PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Eagles' hopes of climbing up the NFC East standings and somehow making it to the playoffs may be slim, but they’re still in the hunt. What’s the best case scenario?
If they upset the Cardinals on Sunday — and if Washington loses to the Seahawks — and if the Giants fall to Cleveland — the Birds will control their own destiny heading to Week 16.
Worst case scenario: an Eagles loss or tie combined with a Washington win. That would eliminate the Birds.
Time may be running out, but head coach Doug Pederson is reminding his players they still have an outside chance.
"We need a little help, obviously, the next couple of weeks, but we’ve just got to take care of our business," he said Friday.
Pederson says he knows they have let too many games slip away this season.
"You want to be playing your best ball, I understand that, in the last month of the season, and giving yourself an opportunity, but you also have to look back and say, hey, there were some games this year when maybe we let our opponents take a game from us."
Some fans may want to see the Eagles lose out and get better draft positioning, but center Jason Kelce said Wednesday that is the wrong way to look at it.
"In football — this isn’t basketball — one draft pick isn’t going to make us a Super Bowl champion. It might be a big start to a Super Bowl championship, but it’s always gonna be about the team," he said.
He explained how he approaches the season.
"At all times in the NFL, the focus should be winning the football game," he said.
Kelce added that’s regardless of draft positioning or young player evaluation.
"You see a lot of losing teams sustain losses for a number of years when they have bad cultures."
He emphasized that’s not the culture in Philadelphia.
"The moment a team feels like you as a organization aren’t doing your job for me to go out there and win, all of a sudden, you’ve shown who you are. You don’t care about me or this team," Kelce said.
The Hurts factor
The team has been impressed by Jalen Hurts' leadership abilities, and Pederson says the rookie has taken charge when he steps in the huddle.
"Nothing really bothers him. Nothing really shakes him up. He just steps in and commands the huddle, and it’s something that we talk about," Pederson said.
Hurts was impressive in his first start last Sunday, and Pederson says the rookie is able to keep his emotions in check when he takes the field.
"He doesn’t get real high and he doesn’t get real low. He just kind of flatlines just a little bit, and that’s a good thing."
Pederson said Hurts has been helped by his experiences in college after playing at Oklahoma and Alabama and being in the national spotlight.
Washington sits atop the division at 6-7 and will play the Eagles at the Linc on the final Sunday of the season. The Eagles haven’t had four or more consecutive seasons of making the playoffs since the period of time between 2000 and 2004.