Eagles will have short week before Cowboys game

Update: The Eagles-Vikings game originally scheduled for Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. has been postponed to Tuesday night at 8 p.m.

The immediate reaction to this news is that the Birds will have only four days to prepare for the Cowboys in Week 17.

That could potentially be a big game for the Eagles in terms of playoff seeding. They need to pick up a game on the Bears in the final two weeks to earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.

But I don't see the short week as a huge deal for the Eagles. The Cowboys will come to Philadelphia with a 5-10 record, likely looking forward to getting their season over with and starting vacation. Dallas could be starting Stephen McGee, a second-year quarterback who had not attempted a pass in the NFL before Saturday night.

Granted, he played well against the Cardinals, completing 11 of 17 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. But if the Eagles can't beat a 5-10 team at home when the stakes are high - even if they're on only four days rest - I'm not sure they're ready to make a deep playoff run anyway.

To put it into perspective, the Eagles had three days rest earlier this season before hosting the Texans on a Thursday night game. They had traveled back from Chicago on the previous Sunday night. This time, they'll be at home all week.

In that matchup, the Texans were on a short week too. This time, the Cowboys will be on extra rest since they played Saturday night.

Still, don't see it being a huge deal.

As for Sunday, the Eagles could still clinch a playoff berth or the NFC East title. If the Giants lose to the Packers, the Birds clinch the division. If the Bucs lose to Seattle, they clinch a playoff berth.

And obviously, Eagles fans should be rooting for a Bears loss to the Jets.

FROM EARLIER:

The NFL has not yet decided whether Sunday night's Eagles-Vikings game will kick off as scheduled at 8:20 p.m.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello was asked on Twitter whether there was any word on the game being postponed because of today's snowstorm. He responded:

Not yet. We're discussing situation. Stand by.

That was at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

Mayor Michael Nutter announced that Philadelphia is declaring a snow emergency at 2 p.m. Sunday. Fans were urged to use mass transit to get to the Eagles game (if it's played tonight), and extra trains were scheduled, according to the Associated Press.

Tonight's game is supposed to be televised to a national audience on NBC, which could make rescheduling it a bit tricky. ESPN has Falcons-Saints on Monday Night Football.

Eagles players seem to be looking forward to playing in the snow. DeSean Jackson tweeted:

It's only snow!!!! Let us play... It must b alot of fun... I'm ready let's get it on!!

And JaMar Chaney tweeted:

bring it on, should be alot of fun.

We'll have an update on philly.com as soon as an announcement is made one way or another.

You can also sign up for our text alerts by texting "EAGLES" to 744559. By doing so, you'll get a message to your phone as soon as a decision is made.

Earlier Sunday, I posted the weekly Who's picking the Eagles? roundup.

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