December 28, 2018
The Eagles can only control what they can control — so winning in Washington is the only thing we are predicting here. But scoreboard watching will be unavoidable as Philadelphia needs help from the Bears, and theoretically from the 49ers to pair a win with a playoff berth Sunday.
As we always do, here's our offerings of predictions for the final game of the regular season — and potentially the final game of the Eagles Super Bowl title defense:
TV: FOX | RADIO: 94.1 WIP
SPREAD: Eagles (-7.5) | TOTAL: 42.0 (via Bovada)
The Eagles are playing by far their best football of the season over the last few weeks, and can clinch a playoff berth with a win and a Vikings loss to the Bears, as you likely already know.
Meanwhile, after a 6-3 start to the season, the Redskins have completely fallen apart, losing five of their last six. They lost several offensive line starters, and are on their fourth quarterback. They've also faced intense criticism for claiming Reuben Foster, a player with two domestic violence arrests in the last year, after he was released by the 49ers.
After their loss to the Titans last Saturday, safety D.J. Swearinger harshly criticized the Redskins' coaching staff, something Swearinger has done repeatedly over the last two years. So the team cut him. If the Eagles finish at 9-7 and don't make the playoffs, this season should be viewed as a major disappointment. Because of terrible losses to the Titans and Panthers, among others, the Eagles find them in the position they are in, needing help from the Bears to get in over the Vikings.
All the team can do on Sunday is win their game and hope for the best. They should easily take care of their end of the bargain against this dumpster fire of a Redskins team.
I am calling for a big Eagles win Sunday. A rare blowout win (at least for this Eagles team) will come against a Washington team with really nothing to play for. Philly is playing its best football of the season and will be pulling out all the stops as Nick Foles potentially ends his storied career with the Birds.
I'll add a free prediction here. The Vikings will beat the Bears and it will all be for nothing. Enjoy the last week of meaningful football for eight months.
A fond farewell I hereby wish to Foles, Darren Sproles, Chris Long, Brandon Graham and all the other Eagles favorites playing their last game in Eagles green Sunday afternoon.
The Philadelphia Eagles 2018 season is going to come to an end on Sunday, but it won’t be the Birds’ fault. I think they’re going to take care of business against Washington and their quarterback who I still have never heard of, but unfortunately I think the Vikings also take care of business and beat the Bears. I don’t want that to be the case, it just feels like fate.
The Eagles are going to need some help for this game to actually mean anything. But as far as things are concerned on their end, I think they have shown enough fight down the stretch the earn the benefit of the doubt here. Never take a divisional game for granted, but I think they get it done.
The Redskins have nothing to play for, other than a better place in the draft. The Eagles seem to have found what they had late last year with Nick Foles. They're a dangerous team. It's too bad that they have to rely on help to make the playoffs, which I don't think that they'll get. The Eagles could have taken care of that on Oct. 7, when they lost to the Vikings, 23-21.
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