6 key offensive adjustments the Eagles have to make entering the NFC Divisional Round

6 key offensive adjustments the Eagles have to make entering the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs

The NFL regular season is a wrap and Philadelphia is the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC after a 22-16 win over the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 18.

The bye week is a reward for regular season success that allows the No. 1 overall seed to regroup, while also getting much-needed rest and rehabilitation for key starters on both sides of the football.

The postseason is also about conforming, and we’re looking at six key adjustments Philadelphia must make entering the divisional round.

 

Eagles vs. Buccaneers: Can Philadelphia upset Tamp Bay in the wild card round?

#Eagles vs. #Buccaneers: Can Philadelphia upset Tamp Bay? #PHIvsTB #TBvsPHI #FlyEaglesFly#Bucs

The time for talking is over and the Eagles are a little under five hours from kicking off a wild card playoff game against the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.

The weather could be playing a factor on Sunday, with torrential rain passing through in the morning, and almost 30-MPH winds circulating at game time.

The Eagles averaged a league-leading 159.7 rushing yards per game, and they’ll have both Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard available for Tampa’s top-ranked rush defense.

The Buccaneers ruled out wide receiver Cyril Grayson (hamstring) and running back Ronald Jones (ankle) for Sunday’s game.

Tampa is already without Chris Godwin (ACL) and Antonio Brown (release) and Grayson had a huge game in the season finale, and they also listed three players as questionable as well, as cornerback Carlton Davis was added to the injury report on Friday with a back injury. Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting is questionable with a hamstring injury. He was limited all week in practice. Wide receiver Justin Watson (quadriceps) is also questionable, but he was a full participant in Friday’s practice.

The Bucs have running back Giovani Bernard, linebacker Lavonte David, but will be without running back Leonard Fournette, who accounted for 127-yards and 2 touchdowns in Tampa’s Week 6 win at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Week 6 loss was the beginning of an offensive shift for Philadelphia after fans and experts were critical of Sanders logging just one carry in the first half of that loss. Sirianni started his shift towards a run-first philosophy in the loss to the Raiders and the rest is history after the Eagles roared into Detroit and nearly dropped 250-rushing yards (236) on the Lions.

Philadelphia’s momentum and confidence won’t stop there, as this is a team that battled with Tampa in Week 6 without Dallas Goedert, Lane Johnson and had to flip Jordan Mailata from left to right tackle.

Tampa’s weapons aren’t what they were earlier in the season and Jonathan Gannon’s biggest dilemma will be how he approaches containing star tight end Rob Gronkowski in the passing game.

Look for the Eagles to force Tom Brady and company into a contest where they are forced to take the underneath routes, play slow, plodding football, while Gannon plays a two-high look over the top that can prevent any huge plays.

This is a confident Philadelphia, filled with several guys who’ve played in important playoff games and if the Birds can withstand Tampa’s early punch, Sunday could provide the scenario for a dream upset, where Jalen Hurts outplays a legend.

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6 key offensive adjustments the Eagles have to make entering the playoffs

Using Jet motion, Fly motion, and getting athletes on the move is among 6 adjustments the #Philadelphia #Eagles offense must make entering the #SuperWildCard round of #NFC playoffs

The Eagles are headed to the playoffs just one year after a disappointing 4-12 season that saw Carson Wentz traded and Doug Pederson fired.

Philadelphia will enter the postseason with a quarterback that’s started 19 total games, a head coach and defensive coordinator finishing their first season in leadership positions, and a matchup with defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers.

All teams make adjustments entering the postseason and no team in the tournament will need to make more than the Eagles.

Here are six postseason adjustments the Birds need to make.

Eagles activate 11 players from the Reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of wild card matchup vs. Bucs

#Philadelphia #Eagles activate 11 players from the Reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of wild card matchup vs. #Buccaneers #TBvsPHI #PHIvsTB #BUCS

The Eagles are getting reinforcements back for Sunday’s postseason matchup against the Buccaneers on FOX.

Veteran linebacker Genard Avery, star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, safety Marcus Epps, tight end Dallas Goedert, right guard Nate Herbig, running back Jordan Howard, star center Jason Kelce, slot cornerback Avonte Maddox, safety Rodney McLeod, running back Boston Scott, linebacker Alex Singleton, and reserve tight end Jack Stoll were all activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Jason Kelce came off the list over the weekend to keep his consecutive games played streak going.

Here are four takeaways from the moves.

2022 NFL wild-card weekend schedule: Times, dates, matchups for opening round of postseason

The #NFL #SuperWildCard Weekend schedule has been announced and #FlyEaglesFly will match up with the #Buccaneers on Sunday in their typical #NFC slot on #FOX

The NFL’s wild-card weekend is set and although the Eagles knew their opponent, the team now has a date and time for this huge matchup.

The NFL just announced the entire wild card weekend schedule and Philadelphia will match up with Tampa Bay on Sunday, January 16, at 1:00 p.m. EST, on FOX.

Here’s the entire schedule for the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend schedule.

Ranking Eagles’ potential wild-card opponents, from easiest to toughest

Ranking #Philadelphia #Eagles’ potential #NFC wild-card opponents, from easiest to toughest

The Eagles clinched a playoff berth in Nick Sirianni’s first season as head coach, and as the team works to handle a COVID-19 outbreak, they’ll also prepare for a Week 18 clash with the Cowboys.

The league moved the game to Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field, airing the heated rivalry on both ESPN and ABC.

The matchup could be meaningless from Philadelphia’s standpoint, while Mike McCarthy indicated that his team would play to win, with the opportunity to still nab the No. 2 seed with a win dangling in the balance.

The Eagles are in the postseason and depending on various matchups from around the league this weekend, they could face four teams in the wild card round and we’ve ranked them from easiest to toughest.

NFL playoff picture: Eagles clinch postseason berth after Packers win over Vikings

#NFL playoff picture: The 9-7 #Eagles are headed to the tournament after clinching a #postseason berth with the #Packers 37-10 win over #Vikings

The Eagles are returning to the playoffs after the Green Bay Packers dominated the Minnesota Vikings, who played without quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Philadelphia entered Sunday needing a win over Washington, and then several scenarios that saw either a San Francisco win over the Texans, a Saints loss to the Panthers, and or, a Vikings loss to the Packers.

The Eagles took care of business, but New Orleans held onto hope after they knocked off the Panthers to keep their hopes alive.

For Philadelphia, Sunday’s victory by San Francisco eliminated a potential three-way tie between San Francisco, New Orleans, and the Eagles.

Such a tie-breaker scenario would have provided the 49ers and Saints the postseason advantage over the Eagles based on their strength of schedule.

With Philadelphia now in the postseason, here’s how Week 18 will impact playoff seeding and we’ll also look at potential opponents.