Smart move for Eagles might be resting starters against Dallas Cowboys

One win.

That is all the Eagles need in the final three weeks to clinch the ultimate prize in the NFC: a first-round Bye Week in the playoffs and home field advantage throughout the playoffs up until the Super Bowl.

One win.

It doesn’t matter which one.

It doesn’t matter which team — they just need one win in the final three games.

For a team that is 13-1 following their win in Chicago it is a near guarantee that win will come and it is moreso a matter of when, not if.

Should they be strategic in how they get it?

With a primetime matchup against the Dallas Cowboys coming up on Christmas Eve it is fair to wonder if the Eagles best strategy would be to rest the starters as opposed to going all out against an opponent they might see in the playoffs.

If you remove the emotion from the situation it is hard to argue against showing nothing in terms of strategy against the Cowboys, giving the starters a week off and plan on getting that win in one of their final two games against either the New Orleans Saints or the New York Giants.

Think of it like an extra Bye Week — rest the starters now instead of forcing them to play on a short week in Dallas and then use the final two weeks to clinch another Bye Week.

Granted, the chances the Eagles will do it are slim. But for a franchise that has always been forward thinking in prioritizing player safety if it is fair to wonder if they should take advantage of an earned week off and use the remainder of the season after Dallas to clinch the No. 1 seed and get ready for what is looking like it will be a deep postseason run.

In the latest Go Birds! Pod, James Seltzer and Eliot Shorr-Parks debate the pros/cons of sitting the starters against Dallas and go over the Eagles’ win over the Chicago Bears.

https://www.audacy.com/94wip/sports/eagles/smart-move-for-eagles-might-be-resting-starters-vs-cowboys

Not a chance in hell this happens.  The game plan will be significantly different on offense anyway because they're not gonna call a game with Minshew the same way they would with Hurts.  

And it would be seen as extremely arrogant and disrespectful to the Saints/Giants if the Eagles rested starters and "assume" they'll just beat the Saints or Giants.  Play every game to win until you get that 1 win, then start resting.  If they somehow beat Dallas with Minshew, they should still play to beat the Saints...then rest starters in Week 18.