5 playoff X-factors the Eagles will need to come up big

The wait is over. On Dec. 8, 2024, the Philadelphia Eagles clinched a playoff berth. That was just about a month ago, and since then, it’s kind of felt like we’ve all just been waiting for the postseason to start. But now we’re here and the Eagles play the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 4:30. 

It’s a rematch from the Week 1 game in Brazil, but both teams are wildly different from where they were four months ago. That’ll be covered later in the week. This is big-picture stuff. These are some of the things, players, and coaches that will decide how deep into the postseason the Eagles will go.

This is going to be a stressful month, but if the Eagles play their brand of winning football, there’s not a team in the NFL that can stop them. Most of the X-Factors that will lead to the Eagles winning a football game in February are things that they’ve been doing all season, and it starts with the future Offensive Player of the Year.

Saquon breaks a different record

All is not completely lost with Saquon Barkley breaking rushing records. In 1998, Terrell Davis set the full-season rushing record at 2,476 yards with the Denver Broncos when they won Super Bowl XXXIII. 

Saquon’s 2,005 yards mean he’s 472 yards away from breaking that record and he’ll have four games to do it. That means he’ll have to average 118 rushing yards per game. That’s a pregame warm-up for King Quads.

In the eight games this season where Saquon has hit at least 118, the Eagles have a record of 7-1, a point differential of plus-95 points, and an average winning margin of almost 12 points. When Saquon is allowed to take over a game, it means Bully Ball is working. When the Bully Ball is working, the Eagles are winning. It’s pretty straightforward.

Also, you know … if he breaks that record that means the Eagles are more than likely in the Super Bowl and that’s kind of like, the whole thing here.

Jalen Hurts: Get hot, stay hot

Jalen Hurts has been a roller coaster this season. He started the season turning the ball over a whole lot, then he hit a streak where he threw the ball 78 times, and 58 of them were caught for 782 yards, then it went downhill a little bit (people may or may not have been angry about that), then he crushed the Steelers, and then he got concussed, and here we are now.

Some games might be Saquon games, but at some point, Jalen’s going to need to get to the twisty/barrel roll/loop-de-loop parts on this roller coaster. He’s going to need one of those games where he smashes Dallas Goedert in the flat three times in a row, lasers to A.J. Brown on a slant for 20 yards, and then hits DeVonta Smith in the Honey Hole.

This postseason isn’t going to be the stress-free puppy parade like the 2022 postseason. He’s going to need the Wild Card game to be the beginning (or continuation, depending on how you look at it) of a powerhouse streak because he’s going to need to dazzle at some point.

As a shocker to absolutely nobody, the Eagles' playoff success will eventually depend on Jalen Hurts’ arm and decision-making. Luckily, he’s had two full weeks to recover from anything (besides his brain) that’s nagging him. All he has to do is get through the apparent labyrinth that is the concussion protocol.

Hey Special Teams: Figure it out

Man, oh man … it sure would’ve been cool if Jake Elliott would’ve made that 39-yard field goal. It would’ve been a big confidence boost for everyone. 

Instead, special teams coordinator Michael Clay will have a press conference later this week and say something like, ‘You know, it was 25 degrees out there. The wind was moving. Sometimes you miss. He made two other ones after that, so it’s not something we’re worried about. Jake’s been reliable for us and we have a lot of confidence in him.’

Well … The Eagles have at least three home games coming up. You earned those home games. Jake is going to have to kick the football in cold weather with wind. There’s a 100 percent chance that will happen at some point in the very near future. ‘He just misses those’ is not acceptable.

If they want to use that as the reason/excuse, then the simple, incredibly vague, and proper response is, ‘FIGURE IT OUT GUYS.’

Also, let’s chill with having Braden Mann being the kickoff guy. It was cool when it worked for the majority of the season, but it’s not working now. Luckily, Jake ended up taking over that responsibility after Braden’s last kick out of bounds. In the playoffs, it’s probably best if Braden doesn’t get the chance; Just give Jake the green light from the get-go. 

Other than the kicking, the special teams have been doing a pretty okay job. Braden’s punting has been somewhere between ‘fine’ and ‘good,’ the punt coverage has been solid, and kick and punt returns have been positive.

That’s all you can ask for with a special teams unit. Just do the job. Punt and tackle. Catch and return. Just kick the ball better (which is a big ask) and the special teams won’t hinder an otherwise juggernaut of a team. 

Let Vic Fangio cook

The Vic Fangio experience has been everything that you’d want it to be and more. Back in July, the general thought was that his defense would just raise the defense’s floor. It turns out that it’s actually the best thing ever and if the players are good, it’s more like what he was running in Chicago back in 2018.

This is a Super Bowl-winning defense. He just had Avonte Maddox, Eli Ricks, Kelee Ringo, and Thomas Booker hold the Giants (who are a professional football team by definition only) to 238 yards and 10 points. 

For the Eagles to keep this defense up, just do whatever Vic wants. If Vic wants a cup of coffee, get him a cup of coffee. If Vic wants your car, then give him your car. If Vic wants to drink some of your blood because it keeps his mind sharp, then you better fork it over pal.

He’s making every player perform near, if not at, their best. 

Vic likes to make his favorite defensive tackles play a disgusting number of snaps. That was always going to be Jalen Carter. 

The question was whether or not Jalen would actually be able to do that. In 2023, he started really fast and then his production petered off and he played a total of 563 defensive snaps.

This year, Jalen’s played 831 snaps (including a few games where he played 95% or more of the snaps) and he’s been crushing it all season, so much so that he’s a pro bowler in his second year. 

He has Zack Baun playing linebacker at an All-Pro level, a couple of rookie defensive backs locking the best wide receivers in the NFL down, and the defense as a whole has the sixth most takeaways, the second-fewest points allowed, and the fewest yards allowed (by 559 yards). 

The Fangio scheme is working at a phenomenal level, and Vic’s ability to game plan pre-game, and assess and adjust in-game is going to be pivotal in getting the Eagles deep in the postseason.

Stay healthy [knock on wood]

The Eagles have had a decent amount of injuries this season: Jalen Hurts, Lane Johnson, and DeVonta Smith each had a concussion, Jordan Mailata and A.J. Brown had hamstring things, Brandon Graham had a torn tricep, and Dallas Goedert had some knee and hamstring stuff. Brandon Graham’s injury was the only one that was season-ending. This team has been incredibly lucky with avoiding multiple long-term injuries to key players.

[knock on wood]

Luckily, the Eagles were able to sit their starters in Week 18. That turned out to be massive given everything else that happened over the weekend to other playoff-bound teams and specifically, with teams the Eagles have to play to make the Super Bowl. 

[knock on wood until you see bruises]

Green Bay’s deep threat/man coverage beating wide receiver Christian Watson went down with a non-contact knee injury that looks and sounds like it’ll be bad. On top of that, their quarterback Jordan Love left the game with some kind of elbow thing.

[knock on wood until your hands bleed]

Love’s situation doesn’t seem as bad as Watson’s, but it’s still not good for them, which means it’s equally as good for the Eagles.

[knock on wood until you see bone]

In 2022, the Eagles were very healthy going into the postseason while Jalen Hurts was similarly coming off a very dissimilar injury. As a whole, their roster is more talented than any other team’s, and keeping that roster intact will play a HUGE part in keeping this train rolling.

[Knock on wood until your bones are mush]