Philadelphia Eagles lost by winning their last game
By Owen Lloyd
The Philadelphia Eagles lost by winning on Sunday against the New York Giants.
The team’s 35-30 victory could hurt the Philadelphia Eagles quite significantly in the coming months. Whilst winning the game sent the players out on an emotional high, the true cost to the organization could be very significant. Here’s how the victory over the New York Giants cost the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Firstly, the team’s draft position fell. The Philadelphia Eagles now have pick number 13 in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. If they’d lost to the Giants , they would be picking in 10th place at worst. With the needs that the Philadelphia Eagles have, those three places could cost the Eagles a shot at a quarterback like Jared Goff, or value in any trade-back scenario. Winning a meaningless game cost the Philadelphia Eagles a shot at a top ten pick. That draft position may also weigh on the minds of any potential Head Coach candidates looking at the Eagles. Picking in the top ten is more attractive than picking 13th, especially as the Philadelphia Eagles have no second round pick.
Secondly, and this one hurts me badly as a London-based Eagles fan, the team won’t get to play in London in 2016. The losers of the Eagles – Giants game were slated to head to London to battle the St Louis Rams at Twickenham. Losing the opportunity to play in that game loses the Eagles the chance to build their international fanbase further. More importantly, however, as a result of winning the game, the Philadelphia Eagles now have to travel to face the Seattle Seahawks at one of the most intimidating venues for a road team in the NFL. Bear in mind that the flight time to London is only two hours more than Seattle, which game would have been easier for the Eagles? On the road in effectively a neutral venue against the St Louis Rams, or on the road against the twelve men of Seattle?
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Finally, the Eagles now also have to face a second placed schedule. The Eagles now have to face the Atlanta Falcons at home and Seattle on the road, as opposed to a home game against New Orleans and a London game against the Rams. Looking at the Eagles schedule for next season is not pretty. Road trips to Baltimore, Cincinnati and Seattle are never easy. Games against Green Bay, Minnesota and Pittsburgh look tough at home. I’ve given up predicting the NFC East, divisional games are always hard. It’s not too difficult to look through the list of slated opponents and find between 10 and 13 opponents where the Eagles might start as underdogs.
The Philadelphia Eagles may have won the battle, but they probably lost the war by winning against the New York Giants in week 17.