Welcome to the second half of the Eagles season.
Call it A.W.
After Wentz.
It's still hard to imagine. It's the one unthinkable thing every Eagles fan feared. We all witnessed it Sunday night as the superstar MVP-caliber second year quarterback hobbled up the tunnel of the ancient L.A. Coliseum.
Torn ACL. Gone for the season. And the post-season.
This is now Nick Foles' team.
Again.
That is not necessarily a bad thing.
Don't get me wrong. The loss of Wentz is incalculable. But this is still a very good team. Certainly good enough to handle the lowly Giants Sunday in the Meadowlands.
Who would have thought that in Week 15 the Eagles and Giants would sport mirror images of each other, with the Eagles at 11-2 and the Giants a dismal 2-11 and having canned their coach and GM.
This one should be simple. Pound the Giants into submission early. The Giants are near the bottom, ranked No. 31 against the run.
But there is a problem with that. Things have changed in New York. An old Eagles nemesis, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, is in charge, after head coach Ben McAdoo was canned.
Everyone seems to think the Eagles' best recipe for success now that Wentz is gone is to rely on their formidable running game. Probably not a bad idea. Simply put, Foles is not Wentz. He does not read defenses as well. He does not have nearly the "escapability" as the Houdini-like Wentz.
Expect a big diet of LeGarrette Blount and in particular Jay Ajayi toting the rock.
But also expect defense to load up the box to shut down the Eagles running game and force Foles to beat them in their air.
He's certainly capable of doing that. In fact, as good as Wentz was, he still had the occasional blip where he would overthrow wide open receivers. Those are the throws the Eagles have to hope that Foles can make. Remember, this is a guy who once threw seven touchdown passes in a game against the Raiders.
Instead, this is likely going to be a smash-mouth, old style NFC East game.
But I still see the Eagles winning it.
They'll get enough on the ground and with Foles' arm, along with some key turnovers from their defense, which should make live miserable for Eli Manning. Then again, I'm not sure how Eli's year can get any more miserable.
Look for the Eagles to win, locking up a first-round bye in the playoffs and - with a Vikings' loss - maybe securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.
THE PICK: Make it Eagles 23, Giants 19. The Eagles defense should control this game, giving Nick Foles short fields to work with, and allowing LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi to pound away at the Giants. Don't be surprised if this one comes down to a field-goal contest.
LAST WEEK: Yes, I picked against the Birds last week. And I was almost right. No, I didn't expect Carson Wentz to go down. This is still a solid playoff team. But a Super Bowl squad? Only if Nick Foles plays like the guy who once threw 27 TD passes and only 2 interceptions for the Eagles, instead of the guy who looked lost at times while trying to lead the Rams. It's easy to forget that during the mourning for Wentz, it was Foles who led the Eagles to the two drives and Jake Elliott field goals that lifted them to a huge win. The Eagles got the win and lifted their NFL-best record to 11-2. The loss dropped me to 10-3.
GAME BY GAME:Chiefs 27, Eagles 20. (My Pick: Chiefs 33, Eagles 17)
Eagles 30, Redskins 17. (My Pick: Eagles 26, Redskins 13)
Eagles 27, Giants 24. (My Pick: Eagles 23, Giants 17)
Eagles 26, Chargers 24. (My Pick: Chargers 27, Eagles 17)
Eagles 34, Cardinals 7. (My Pick: Eagles 29, Cardinals 24)
Eagles 28, Panthers 23. (My Pick: Panthers 26, Eagles 17)
Eagles 34, Redskins 24. (My Pick: Eagles 31, Redskins 19)
Eagles 33, 49ers 10. (My Pick: Eagles 24, 49ers 10)
Eagles 51, Broncos 23 (My Pick: Eagles 23, Broncos 19)
Eagles 37, Cowboys 9 (My Pick: Eagles 29, Cowboys 17)
Eagles 31, Bears 3 (My Pick: Eagles 31, Bears 13)
Seahawks 24, Eagles 10 (My Pick: Seahawks 23, Eagles 17)
Eagles 43, Rams 35 (My Pick: Rams 33, Eagles 29)
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