The Philadelphia Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak on Christmas, surviving to beat the New York Giants, but it remains to be seen whether the reigning NFC champions have righted the ship.
Despite the 33-25 win, which propelled the Eagles to 11-4 and back atop the NFC East standings, following the Cowboys‘ Christmas Eve loss to the Miami Dolphins, star wide receiver DeVonta Smith isn’t satisfied.
“Eleven wins?” Smith told reporters following Monday’s game. “We’re not playing good football right now. As an offense, we’re not where we want to be. I’m not satisfied. Yeah, we got 11 wins. I’m not happy. It needs to be better for what I want to do, what everybody else in here wants to do, what we want to be. We’re nowhere near that so, no, I’m not happy.”
Though Smith scored a touchdown against New York, the Giants held the 25-year-old to just 4 catches for 79 yards.
It is easy to see what might have frustrated Smith after the Giants overcame a 20-3 halftime deficit to ultimately pull within one score, just one week after the Seattle Seahawks came from behind to upset the Eagles 20-17.
DeVonta Smith Confident Eagles Can Hit Their Stride
Being put in the position of needing to survive a scare against the Giants (5-10) — after the last month that Philadelphia has had — can’t inspire a lot of confidence inside the Eagles’ locker room, especially after being humiliated 42-19 at home by the San Francisco 49ers and then falling short against the Dallas Cowboys in an uninspired effort and having the Seahawks come back to deliver a shocking third consecutive loss.
However, with two games remaining in the regular season against the woebegone Arizona Cardinals and Giants, the stage could be set for the Eagles to steal the NFC East crown.
Smith said he understood that the clock was ticking if Philadelphia was going to make a return trip to the Super Bowl.
“I have all the confidence in the world that we can fix it,” Smith said. “I’m never going to doubt that we’re going to be able to fix it. But we’re running out of time. We’ve got two weeks. We’ve got two weeks to get it together.”
Eagles’ Hopes for No. 1 Seed Still Alive
Don’t call it a Santa Claus rally, but Christmas weekend couldn’t have gone much better for the Eagles’ playoff prospects.
Philadelphia previously clinched a postseason berth, but by virtue of the Dolphins knocking off the Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens lambasting the 49ers, the Eagles still have a decent chance of securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC, along with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a first-round bye.
Only the Jacksonville Jaguars face an easier closing stretch than the Eagles’ games against the Cardinals and Giants, and it wouldn’t take much help for Philadelphia to clinch the No. 1 seed if head coach Nick Sirianni’s team wins out.
If the 49ers lose just one of their two remaining games, against the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders, combined with the Eagles winning out, the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC would go through Philadelphia.
The Rams have won five of six, so there’s a chance that Week 18, when Los Angeles heads to San Francisco, could decide the top seed in the conference.
Matt Lombardo covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. A seasoned NFL reporter with over a decade of experience, he previously served as FanSided’s national NFL insider and host of “The Matt Lombardo Show” podcast. Past stops also include NJ.com and radio for 97.5 The Fanatic and 97.3 ESPN FM. More about Matt Lombardo
