Here we go.
Four games to go in the regular season. A chance at the playoffs sitting there for the taking. The 2021 Eagles have a ton to play for and can far and away exceed preseason expectations with a strong finish.
Will they? Will the quarterback situation and long-term questions be answered over the next month?
Here are 10 bold predictions for the final stretch of the 2021 Eagles season.
1. We'll get to a full-blown quarterback controversy.
You know it's coming. If Jalen Hurts isn't healthy enough to play against a depleted Washington Football Team, Gardner Minshew will get the call. He'll win. He'll probably look good, even if he's not quite as efficient as when beating up on the lowly Jets. It won't matter. Minshew Mania will be wild. Last week, I'd guess around 65 percent of the WIP audience still wanted Hurts to remain the starter. That ratio will be 50-50 heading into the Giants game if Minshew starts and wins vs. Washington.
2. Jalen Hurts will lead the Eagles to the playoffs.
Luckily, it won't matter. The Eagles (smartly) seem committed to Hurts. The locker room belongs to Hurts. Part of the goal of this season was to give Hurts the year to evaluate what he is, what he can be and have a good sense of projecting his next two-to-three years forward as a dual-threat quarterback. That goal can't change if Minshew beats the Jets and half of a WFT roster. Hurts will lead the Eagles to a blowout win over the Giants and to the playoffs.
3. Nick Sirianni will earn Coach of the Year chatter.
No, Sirianni won't win the award. It's going to be Bill Belichick or Kliff Kinsburgy. But that doesn't mean the first-year head coach won't get some traction and consideration from voters. The Eagles were thought of as a dumpster fire at the end of last year's 4-11-1 season. Heck, Sirianni looked like a one-and-done coach in October. But the turnaround of this team is stark, and Sirianni's messaging (not to mention a complete and total offensive identity shift) has been impressive. It's also interesting how well Sirianni has fared vs. other first-year head coaches (3-1 record, 136-54 scoring margin). The Eagles over-under win total was 6.5. They are on track to surpass it with three weeks left in the season.
4. Miles Sanders will go the entire season without scoring a touchdown.
I find this stat fascinating. Sanders has had good moments, but also been banged up. The offense has done its damage without a big role from Sanders in the red zone. I don't see that changing, leading to an odd statistical anomaly on a team that runs so much.
5. Dallas Goedert's production will finally match the hype.
The Giants game wasn't a fluke. Here comes Goedert. With the wide receivers so suspect (including DeVonta Smith, who looked like he hit a rookie wall at the end of November), Goedert will be this offense's No. 1 target the rest of the way. By next summer, we'll be talking about putting him close to the elite group of tight ends in the league.
6. T.J. Edwards will quiet calls for drafting a linebacker in the first round of the 2022 draft.
I'm a T.J. Edwards fan. He's a playmaker, and has shown more athleticism than the Eagles may have realized he had. If progression continues (along with the upside of Davion Taylor), the idea of the Eagles using one of three first-round picks on a linebacker will slowly start to fade. Jerry Robinson will remain the last first-round linebacker taken by the Eagles.
7. Russell Wilson rumors won't go away.
Not even a Hurts-led playoff trip (and perhaps more) will stop quarterback rumors around the Eagles. This is who they are. It's the kind of executive Howie Roseman strives to be, especially at the quarterback position. And it should be. I like Hurts. I think he can win a lot in an Eagles uniform. He's cheap. He's a leader. But he hasn't done enough to warrant ignoring the quarterback market. The Eagles will still try to get Wilson, but it's a longshot to actually happen.
8. Fletcher Cox will play his last game in an Eagles uniform.
Javon Hargrave is the No. 1 defensive tackle on this team. Milton Williams has shown flashes as a rookie. I'd guess one or two of Philadelphia's three first rounders will be used on defensive lineman. Cox will be on a new team in 2022.
9. The Eagles will finish the season with a 9-8 record.
The Eagles will beat the Washington Football Team and New York Giants over the next two weeks. They will lose a close game to Washington in Week 17. The season will come down to the final game of the year vs. the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18. It'll be a win against a Cooper Rush-led Cowboys team with most big-name starters resting for the NFC East champs.
10. In the biggest upset of Wild Card weekend, the Eagles will defeat the banged-up Arizona Cardinals. Philadelphia will go on to lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by two scores in the NFC Divisional Round.
You heard it here first: The Eagles are going to win a playoff game. The matchup matters (I don't think they'd be able to hang with Tampa Bay, and it's hard to imagine this defense slowing down Aaron Rodgers), and the right matchup just might arrive in Arizona. The Cardinals have been poor at home, don't play well situationally, lost DeAndre Hopkins to injury, and have been susceptible to explosive runs. It's a game the Eagles can win. They will, on a Jake Elliott field goal with seconds to go.
