4 things Eagles must improve on to become playoff contenders again

The Eagles must win the games that they’re supposed to win.

You’re looking at that schedule rather differently, aren’t you? In the Eagles’ final six games, they play the Giants twice (Week 12 and Week 16). They play the Washington Football Team twice (Week 15 and Week 17). There’s a game penciled in versus the New York Jets (Week 13), and they get a rematch versus the Dallas Cowboys in the finale.

Depending on how Dallas’ win-loss total looks at that time, we may be discussing whether or not they’ll be sitting their starters, and though every Birds fan would like to beat the Cowboys at full strength (so there are no excuses by football’s most annoying fan base), the argument can be made that Philly’s chances for victory increase if they’re playing backups.

We could be looking at a 6-0 or 5-1 run to close the season. Sure, they’ll need to take things a game at a time, but that could get them into the postseason.

Don’t be surprised if the Eagles are favored in every game for the rest of the season. If they take care of their own business, their fate should be in their own hands, and we should be looking at a playoff team.

Honorable mention: red zone touchdown efficiency and rushing defense

So far in 2021, the Eagles are top ten in converting red-zone opportunities into touchdowns at 68.5%. Only the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, and New Orleans Saints are better.

One might imagine that they’ll need to be even better down the stretch and in the postseason though. While they’re at it, they can stand to gain a lot by allowing less than the 117.3 rushing yards per game that they’ve given up. That puts them in the bottom half of the league at 20.