The Philadelphia Eagles made fans more comfortable with the final two weeks of the regular season after taking down the Washington Commanders 29-18 in Week 16 action.
Philly's offense got off to a slow start, failing to finish drives and missing two field goals from kicker Jake Elliott, but the second half was helped by the running game, which rushed for 207 yards in the contest. The defense continued to dominate, allowing just 220 yards of offense by Washington in the win.
Most importantly, the Eagles got into the playoffs as they won the NFC East division title for the second straight season, the first time a team in the division has done that in 21 years, also done by the Eagles. After the game, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was happy with winning the NFC East, but he's got something else in mind.
"Everyone is vying to get into the playoffs to do what the ultimate goal is," Sirianni said via NBC Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro. "We’re excited to be there. This division has had so much parity in it throughout the years. To be able to be a back-to-back winner and get ourselves into the playoffs. Obviously, our goals are much higher. We’ve raised the expectations of what we expect. We’re pumped to get in, but we’ve got more work to do. We’ll go back to work, we’ll celebrate this tonight. Players will be off tomorrow, coaches will be in, and we’ll get back to work and try to improve from this game."
Eagles have Super Bowl on their minds again
Most Eagles fans are just happy to get into the playoffs after the kind of season it has been. They had stretches of losing two straight and, most recently, three consecutive games, which caused a ton of drama within the city.
This team has gone through all kinds of insane storylines that dominated the national media, which would never have been a thing with teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars. From A.J. Brown's cryptic posts and responses to Jalen Hurts' multiple adverse reports. Even the positivity rabbit got a lot of hate when it first showed up.
No matter what the Eagles have done this season, it has been met with negativity and criticism, but they have stuck to their guns and kept finding ugly ways to win games. Most of that is because Sirianni has preached joy in the locker room, which has spread among guys like Saquon Barkley and Jordan Davis through the same messaging.
Read more: Adam Schefter dropped fantastic Jalen Carter, Lane Johnson news after Eagles win
Credit has to be given to the Eagles for fighting through it, and now they have a chance to silence all the critics with another incredible run for a Super Bowl title. It won't be as easy as last year, but the Eagles have faced adversity all season and will be ready.