Well, maybe Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni did make the right call after all.
There were some concerns that Sirianni was being too conservative with the NFC’s No. 2 seed on the line, as he decided to rest the starters against the Washington Commanders in Week 18. The Eagles need a win and a Chicago Bears loss to the Detroit Lions to move up from the third seed to second.
Washington’s update from practice, though, suggests the Eagles might have a massive advantage over the Commanders. The Commanders did not have backup quarterback Marcus Mariota at practice for the second straight day due to an injury and is now doubtful in play against Philly, opening the door for third stringer Josh Johnson to make a second straight start.
Eagles might be able to beat the Commanders with their backups
Johnson stepped in for Mariota in the Week 16 29-18 loss to the Eagles after Mariota got hurt against Philly. Mariota was filling in for Jayden Daniels, who was shut down for the season after multiple injuries throughout the year.
The Eagles will mostly start backups and give starters like Jalen Hurts rest for the week to prepare for the playoffs. This is something Sirianni has done in four of his five years as the head coach for Philly.
There is now a belief that the Eagles can beat the Commanders even with backups. Eagles’ Week 18 starting quarterback Tanner McKee won his only start last year with the backups against the New York Giants in the 2024 season finale. The possibility is real.
Philly has bench talent who can show off their skills, including running back Tank Bigsby and wide receiver Darius Cooper. Eagles fans will be watching some of these backups, who could be trade bait, like McKee, or future starters on the team.
How hilarious would it be to see the Eagles take down the Commanders with backups and still get the number two seed? The fan base hopes to see that, but who knows how this game will turn out for them.
