The Philadelphia Eagles are looking for any competitive advantage they can get in Week 18 against the Washington Commanders, and might have gotten it.
Philly will not roll out the starters, as Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni wants to rest them before the playoffs. With multiple players going to be inactive, the Commanders are dealing with their own injury concerns going into the contest.
As expected, Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota is officially out for the game and will be replaced by Josh Johnson. Also out for the contest will be starting offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, who was also out when the Eagles beat the Commanders 29-18 in Week 16.
Eagles might still have competitive advantage with Commanders out multiple starters
Even with the backups in for the Eagles, the Commanders still might have a tough time picking up the win. Mariota and Tunsil are tough losses that add to Washington's injury report, especially with Jayden Daniels already out for the year.
Philly has a talented bench that could still pick up a win against a Commanders team that has not been great this season, with only four wins on the year and losers of 10 of the last 11 games. Backups like Tank Bigsby, Darius Cooper, and others could compete for starting jobs in Washington, given how good they are. It speaks to the depth that the Eagles have.
With a banged-up Commanders roster, it also has a competent quarterback in Tanner McKee, who is good at protecting the football. He has yet to throw an interception in the NFL since the Eagles selected him in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Read more: Nick Sirianni admitted what every Eagles fan is going to do in Week 18 as well
There is still a lot of hope that the Eagles can win with the backups and put the team in a position to grab the number two seed in the NFC playoffs. Washington is not going to have as easy a time against the Birds as some Commanders fans think.