At this point, the Philadelphia Eagles will take all of the positives they can. This late in the season, and with the NFC being so close, advantages are few and far to come by.
The first, big positive came, of course, when the Eagles beat the flailing Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15. It was smooth sailing, for the most part, but a win is a win, nonetheless. But, another huge wave of news came the next day.
On Monday, news broke that the Washington Commanders had opted to shut down quarterback Jayden Daniels for the remainder of the season.
The Eagles' end-of-season schedule just got a whole lot easier after Jayden Daniels news
Daniels had missed a couple of chunks of the regular season due to injury, but in Week 14, he re-aggravated his elbow injury and missed the Commanders' Week 15 matchup with the New York Giants.
In total, Daniels has seen action in just seven games this year. After breaking onto the scene as a rookie, his second year has been less than ideal, and Washington's playoff hopes quickly faded. Now, why is this a huge break for Philly?
You might have noticed the Eagles have yet to play Washington this season. The schedule makers clearly wanted to set this season up for late drama, with the Eagles playing the Commanders this coming Week 16 and then again two weeks later in the season finale.
Had Daniels been healthy this year, and the Commanders been more of a threat, then having two of the last three games between these two teams would have done wonders for television ratings and encouraged late, NFC East drama.
But, with Daniels out the rest of the year and Washington playing for nothing more than pride at this point, Philadelphia now gets themselves a massive advantage. Not having to face Daniels is certainly a plus.
Now, don't get me wrong. Injuries are awful for any player or team. It is not something we actively root for. But the fact of the matter is, Daniels is a lethal quarterback when healthy. His dual-threat skill set is hard to defend when he's at his best.
Now, the Eagles are even more likely to go into the postseason with some positive momentum.
Read more: Nick Sirianni sent clear message to Eagles after convincing win over Raiders
If only their own quarterback, and offense all together, could gain some momentum and stay consistent going into the playoffs, then maybe this fan base can get genuinely excited again.