stake in tonight's outcome. Here's a rundown.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said the Eagles will not be bringing in competition for Jake Elliott as the longtime kicker has hit a rough patch late in the season.

Sirianni on Monday reiterated his confidence that Elliott will bounce back.

Elliott's 70.8% success rate (17-for-24) on field goals is the lowest of his career. He missed a 43-yard field goal and a 52-yard try (as well as a 57-yard kick that was negated by a penalty) during Saturday's win over Washington.

On The Speakeasy podcast, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho were asked the question: Are the Eagles the best team in the NFC?

“When did we let it go,” McCoy said. “We were the defending champs last year. We were the NFC champs. See, y’all forget a lot though. I don’t forget. Last year, we won the whole NFC East. Last year we won the whole NFC. Last year we won the whole league, the Super Bowl. Why y’all forgot? Because we had a couple bad games. Because our Super Bowl quarterback had a couple of bad moments. We’re still the Eagles and we still put on a show. And the championship runs through Philly.”

To Acho, Saturday’s game showed the complete package of what the Eagles could be. Jalen Hurts completed 22 of 30 throws for 185 yards with A.J. Brown as his favorite target, and gained 40 rushing yards on seven carries. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley finished with 132 yards on 21 carries to contribute to the team’s 207 total rushing yards.

Washington Commanders coaches and players were upset following Saturday's loss to the Eagles, stemming from a two-point try they viewed as the Birds running up the score.

The conversion led to a melee, resulting in three players — including Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen — being booted from the game.

"I can only answer for my side, what I would do," Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told reporters following the game. "Hey man, if that's how they want to get down, then all good. We'll play them again in two weeks."

It's easy to criticize the refs, but this weekend NFL officials really gave fans and announcers a few things to complain about.

First up is key late play during the New England Patriots' win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night.

With a little more than three minutes remaining, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey appeared to outright tackle Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte on a deep pass. Despite an official watching from yards away, no flags were thrown, to the surprise of everyone on NBC's Sunday Night Football broadcast.

The Eagles have already clinched the NFC East and will host a wild-card game at the Linc, but the Birds still have an unlikely shot at landing the No. 1 seed.

Here's how the NFC playoff picture looks after Sunday's games, with five teams having already clinched a postseason spot:

NFC playoff picture

There's snow in the forecast Sunday in Buffalo, where the Eagles will take on the Bills with playoff seeding on the line for both teams.

The Bills will officially clinch a playoff spot if the Indianapolis Colts lose tonight to the San Francisco 49ers, and they'll enter Week 17 still in the hunt for their sixth-straight AFC East title.

Reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen injured his ankle during Sunday's win against the Cleveland Browns, but X-rays taken at halftime were reportedly negative and he finished the game for the Bills.

Saquon Barkley had rushed for just 52 yards on 14 carries when he came to the sideline late in the third quarter. The Eagles had taken a 14-10 lead after a 17-play, touchdown-scoring drive, but they did so in spite of the struggles in the running game.

It’s been a season-long slog on the ground, but there have been glimpses of hope in recent weeks. And Barkley, who’s had to run into more stacked boxes than ever in his eighth year, felt that he wasn’t taking advantage of opportunities against a weakened Commanders defense.

“We got a little fired up on the sideline, but it was good,” Barkley said. “It’s all out of love, let’s say that. We want to do what’s best for the team when we’re winning games and hold each other accountable. But thank God it happened for me, to be honest, because it put me in my bag, as people would say.”

After overcoming a 16-6 deficit late in the fourth quarter Saturday night, the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers, in overtime, 22-16, thanks to a 46-yard touchdown reception from Philly native DJ Moore.

Three plays after the Bears stopped Green Bay on its drive in overtime, quarterback Caleb Williams found Moore, an Imhotep Charter graduate, off a play-action post route to score the walk-off touchdown, his sixth touchdown reception of the season.

“I just had to run, run like I did in practice and connect like we did at practice,” Moore said of his winning reception. ”It was really a practice rep but we did it in a game. Like I said, it was just amazing that we did it against the Packers.”