There's no sugarcoating it: The Philadelphia Eagles squad the Saints are set to face in Week 17 is the closest thing to a juggernaut the 2022 NFL season has to offer.
And they're also a juggernaut with motivation after a loss that dropped them to 13-2, and still leaves them a win shy of clinching the NFC East title and the top seed in the NFC. The Saints, meanwhile, need a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. That math is tough, as Deuce McAllister broke down on SportsTalk this week.
“You can give me every number out there and it probably doesn’t favor the Saints," McAllister said. "But here’s the thing. You will be playing the best team that you’ve played all year, and that’s on both sides of the football. … Now, you may not face QB1, Jalen [Hurts] is dealing with that shoulder, and then you won’t face the right tackle, Lane Johnson. But I can guarantee you, you will get their best effort just because they don’t want to limp into the playoffs.”
Listen to Deuce McAllister's full interview in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
The Saints do have some momentum on their side, though, coming off a 17-10 win over the Browns in frozen conditions that doubled as the team's first set of back-to-back wins in a difficult season. The Saints' only road to the playoffs remaining is to win out (at Eagles, vs Panthers) and hope the Bucs lose out (vs Panthers, at Falcons).
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And as McAllister mentioned above, the Eagles will also likely be starting backup QB Gardner Minshew and will be without star RT Lane Johnson, with both players dealing with injuries. But in the end, in which the Saints are currently 5.5-point underdogs feels like it means more than that. How close or far are the Saints to the upper echelon of the NFC? This game will be a clear indicator, either way.
"I know the ultimate goal for the Saints is to be able to get to the playoffs, and obviously that's what you want. But I want to see you go out and compete against this team," McCallister continued. "We can control what we can control, and that’s going out and winning on Sunday. And if it’s good enough to get you to the playoffs because some other stuff happens this week and next week, then so be it. But I want to see you go out and compete against this team, because right now they’re the No. 1 team in the NFC."
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