NFL Playoff picture: Eagles will clinch NFC East with a win
Thanks, Minnesota!
With the Vikings defeating the Cowboys 34-26 on Sunday Night Football, the Eagles will clinch the NFC East and a playoff berth with a win Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
The Birds will also clinch the NFC East with just one more Cowboys loss.
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Eagles numbers: Dallas Goedert joins an exclusive Birds club
Leave it to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders to help the Eagles snap a three-game losing streak in style. The Eagles’ 31-0 victory over the Raiders on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field made history and had plenty of notable numbers come out of it.
Here’s a look:
At 2 hours, 31 minutes, Sunday’s game was the quickest Eagles game since at least 1999.
The Eagles posted their first shutout since Dec. 30, 2018. The 31-point margin was the Eagles’ largest margin of victory during a shutout since Dec. 16, 1990, a 31-0 victory over Green Bay.
The 75 yards the Eagles limited the Raiders to were the fewest allowed by the Eagles in the Super Bowl era, and fewest overall since they surrendered just 49 yards to the Chicago Cardinals in Dec. 4, 1955. It was also the fewest yards allowed by a team in the NFL since Cleveland allowed just 58 yards by Arizona on Nov. 5, 2023.
The 312-yard advantage in total yards was the Eagles’ largest margin since Sept. 7, 2008, when they out-gained St. Louis by 356 yards.
Dallas Goedert scored twice, reaching nine touchdowns on the season. He has more touchdowns in 2025 than his previous three seasons combined. Goedert became the fifth player in Eagles history to reach 400 career receptions, joining Harold Carmichael (589), Zach Ertz (579), Pete Retzlaff (452) and Brian Westbrook (426).
Goedert is now one off the single-season record for touchdowns by an Eagles tight end. Retzlaff had 10 in 1965.
Brandon Graham, at 37 years, 255 days, became the oldest player in Eagles history to register a sack in a game. The record was previously held by Richard Dent, who registered a sack on Dec. 14, 1997 in Atlanta on the day after his 31st birthday. Graham also became the oldest NFL player to produce multiple sacks in the first half of a game since Bruce Smith on Nov. 28, 2002 (39 years, 163 days).
Zack Baun picked up his third interception of the season. He is the only NFL player with at least 100 tackles, three sacks, and three takeaways this year.
Jalen Hurts became the first quarterback in Eagles history to record multiple games with a 150-plus passer rating (154.9) and 80% completion percentage in the same season. He previously accomplished the feat in Week 7 at Minnesota (158.3 rating and 82.6% percentage).
The Eagles secured their fifth consecutive winning season with Nick Sirianni at the helm — the longest streak to start a career in franchise history. Sirianni is the 10th head coach since 1970 to start their career with five straight winning seasons, joining Bill Cowher, John Harbaugh, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Sean McVay, George Seifert, Mike Sherman, Mike Smith, and Mike Tomlin (According to Elias).
This is the 21st winning season under Jeffrey Lurie’s ownership, making the Eagles one of only four teams with 21-plus winning seasons since Lurie took over — joining Green Bay (24), New England (24) and Pittsburgh (23).
(Stats courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles’ public relations.)
Jalen Hurts and a return to the Eagles’ winning formula
When Jalen Hurts and the first-unit offense took their well-earned rest early in the fourth quarter of an eventual 31-0 blowout over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Eagles had a run-pass ratio of 32 to 17.
There were myriad reasons for a ground-heavy attack on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field: from wintry weather conditions and schematic improvements to situational play-calling with a lead and rebuilding Hurts after a disastrous performance vs. the Chargers.
But mostly the Eagles ran the ball because it’s what they need to establish if they want to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Coach Nick Sirianni would never cop to looking that far ahead, nor should he, but the hapless Raiders offered the opportunity to give his directionless offense a compass for the future.
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Eagles injury report
The good news is there isn’t much to report.
Tight end Cam Latu went to the tent late in the fourth quarter with an apparent arm injury.
Merrill Reese called out Hurts critics at WIP and elsewhere
While there were no pundits that directly called for Jalen Hurts to be benched, a lot of talking heads on 94.1 WIP and elsewhere got close following the Eagles three-game losing streak.
“I do think he’s earned the right to start Sunday,” WIP host Joe Giglio said of Hurts leading up to the game. “But that’s the end of where I go with earned, deserve, and all those kind of words... I would pull the plug if he keeps playing the way he has the last month.”
Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes also echoed those remarks, writing the Eagles would’ve been right to bench Hurts if he struggled against the Raiders Sunday, which thankfully he didn’t.
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Eagles next game is against the Commanders on Saturday night
The Eagles will take on the Washington Commanders in Week 16 in a Saturday night matchup at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m, and the Eagles opened as 5½-point favorites at most sportsbooks.
It’s a rematch of last-years NFC Championship game, but a lot has happened between then and now.
