PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles are coming off an emotional and hard-fought win over the Baltimore Ravens, and they should have an equally emotional and hard-fought game next Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Technically, the Eagles don't have a bye this week, although they are playing the 3-9 Carolina Panthers, a week before they face the Steelers, the AFC North leaders with a 9-3 record.
So this could be the ultimate trap game. After all, the Eagles are 10-2, on an eight-game winning streak, and they can clinch a playoff spot with a win and losses by two other teams.
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The Eagles have the NFL's rushing leader in Saquon Barkley, who's on pace to break Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set 40 years ago. Barkley, who averages 125 rushing yards per game, is also 109 yards away from breaking the Eagles' single-season rushing mark of 1,607 yards set by LeSean McCoy in 2013.
And oh by the way, the Panthers have the NFL's worst rushing defense, allowing 167 yards per game.
So it would be easy to look past the Panthers and start focusing on the Steelers.
But Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said that's not happening. He said the players eagerly passed up "Victory Monday" in order to get some work in.
"I think that would be malpractice by us as coaches and as players if we were up for some games, but not up for some games," Sirianni said. "If you take anybody lightly in this league, it will humble you fast ... Our job each and every week is to be focused on the job at hand, and lock in every single week."
Besides, look past the Panthers at your own peril. They're 2-3 in their last five games. Their last two games were a 3-point loss to two-time defending Super Bowl champ Kansas City Chiefs and a 3-point overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With that said, the Eagles are favored by 12.5 points, according to BetMGM. So we decided to pick against the spread this week to make things interesting.
Here is how we see the game going:
Our prognosticators are Martin Frank (Eagles beat writer/columnist, Delawareonline.com), Greg Giesen (sports strategist, Delawareonline.com), Tom McGurk (sports editor, Courierpostonline.com), Tom Moore (sports columnist, Phillyburbs.com), Bob Jordan (sports editor, app.com), Bert Bainbridge (sports betting analyst & columnist, Northjersey.com), Tom Haines (Pennsylvania state planning), Brad Myers (high school sports writer, Delawareonline.com), Kevin Tresolini, (college sports reporter, Delawareonline.com), Michelle Ganassi (audience director & die-hard Steelers fan, Delawareonline.com), Shane Brennan (New Castle County reporter, Delawareonline.com), Tom Rimback (sports writer, Courierpostonline.com), Brandon Holveck (high school sports reporter, Delawareonline.com)
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, is finally starting to play like a - well, not exactly a top pick - decent QB. In the five games back since he was benched, Young has thrown for 1,082 yards yards, 6 TDs and only 3 INTs for a passer rating of 83.5. But Young hasn't faced a defense like the Eagles' top-ranked unit.
The Eagles lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a lot. The Panthers lost to the Bucs by three. The transitive property of equality says that Carolina should beat Philly. The transitive property is wrong in sports.
Phillies great Mike Schmidt - you young bucks should google him - never said it better when asked about the Philly Media (us): "Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory, and the agony of reading about it the next day."
Watching the 2024 Eagles has a similar vibe. You see how terrible these Iggles are playing, then you look up and they've somehow dominated the game.
The Panthers have shown more fight since picking up their second win of the season in Week 9 against the Saints. They've taken the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs to the wire Week 12 and nearly pulled off the upset over the Bucs this past weekend in an overtime loss.
Make no mistake, this will be Carolina's toughest road test of the entire season against an Eagles team on a eight-game winning streak.
Bryce Young and the Panthers keep this one competitive for longer than people anticipate, but Jalen Hurts and Co. ultimately pull away and get back to their normal groove of scoring 28-plus points.
This is a perfect opportunity for a good team to do what good teams do: hammer bad teams. The Eagles need to keep it rolling by thrilling their fans on the way to a 35-7 halftime lead and cruise from there.
The Eagles haven't been great at Lincoln Financial Field this season, and the Panthers have picked up the pace with four straight competitive games in November. Look for the Birds to jump out to a big lead and take the foot off the gas. They'll get a worry-free W but the Panthers cover.
Eagles for the win, but the two-score point spread is too rich for me.
All eyes will be on Saquon Barkley, who will be inching toward the NFL rushing record. And I think he will be putting up big numbers. The Eagles will cover the spread and then some. And they should enjoy it as next week they have a tall order vs the Steelers
Should be an easy one in which the Eagles get to sit some starters in the fourth quarter, delaying Barkley's assault on the rushing record.
A week after Thanksgiving, the Eagles should still be feasting. The Panthers are not nearly good enough to thwart the Eagles and their momentum, ensuring the Birds will gobble up another emphatic win.
The Eagles beat the Baltimore Ravens without playing to their full capability on offense. The Panthers pose a greater threat this week than they would have a month ago, but the Eagles are the far superior team. They win and cover.
The Panthers have a chance at a backdoor cover late in this one, but I'm sticking with the Eagles to maintain this strong run of form. The Panthers have made strides, and Bryce Young has improved, but the Birds are one of the few teams with true home field advantage in the league.
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.