The Philadelphia Eagles need to win Sunday’s game against Washington and also must get help for the Eagles to make the playoffs.
That help will have to come from the Chicago Bears. The Bears need to beat the Vikings for the Eagles to claim the sixth and final spot in the NFL postseason.
The Bears are still playing for a chance to earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. They need help from the San Francisco 49ers to make that happen. The 49ers need to beat the Los Angeles Rams and the Bears would need to win to move up to No. 2.
The NFL has made sure that all three games will be played at 4:25 p.m., so no team has an advantage or disadvantage of knowing the results before it takes the field.
Bears coach Matt Nagy has already said he plans on playing his starters, knowing that it is a longshot that the 49ers will beat the Rams.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson and Nagy have a history together. They were assistants together with the Eagles under Andy Reid from 2009-12. They were together again with Reid on the staff of the Kansas City Chiefs when Pederson was the offensive coordinator from 2013-15 and Nagy the quarterbacks coach.
On Monday, Pederson was asked if he would call Nagy to wish him luck and maybe give him a little nudge to make sure he follows through and plays his starters all 60 minutes.
“I might,” said Pederson. “Maybe I’ve done that, we’ll have to see. Maybe I’ve already done that this morning.”
The Eagles-Redskins game and Bears-Vikings game were originally scheduled for 1 p.m.
With all three pivotal games at the same time, there could be a tendency for players to steal a glimpse at the in-stadium scoreboard.
“We can’t control what Washington puts on their scoreboard,” said Pederson. “You know what, I don’t think it matters, because quite frankly, our guys are still playing for a lot of reasons. There’s a lot of pride in the locker room. Both games are at the same time, and we just have to focus on Washington and get through that game.”
–WR Nelson Agholor led the Eagles with a season-high 116 yards Sunday, which marked the second-highest single-game total of his NFL career (141 yards on Dec. 3, 2017 at Seattle). Agholor caught an 83-yard TD pass from Nick Foles in the third quarter that gave the Eagles a 23-16 lead. The score marked the longest TD reception of both Agholor’s and Foles’ careers and was the longest passing TD by an Eagle since Michael Vick hooked up with DeSean Jackson for a 91-yard TD on Dec. 12, 2010 at Dallas.
–WR Alshon Jeffery finished the game with 82 receiving yards, including a season-long 52-yard reception in the third quarter. Jeffery is the first Eagle to record 50-plus-yard receptions in back-to-back games since Jeremy Maclin on Oct. 26, 2014 and Nov. 2, 2014, and it is the first time Jeffery has accomplished the feat in his career.
–RB Darren Sproles on Sunday produced his most receiving yards (76) in a single game since Sept. 25, 2016 vs. Pittsburgh (128 yards). Sproles caught a 37-yard TD pass from Nick Foles on fourth-and-2 that gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. It was the longest receiving TD by an Eagle on fourth down since Brian Dawkins’ 57-yard TD catch on a fake punt (thrown by Brian Mitchell) on Sept. 29, 2002 vs. Houston.
–DE Chris Long finished the game with a team-leading, season-high 2.0 sacks to bring his season total to 6.5, which are his most since 2013 with St. Louis (8.5).
–DT Fletcher Cox now has 10 career fumble recoveries, which are tied for the fourth-most in Eagles history, behind Mike Jarmoluk (12, 1949-55), Reggie White (11, 1985-92) and Vic Sears (11, 1941-53)…
–WR Mike Wallace was activate from injured reserve on Monday. Wallace broke his fibula in Week Two. He signed a one-year contract in the offseason and has yet to record a catch for his new team. Wallace becomes the second player to be activated from IR this season, joining tight end Richard Rodgers, who was activated on Nov. 16 and had his first catch of the season against the Texans on Sunday.
–CB De’Vante Bausby was released on Monday. Bausby was pressed into action with the Eagles suffering several injuries in the secondary. He played 61 defensive snaps against the New York Giants on Nov. 25 and on Dec. 9 against the Dallas Cowboys.
–CB Chandon Sullivan was released on Monday. Sullivan played 19, 26, and 42 defensive snaps in a three-week stretch from Nov. 11-Nov. 25. He was inactive in two of the team’s last three games.
