1. Week One, at Redskins: Any game in the NFC East is always going to be a battle. In order to win your division, you must win within your division and what’s a better way to open up your season against a divisional opponent and they knew they were going to get everything they could from Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins. It was close throughout the first three quarters and once the fourth quarter came, the Eagles pulled away and scored the game’s final 11 points to win, 30-17 behind a great effort from Carson Wentz.
2. Week Three, vs NY Giants– They were finally back in South Philly after opening the season up on the road. It was rivalry week and the New York Giants were in town in need of a victory. Whenever these two teams battle, it’s always close and it comes down to the final quarter and the team with the final possession is usually the team that wins the game. The Eagles defense showed how improved they were shutting down the Giants offense through the first three quarters, then came the fourth and the Giants offense scored 24 points to get themselves back into the football game. It would end up coming down to the final possession and Wentz led the Eagles down the field, slightly outside of field goal range. Jake Elliot would then come on and kick a 61-yard field goal to win the game. Yes, you read that correctly.
3. Week Six, at Carolina– The Eagles entered this Thursday night battle winners of three in a row and they were getting to battle a Panthers team who was also on a winning streak of their own. This was also the first meeting between Carson Wentz and Cam Newton, two quarterbacks who were each selected first overall in their draft classes. Wentz continued his strong play tossing three more touchdown passes and the Eagles defense intercepted Cam three times. With the win, the Eagles were 5-1 and on top of the NFC with the best record in the conference. This was the game that made me a firm believer in the Eagles.
4. Week Nine, vs Denver– Six wins in a row and counting, that’s where the Eagles stood coming into the game against the Denver Broncos at home for an early November showdown. Despite the struggles of the Broncos, they were still one of the elite defenses in the league and this would be a true test for this Eagles offense. Good defense, no problem. The first half of the game was in favor of the Eagles. You name it, they did it. Wentz continued to impress and the Eagles put up 51 points on a Von Miller led defense of the Denver Broncos and they headed into their bye week at 8-1, the best record in the NFL.
5. Week 13, at Seattle– It was time for a Sunday night showdown in the Pacific Northwest against a Seattle Seahawks team looking to keep themselves in the hunt for the playoffs. The Eagles were looking to extend their winning streak to double digits and a win would clinch the NFC East for the first time since 2013. Things didn’t go as planned for the Eagles in this one. Their offense couldn’t get anything going, the defense had a tough time containing Russell Wilson and the Seahawks were just a better team overall than the Eagles on this night. This was the Eagles first loss since week two when they played the Kansas City Chiefs and that was way back in September.
6. Week 14, at LA Rams– This was one of the more intriguing match-ups on the NFL schedule because this was the first ever game between Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, two young quarterbacks who were selected first and second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. Doug Pederson decided to keep the team on the West Coast for the week so the team could get acclimated to the time change and I’ve always been a fan of that idea, then again, who wouldn’t want to spend the entire week in California? Carson Wentz would set the franchise record for touchdown passes in a single season with 33 and he continued to add to his MVP-season. The Eagles did win this game in a shootout, 43-35 and this helped them lock up the NFC East division title for the first time in four seasons, but this was a bittersweet game as the front-runner for the league MVP in Wentz left this game with a knee injury and the next day, it was reported as a torn ACL.
7. Divisional Round, vs Atlanta– Name a time when you all have heard of a number one seed entering their playoff game as the underdog. It’s so uncommon, but that was the case in this game as the top-seeded Eagles were set to face the only team from last season’s NFC Playoffs, the Atlanta Falcons and the Eagles looked flat in the first half of the game. Matt Ryan had all day to throw the football, Freeman was getting yards in the ground game against one of the best run defenses in the league and the Eagles were struggling to rush the passer. In the second half, everything turned around and we saw a completely different team. Foles was sharp from the pocket, the running game got it going and the Eagles defense stepped up when they needed too and held one of the best offenses in the NFL to just ten points and they had to grind this game out for the win. The Eagles were conference championship bound for the first time since 2009.
8. NFC Championship, vs Vikings– This was the matchup that everybody wanted to see, the top two seeds in the NFC facing each other in the NFC Championship game to see who would represent the conference in the Super Bowl. The Vikings got it all started with a touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph for the early score. After that, it was all Eagles and I felt them getting off to a fast start in this one was key for them and they piled it up on Minnesota and never looked back. Nick Foles was sharp throughout the game completing 26 of his 33 pass attempts, 352 yards passing and three touchdown passes. The defense picked off Case Keenum two times and the Eagles went on to seal the deal by scoring 31 unanswered points to advance to their third Super Bowl in franchise history.
