ClutchPoints
Sitting at 9-5, the Philadelphia Eagles are a virtual lock to make the playoffs.
After waxing the Las Vegas Raiders to a degree not seen since the 1960s, with the Birds putting up 31 points on Kenny Pickett and company while holding them to 75 total offensive yards, the Eagles have over a 99 percent chance of winning the NFC East, according to NFL.com. If they win in Week 16, they get in. If they win in Week 17, they get in. If they win in Week 18, they get in.
And if they lose out down the stretch? Well, the Eagles can still make the playoffs if the Cowboys don’t win out, as any loss or even another tie would result in Philadelphia becoming the first team since 2004 to win the division back-to-back.
On paper, that’s a pretty darn good place for a team that has been up-and-down in 2025 to be in, but even if the Eagles answered a number of questions against arguably the worst team in football in Week 15, that doesn’t mean they will hold up against the scrutiny of a more impressive foe. No, with three weeks left to play in the 2025 NFL season, there’s a chance things break really unfavorably for Philadelphia, especially if they start to skid down the stretch.
After facing off in the NFC Championship game last season, the Eagles and Commanders find themselves in very different spots heading into Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season.
While the Eagles have struggled for drives, quarters, games, and even months so far this season, they are still sitting pretty at 9-5, whereas the Commanders have largely been without Jayden Daniels in his second professional season, going 4-10 with Marcus Mariota splitting time under center with the former No. 2 overall pick.
The Commanders rank 24th in points scored, 26th in points allowed, and have struggled pretty much across the board, with their passing offense, passing defense, and rushing defense all ranking 24th or worse league-wide.
Heading into Week 16, the Eagles are heavy favorites to win their first matchup of the season against the Commanders, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a win, as fans learned all too well in Week 6 against the New York Giants. Even if they are largely a bad team, one that just placed Daniels on season-ending IR no less, the Commanders are a very good rushing team, ranking fourth league-wide with 1,919 yards on the ground.
What happened on Black Friday when the Eagles faced off against another top-5 rushing offense? They got smoked on the ground to a degree very rarely seen during the Vic Fangio era, with Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, and company getting dominated for 281 yards on the ground.
Should the Eagles take down the Commanders? Yes, and if they play like they did against the Raiders, they likely will, but if the Commanders can control the clock and chains...
