Philadelphia Eagles have their no-hat-rule and it might help Dallas

Week 17 leads to a meaningless Philadelphia Eagles game.

There are times when sports fans simply have to accept the reality of the situation. There’s that moment when it becomes painfully obvious that your team is bad and there’s nothing that you can do about it. That’s where Philadelphia Eagles fans are this morning. They’ve crafted the worst record in the NFL’s worst division, and fans are down. This has to be what injured players feel like when the team gets on the plane and they aren’t invited.

No, that doesn’t encapsulate this feeling well enough. This is what it feels like to be a college football fan and you realize that you care more about the program winning and losing than some of the guys on the team.

Think about it. In college, your stars are all 18 to 21 years old. They have class on Monday and girlfriends, so even though you may not want to hear this, if you’re an Oklahoma fan, you may care more about the Sooners being upset by Kansas State than some of the guys who are actually on the team. Dare we say we’ve been basing our happiness around some 18-year-old kids or professional athletes?

That isn’t to say that these guys don’t care. Clearly, they do! They’re competitors, but they’re competitors with other things going on in their lives. Student-athletes have girlfriends and exams. Professional athletes have families, don’t care about your Fantasy team, and just like you, they have bad days at work and nights where they don’t care as much. Look no further than what you saw from Philly versus the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16.

Most Philadelphia Eagles probably aren’t going to like this no-hat rule.

At this point, there’s no reason to revisit the lack of effort that this team has displayed at various points of the 2020 season and during Week 16’s rivalry game with that team from Texas. That was awful. Maybe the toll of an emotional season finally reached its apex. Maybe this team has finally accepted the reality that they aren’t going anywhere.

Whatever the case, the Birds enter Week 17 knowing that they’ll play one final game, and it’s truly meaningless. Needing a Washington Football Team loss and a victory versus Dallas in Week 16 to remain alive for postseason contention, Eagles fans received the former and not the latter.

Now, one week later, their final tilt, one versus that same Washington team (one that was supposed to be for the NFC East’s crown) has no bearing on Philadelphia’s fate. All they’re playing for is draft position as every other team in their division is still alive for a shot at a playoff berth.

And now, after a pathetic performance in Week 16, they want to go all out in Week 17? A ‘no-hat rule’? Really? On the Tuesday leading up to the season finale, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz sat with the Philly media, and expressed the importance of not allowing a divisional rival to ‘celebrate on our field’. Here’s a quote.

"We have a division opponent coming in that’s trying to earn a playoff spot on our field. We gotta have all our attention on this game. I’ve got too much respect for the guys that are gonna be on the field, some of which are going to be playing for the first time. I’ve got too much respect for the game to talk about anything other than this game. I apologize for that but that’s where our focus is… We gotta have a no-hat rule this week. We can’t let opponents put division win hats on at the Linc. There’s a lot of pride (in) that and all our focus has to be on accomplishing that this week."

Umm, where was this fire last week? Can someone please tell Coach Schwartz that, even if Philly eliminates Washington, they still help the New York Giants or the aforementioned Cowgirls? An Eagles victory means that the winner of the Dallas and New York Game is champion. You’re still aiding a rival. Can you imagine what the talk will be if the Eagles win and earn a playoff spot for the Cowboys or Giants? Well, at least there won’t be hats worn at Lincoln Financial Field.

We get it. These guys and coaches are competitors. Call it a show of pride or losing touch with the reality of the situation. Whatever you call it, here are the facts. This just comes a week too late.

To be totally honest, at this point, most fans and the members of the media would be fine with letting Jalen Hurts get a little work (if he’s okay), sitting him and the starters in the second half, and letting the young guys get some experience as positioning in the NFL Draft is more important at this point. A Philadelphia Eagles win would only rip Birds fans’ hearts out further.

Wait! Did we just say that? Are we actually praying for an Eagles loss? Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season?