The Eagles Made the Right Decision Resting Their Starters

Going into the final week of the NFL season, the stakes were clear for the Philadelphia Eagles.

With a win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday and a Chicago Bears loss, the Eagles would have moved up to the 2 seed in the NFC and host the 9-7-1 Green Bay Packers, who have looked rough to close the regular season out. With a loss, the Birds would host the 12-5 San Francisco 49ers.

A backup-filled Philadelphia lineup was unable to score in the first quarter and went on to score just 17 in the game. The defense looked good early with the backups, but they could only hold on for so long, giving up a 17-10 lead in the fourth to fall 24-17.

To make matters worse, the Bears ended up losing their game against the already eliminated Lions despite going full strength and not resting anybody.

Philadelphia ends up with the 3 seed and will play San Francisco when the chance to play Green Bay was right there.

The Eagles still made the right decision.

Resting the starters and giving the team a chance to breathe and stay healthy going into the playoffs is the right move. Had Chicago won, there would be no complaints by the Philadelphia fans as they’d be locked into the 3 seed, but because Sirianni stuck to his plan, fans have issues with it.

The Eagles were never playing for the 2 seed. They are playing for a Super Bowl run, and that first and foremost comes with health.

“You go through your process, you make what you think it the best decision for the football team and that’s what we did,” Sirianni said postgame. “I knew this was an outcome, that these things could happen. Like I said to you guys, one thing I could guarantee was giving them rest. I couldn’t guarantee anything else. And us being healthy and going into the playoffs healthy, is a big deal for us. That’s served us well in the past. So, again, I know there will be debate on that. I have to do what I think is best for the football team moving forward. And that’s what I did.”

What if Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, or DeVonta Smith got hurt? What if Jalen Carter went down with a torn ACL and would miss the whole postseason? What if Cooper DeJean went down, and the secondary would be exposed? There are too many dangerous scenarios that could have played out had the Eagles gone with the starters in Week 18.

Last season, Philadelphia chose to rest Saquon in week 18 when he had the chance to break the all-time rushing record. How did that work out?

Sirianni made the right decision, and now the Philadelphia Eagles are healthy, locked, loaded, and ready to push forward for a potential consecutive Super Bowl run.

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