The Playoffs

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The Playoffs

Posted: January 10th, 2024 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

Marty Schottenheimer is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. He was a head coach for 21 seasons. He won 200 games and finished with a career winning percentage of .613. Tom Coughlin coached for 20 years. He won 170 games and had a career winning percentage of .531. Why is Schottenheimer the guy no coach wants to be compared to?

He was 5-13 in the postseason and never got to the Super Bowl. Coughlin was 12-7 in the postseason and won two Super Bowls. Coughlin lost double-digit games six times in his career. Schottenheimer only did that once. His teams were consistent. But he couldn’t get them to peak in January.

The playoffs are strange. Crazy things happen and alter football history. Scott Norwood’s kick at the end of Super Bowl XXV went wide right. Buffalo lost that game and the next three SBs as well. If that kick goes in, who knows what might happen. The Vikings went 15-1 in 1998 and had one of the greatest offenses of all time. They lost to the Falcons in the playoffs and didn’t even reach the Super Bowl.

The Giants went 10-6 back in 2007, hardly anything compelling. They won three road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl. Then they upset the undefeated Patriots in an all-time shocker.

Can this Eagles team snap out of its funk and pull off a run like that? Can they make some noise?

The 2008 Eagles went 9-6-1. They didn’t secure a playoff berth until the late afternoon of the final week of the regular season. That team was a couple of plays away from going to the Super Bowl. Flawed teams can have postseason success. They need a few things.

Good QB

Jalen Hurts is a talented QB and the Eagles can win any game where he plays well. The problem is that Hurts was erratic this year. He turned the ball over too much and didn’t always run the offense smoothly. If Hurts protects the ball and makes plays, the offense will be fine. If he forces the ball downfield, there will be issues. Aggressive is good. Careless is not.

Playmakers

The Eagles do have playmakers. We’re just not sure who is going to be healthy right now. D’Andre Swift will be back. Dallas Goedert is healthy. AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith are the key guys. Hurts needs them healthy for the offense to be at its best. It sounded like DeVonta had a chance to play last week, but the Eagles were cautious. AJ is the real mystery. If he just banged up his knee, a week off might be all he needs.

Darius Slay and Reed Blankenship are the only two playmakers on defense, but they have limits. They combined for 5 INTs this year, hardly a compelling figure. Those guys do have the ability to make impact plays. They just didn’t do it with any consistency this year.

DL

The Eagles have good pass rushers, at least in theory. Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Fletcher Cox, Jalen Carter and Brandon Graham can all get to the QB. The problem is that they’ve been missing in recent weeks. Maybe they’re worn down. We know the coaches have had them dropping into coverage too much recently. The run defense was great for half the year, but has become a problem down the stretch. If this group can come alive and recapture their midseason form, the Eagles defense will look a whole lot better. If not, this could be a one and done January.

Good Coaching

Another category that is hard to answer. 6 weeks ago, Nick Sirianni was flying high and had a sterling reputation. How times have changed. Now there are lots of discussions from fans and the media about whether he should be fired. Yikes.

This game is critical for Sirianni and his staff. A good showing will quiet some of his critics. A bad performance will put him under intense pressure. I’m curious to see how the coaches respond to this situation. Will they be desperate or will this bring out the best in them?

*****

Playoff football affects teams in different ways. Some teams come alive. They play with a sense of urgency. The situation gives them a kind of clarity and they play focused, high level football.

Other teams shrink in the moment.

I have no idea what to expect from the Eagles. Last week I bought into all the talk of the team having a different vibe. Things were going to be different. Then they played like crap against the Giants. I won’t try to psychoanalyze the team this time around.

I do expect the offense to play well, assuming the playmakers are back. If the Eagles are missing AJ and/or DeVonta, Monday could be a long night. The defense is the real mystery. They have struggled mightily in recent weeks. This group must come together and play much better football.

This team has talent.

But it also has flaws.

The playoffs will make one of those things really stand out.

Let’s hope it’s the talent.

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