January 02, 2026
In their final regular season game, the Philadelphia Eagles will be resting starters against the Washington Commanders. But should they? There are plenty of pros and cons, so I figured we'd just document them here.
The Eagles will either be the 2 seed or the 3 seed in the playoffs. To earn the 2 seed, the Eagles would have to beat the Commanders and the Bears would have to lose to the Lions. If either of those things does not happen, they will be the 3 seed.
Let's first look at the Lions-Bears game...
Bears HC Ben Johnson has already said that they will be playing their starters. The Lions are eliminated from playoff contention, but HC Dan Campbell said earlier in the week that injured starters will play as long as there is no risk of long-term harm.
Dan Campbell talked about the whether or not the Lions will be playing injured starters against the Bears.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) December 29, 2025
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think if we’re sitting there borderline and the player — it could be hard or we think they’re setting themselves up for a long-term risk, then… pic.twitter.com/MAEAIJycRl
If you'll recall, the 2022 Lions were 8-8 heading into the final week of the season with nothing to play for, and they beat the Packers, eliminating Green Bay from the playoffs. In other words, Campbell has a history of playing the spoiler role. This will not be a matchup in which the Bears just walk all over the Lions' backups.
It's also perhaps worth noting that the Lions smoked the Bears 52-21 this season, though that was way back in Week 2.
Aaaand the Eagles-Commanders matchup...
Meanwhile, if the Eagles were to play their starters, they could pretty easily beat a 4-12 Commanders team that has long since been eliminated from the playoffs and will be missing its top two quarterbacks in Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota.
So what are the benefits of the 2 seed vs. the 3 seed?
Well, the 2 seed ensures that the Eagles would not have to play a road game until the NFC Championship Game, at the earliest. If both they and the Bears make it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, whichever team is the 2 seed would host that game.
The Eagles are 5-0 in home playoff games during the Nick Sirianni era. They are 0-2 on the road.
But also, whoever gets the 2 seed will also play a weaker opponent in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. The 2 seed plays the 7 seed, and the 7 seed is already locked. It will be the injury-devastated Packers, who have lost three straight games and are limping to the finish line.
The 3 seed will have to play either the Rams, arguably the most complete team in the NFC; or the red hot 49ers, who have won six straight games by an average margin of 14.3 points.
Getting the 2 seed is a very clear advantage.
The argument for playing starters is a little more straightforward than the reason to sit them. So let's do this in bullet point form:
• REST! (Duh)
The NFL season is a marathon, and every player who gets a reasonable amount of playing time is banged up in some way at this point in the season, even if they don't appear on the injury report. Getting a week of rest heading into the playoffs is a huge advantage.
But specifically to the Eagles, there are certain highly important players who can clearly use a week off. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens have not looked the same this season, as both players have battled through pain all season. Also, Lane Johnson will get yet another week of rest after suffering a Lisfranc injury way back on Nov. 16 against the Lions. He will have gotten almost two full months of recovery time by the time the Eagles play their Wild Card game.
And then on the defensive side of the ball, Jalen Carter has had a down season, partly because of shoulder issues. He got a three-game break while recovering from a shoulder procedure, and upon his return he tore up the Bills' good offensive line. Getting him another rest week before the playoffs can perhaps help him be the game-changing player he was in January and February a year ago.
• The Eagles could play starters, win, and then get the 3 seed anyway if the Bears win.
This is an obvious point, and one we already got to, but we'll list it in this section again anyway.
If the Eagles were currently the 2 seed and trying to avoid falling to the 3 seed, it would make a lot more sense for them to play starters and ensure their spot. That is why the Bears are playing their starters.
• The Eagles can probably beat the Commanders anyway.
To begin, Tanner McKee has looked the part of a future NFL starter in almost every opportunity he has gotten. He always looks prepared, and ready for his moments, even if they have all been low-leverage appearances, so far. The Eagles have good reason to trust that he can play well against an atrocious Commanders defense.
The Commanders should also be motivated to lose this game, in hopes of improving their draft position. The Commanders would pick seventh if the season ended today. Screenshot via Tankathon:
They cannot fall any further than seventh, but there are five different teams they can potentially leapfrog with a loss.
As we have seen in the past, Commanders owner Josh Harris — also the owner of the "process" Philadelphia 76ers — does not have any moral objection to tanking.
• The Eagles have a lot of success after bye weeks.
During the Nick Sirianni era, the Eagles are 5-0 during the regular season after a bye week. They were also the 1 seed in 2022, thus earning a bye week the first round of the playoffs. They then won their first playoff game in the Divisional Round. So, they're 6-0 after true bye weeks since 2021.
They have also rested starters Week 18 twice during the Nick Sirianni era. The first time was in 2021, when they were locked into the 7 seed. They got smoked in the Wild Card Round against the Tom Brady Buccaneers. That team just wasn't talented enough yet. The next time was in 2024, when, you know, they went on to win the Super Bowl.
• The one time they played starters when it was debatable, it was a disaster.
That was in 2023, when the Eagles were deep into their collapse. They played their starters against a trash Giants team, were getting their asses kicked, and then decided in-game to pull their starters after A.J. Brown got hurt. Brown would miss the Eagles' Wild Card Round loss to the Bucs on a day the offense could do nothing.
• The Eagles are a stellar road team.
In the "play starters section" we noted the Eagles' Sirianni-era home-away playoff records (5-0 at home, 0-2 on the road). The two playoff road losses were in 2021, when again, they just weren't that good yet; and in 2023, a game that put an exclamation point on their collapse.
But also during the Sirianni era, the Eagles are 29-12 (0.707) at home during the regular season. They are 30-13 (0.698) on the road. So, you know, a difference of 0.009. Can they go into Chicago and win a Divisional Round game on the road? Of course they can!
In my opinion, the argument to sit starters pretty clearly outweighs the argument to play them. I believe the Eagles are getting this one right.
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