Categories: NFLSports

3 things to watch for as the Eagles try to play spoilers in Baltimore

The Eagles have less than a 1 percent chance of making the playoffs.

They need 10 different specific scenarios to play out, along with winning their final three games to make the postseason at 8-8.

Sitting at 5-8 and heading to Baltimore for their final road game of the season, the Eagles know their season is pretty much over from a competition standpoint. But there is still a lot to play for. The team doesn’t hold it’s own draft pick so there’s no reason to tank. Might as well try and return to winning ways.

Here are three things we’d like to see in Sunday’s 1 p.m. game on Fox:

Back on the WentzWagon?

After a stretch of truly dreadful play and — dare we say — regression, Carson Wentzlooked like his old self in last week’s loss to the Redskins, posting yet another 300 yard game. As the season nears its conclusion, there is a lot of wear and tear from Wentz’ reps. He’s thrown the fifth most passes in the NFL so far.

“I’d love to manage that a little bit more for him,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “I think it’s putting him in a tough situation.”

With Ryan Mathews back, but Wendell Smallwood and Darren Sproles out, running the ball will be tough. Especially against the Ravens’ tough run defense.

“I would love to be able to manage it and lean on that offensive line more with the run game,” the coach said. “Obviously, we’re going against a tough run defense this week, and yet we still have to be patient with that to help our quarterback.”

Figuring out Flacco

Joe Flacco has, more or less, had a Joe Flacco kind of season with 17 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and just over 3,500 yards thus far.

Going up against an Eagles defensive secondary that has been torn apart by the likes of Kirk Cousins, Andy Dalton and Aaron Rodgers in recent weeks, Flaccowill have the opportunity to move the ball Sunday.

“He’s really a levelheaded quarterback. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “If you give him enough time, he can throw good, strong, accurate passes. Even though he’s coming off the knee injury, he’s still a threat to scramble. He’s sneaky that way. Still a threat to run, still a threat to scramble. A lot of respect for that guy. He’s won a Super Bowl and has made a lot of plays. The game’s never over his head I guess you’d say. I think I’ve heard it before, his nickname, Joe Cool. I think you can see that in the way he plays.”

Big picture

The most important thing during these next three games will be to see how certain players and unitsperform under the pressure of facing opponents who need victories more than the Eagles do.

The Ravens and next week’s opponent, the Giants, will be fighting hard to make the postseason — and Week 17’s game against Dallas could be important for seeding and homefield advantage.

Will Carson Wentz continue to improve? Will the pass rush end on a good note and find their way to the quarterback again? Which cornerbacks(if any) will show they belong in Philadelphia next season?

These questions and more will be answered over the next few weeks as Howie Roseman and company watch closely.

Metro Philadelphia

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