The Philadelphia Eagles had a golden opportunity to take the number two seed in the NFC playoffs, but they let it slip away.
In Week 18 action, the Eagles, without most of their starters in the game, fell to the Washington Commanders 24-17. Philly had a 17-10 lead at one point in the game, but two straight touchdowns by the Commanders were enough to put it away.
There's going to be a lot of second-guessing about Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni's benching the starters, but nothing can be done now. Philly has locked up the number three seed in the NFC and now knows who they will play in the Wild Card.
Eagles officially know their opponents for the NFC Wild Card
The Eagles' loss gave the Chicago Bears the number-two seed, even though the Bears also lost to the Detroit Lions. Earlier in the weekend, the Seattle Seahawks took down the San Francisco 49ers 13-3, and then the Los Angeles Rams took care of business against the Arizona Cardinals.
All those results mean the the third seed Eagles will face off against the sixth seed 49ers in the Wild Card. Philly will be hosting the playoff game.
The two teams haven't played each other since 2023, when the 49ers blew out the Eagles in the regular season. As for the last playoff game, the Eagles blew out the 49ers in the 2022 NFC Championship Game, only to lose the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.
There are going to be a lot of questions about the Eagles blowing the opportunity to play the Green Bay Packers, instead losing what should have been an easy win over the Commanders. Don't expect Sirianni to back down from his decision, as he believes in being healthy in the postseason.
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The Eagles are now set to play a tough 49ers team in the Wild Card, but will they regret not fighting to play the Packers?