Bleeding Green Nation
The hierarchy of the NFC is taking shape as we enter the 2024 season’s stretch drive.
There’s something comforting about watching an entire slate of Sunday NFL games warm in the knowledge that the Eagles took care of business in a huge divisional match-up a few nights before.
No stress. No queasiness in the pit of your stomach. An opportunity to watch some of the other teams around the league and see how they compare to the Birds.
The Eagles are sitting pretty right now, and when you look around the NFC, it’s obvious they are a cut above everyone else in the conference except for Detroit. After watching much of what went down in Week 11, here are 10 random thoughts on the NFC with seven weeks left in the regular season.
I’d like to think the Eagles can go toe-to-toe with Ben Johnson’s offense, but even with all the improvements we’ve seen from Vic Fangio’s unit, Jared Goff and the Lions look like a runaway locomotive. Their 52-6 win over the pathetic Jaguars set franchise records for margin of victory (46), total net yards (644) and total first downs (38) in a game. They are the third team in the Super Bowl era to have three wins of 35 or more points in their first 10 games. Their starters scored touchdowns on all seven of their possessions. The numbers are insane.
They’ve beaten some quality teams (Rams, Cardinals, Seahawks, Vikings, Texans and Packers) and also handled potential trap games with ease (Jags & Titans) and dominated an early statement game against the Cowboys, 47-9. They have the look. They won’t lose in the playoffs in Detroit, so the Eagles better hope they keep winning and Detroit stumbles at some point over the last two months of the season to get them at home in the postseason.
Kliff Kingsbury and Jayden Daniels’ offense looked nothing like it had through the first seven games of the season on Thursday night and, after starting the season 7-2, have lost two in a row. If you consider they would have lost the Bears game were it not for the miracle Hail Mary, they should be 6-5.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Washington, and Daniels is no doubt a star in the making, but he’s been battling a bruised rib cage, which could account for some of the drop-off in production, and it’s been noted Kingsbury’s offenses have historically swooned in the second half. It’s still a two-team race in the NFC East, but we could be watching a bit of a fade from an improved Commanders team as they learn what it takes to win with their rookie QB.
This is what a Super Bowl loser hangover looks like.
Running back Christian McCaffrey missed the first half of the season with an Achilles injury, an ailment he and the team...
