Eagles Backups Set to Face Off Against Giants in Last Game of the Regular Season
Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith during the second half of last Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
If you decided to skip this game entirely, no one would blame you.
If you do decide to put it on and can’t name half of the players on the field, no one would blame you either.
Nothing. That’s what this game means to the Eagles. Absolutely nothing.
The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the New York Giants tomorrow at 1:00 at the Linc for the final regular season game of the 2024-2025 NFL season, in a game that head coach Nick Sirianni has already said he will be resting his starters. The Eagles are currently locked into the two-seed in the playoffs, and a win or loss on Sunday doesn’t change that in any way whatsoever, meaning that the main concern for the team right now is getting everybody into the playoffs as healthy and rested as possible. This is especially important considering this will be the Eagles’ 13th game in a row after having a very early bye all the way back in Week 5.
Beyond that, the Giants’ only incentive in this game is to lose. Being out of the playoffs for weeks now, the only thing New York cares about is draft positioning, and after their win last week over the Colts, they have moved from the first overall pick to the fourth. Another win could potentially push them even further back, so it is unlikely that the Giants players on the field tomorrow will actually be the best that the team has available to them.
Addressing the elephant in the room, Sirianni resting the starters does mean that Saquon Barkley will not get the opportunity to break Eric Dickerson‘s all-time single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards. His 2,005 yards this year put him at eighth all-time. With only 101 left to break the record, and going up against a team that he already rushed for 176 yards against in roughly three quarters in their first meeting, it seems like a virtual guarantee that if Barkley played tomorrow, the record would be his. While this would be such an incredible thing to see, sitting him is unfortunately the right call in this situation. If there is even a 1% chance that he could be hurt in this game you do not take that risk. The ultimate goal for this team is a Super Bowl, and without Barkley, that goal becomes infinitely harder to achieve. More than that, if he plays then you’ll need to have the offensive line out there protecting him as well, which could lead to more injuries to pivotal players. This decision by Sirianni, while a tough one to make, avoids all of that.
Jalen Hurts has still not been cleared from concussion protocol and was officially ruled out of Sunday’s game. While this does not matter as he would not be suiting up tomorrow anyway, it is something we will need to continue to monitor, as this has lingered much longer than fans would have liked, and the more he has to miss practice before the playoffs the more concerned you become as to whether or not he’ll be ready to play at all.
If you do decide to tune into this game though, it will be a good opportunity to assess a lot of the young talent the Eagles have on their roster. Practice reps and preseason games can only tell you so much, so getting to see some of these players get their first crack at a real NFL game could go a long way in determining who could be a contributor for this team at some point in the future.
One key player to look out for is quarterback Tanner McKee. After coming in for the injured Kenny Pickett last week, McKee was efficient and effective in his limited time in the game. If he plays well tomorrow, there is a chance that the Eagles front office will feel confident in him as the main backup to Jalen Hurts. This would allow them to shop Pickett and potentially get some draft capital back in return.
It is currently impossible to talk about matchups and potential players to look out for at this time because we just do not know who will be on the field for either team, but expect to see a lot of young guys with something to prove out there on Sunday.
If you are looking to watch a game tomorrow that actually is important to the Eagles, I would suggest watching the Commanders at Cowboys at 1:00 pm EST (CBS) or the Bears at Packers at the same time (FOX). With the Eagles locked into the two-seed, they will play the seventh seed, which could be either Washington or Green Bay. It is currently the Packers, but if they beat the Bears and the Commanders lose to the Cowboys then it would flip. Any other combination of wins and losses from these teams would mean that the seeding stays the same.
After tomorrow, the excitement and drama for the Eagles can really begin, but for now, let’s just enjoy the last stress-free football game we Eagles fans will see until next season.
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Bo Lynett
Bo has been a fan of Philly sports his whole life and has spent the entirety of his four years at Colgate University working to start a career in sports media. Double majoring in Economics and Film & Media Studies gave him the opportunity to study both the financial/ analytical and broadcasting/ production sides of the sports world. Outside of the classroom, he’s worked as a director and producer for Colgate’s athletic events streamed on ESPN+ and a writer for the Colgate Athletic Website. Through all of this, however, it was his love of Philly sports that drove him to this career.
