The Eagles are heading to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, but their opponent for next Sunday afternoon's game remains up in the air. In the aftermath of the Eagles' Wild Card win over the Packers, here are my latest thoughts on the Birds…
Dallas Goedert finally had his signature Eagles moment
With the Eagles' passing offense looking increasingly inept, the Birds desperately needed to put some points on the board to balance out the dominant fashion in which their defense was playing. Late in the third quarter, a couple passes from Jalen Hurts to DeVonta Smith put them in a groove before the quarterback found tight end Dallas Goedert for a 24-yard touchdown.
That simple statement, however, does not do the "Angry Run" Goedert put on display justice.
With a bevy of stiff arms, Goedert had a mini "Beast Mode" moment, destroying Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine before scampering into the end zone and sending the Lincoln Financial Field crowd into a frenzy.
Get out of his way 🗣️
📺: #GBvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/RhJlsg1DEk— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2025
Enjoy the Shadow Realm, Carrington.
It's not a slight to say that Goedert's had a mixed bag of a career. He's a great talent and when he's on the field, he's one of the most efficient pass-catchers around. The issue is that he has not been able to be relied upon to be consistently out there healthy. He misses chunks of time annually. He played in a career-low 10 regular season games in 2024. He's been great at times, but he's never had that single moment that defined his time in midnight green until now.
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Looking at Spotrac, Goedert has a reasonable out in his contract following this season. Some Eagles fans have no doubt been thinking if the Birds could land star Penn State tight end Tyler Warren in the first round of this spring's NFL Draft as an eventual (or immediate…) replacement for Goedert. The health issues persist because of the physical style with which Goedert plays, but Sunday was a reminder of what he can be when he's actually suiting up.
Quinyon Mitchell is becoming a star cornerback quickly
The Eagles' defense was ferocious against Green Bay and forced quarterback Jordan Love to have one of the worst performances of his young, promising career. The Packers' receiver group was decimated by injuries, but the Eagles' defensive backs did everything in their power to help carry this team to a win, picking off Love three times.
Star rookie Quinyon Mitchell is rapidly establishing himself as one of the NFL's premier cornerbacks. He was a true shut-down guy against the Packers:
The Eagles defense limited Jordan Love to 3-of-11 passing for 58 yards & 3 INTs on passes of 10+ air yards (-14.6% CPOE).
Quinyon Mitchell was targeted 6 times as the nearest defender, allowing only 2 receptions for 10 yards & INT (1.6 yds avg separation).
Powered by @awscloud— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 13, 2025
On a garbage time Hail Mary heave, Mitchell finally got his first professional interception, too, a great way to cap off the first of what should be many big playoff performances from him.
What's the Eagles' best path to the Super Bowl?
Last week ahead of Wild Card Weekend, I wrote about the Eagles' path of least resistance to getting back to the Super Bowl. The Eagles beating the Packers was, duh, the first domino that needed to fall and that happened. The Sunday night game was super intriguing there, as I've harped on the Buccaneers specifically being a bad matchup for the Birds. Well, the Commanders doinked their way into a last-second win, sending Tampa Bay packing and seeing up a matchup between Washington and Detroit next Saturday night.
That's great news for the Eagles. Tampa Bay certainly wasn't one of the two most talented teams in the NFC playoffs, but they just play the Birds well. The Lions will be heavy favorites over the Commanders, but a miraculous Washington win could set the stage for the Eagles to host the NFC Championship Game against an NFC East foe they are more than capable of taking down. That's the dream for Eagles fans, especially with the way the Linc rocked during the 2017 and 2022 NFC title games.
The turnover battle decided the Eagles-Packers game
Oren Burks forced a fumble on the opening kickoff of Sunday's game, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. recovered it and the Eagles scored just a couple of plays later, giving them a super early 7-0 lead. They never looked back, leading the game for more than 58 total minutes:
The Packers trailed for 58:21 Sunday – their most time trailing since 2016 and their most in a playoff game this century.
(via @ESPNStatsInfo)— Jen Lada (@JenLada) January 13, 2025
The Birds lost the turnover battle against the Packers in Week 1 in Brazil, but were lucky enough to still prevail. Now, the turnover margin has increasingly been shifting the Eagles' way over the last month with timely interceptions and key punch-outs.
With an Eagles offense that was quite far from having their most cohesive day, the Eagles' defense routinely ending Green Bay drives prematurely made all the difference in the world in pulling off this double-digit victory.
Unwind for Vikings-Rams on Monday Night Football
There's something so relaxing for Eagles fans knowing that their team did their job already, their place in a home playoff game for next weekend is secure and now they get to watch two teams duke it out to see who will come to the Linc on short rest.
The Rams will face the Vikings in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup on Monday evening. Minnesota has had a fantastic 14-win season, but Los Angeles' quarterback-coach tandem brings Super Bowl-winning experience. It should honestly be a great game. Philadelphia can kick back, eat some popcorn, perhaps responsibly enjoy an adult beverage or two and soak that playoff magic all up.
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