(Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
You read the headline correct. I’m as diehard an Eagles fan as the world has seen, and I want the Eagles to lose to the Rams on Sunday. I didn’t just wake up this morning with this random wish. I’ve been calculating the pros and cons of an Eagles victory against the Rams Sunday night all week. I specifically started weighing the pros and cons after it became clear Carson Wentz won’t be playing Sunday night. There are a lot of factors that go into this. Let’s start with why I would want the Eagles to win.
Theoretically speaking, the Eagles winning out can still possibly get them into the playoffs. Yes, they still have very slim playoff hopes, but things don’t look good. They don’t have the tie breaker with Carolina or Minnesota. Even if a miracle should occur and they do make the playoffs, this Eagles team aren’t going far. The crazy part is, I’d rather Foles not lead the Eagles to the playoffs.
I have zero faith that the Eagles can muster up a playoff run with the team they have. I appreciate Foles and what he did for the Eagles last season. However, there are a lot of people out there who believe the Eagles would have been better this year with Foles rather than Wentz. There are also people who believe that Foles is a better option than Wentz going forward. I can’t have normal, level-headed people actually believing that.
A loss to the Rams would quiet that crowd and put the Eagles at 6-8. At 6-8, the Eagles season is definitely over and Wentz can rest his back the rest of the year. He’ll have no pressure to come back and try to play through his injured back. At that point, there’s also no need to have Foles play either. He won’t be an Eagle next season because the Eagles can save a lot of money by releasing him in the off-season. What the Eagles need to do is see what they have in backup Nate Sudfeld.
If Sudfeld looks good the last two games, you either have a great trade chip or a long-term backup to Wentz. Losing two of three to end the season would also help the Eagles draft position. The Eagles won’t be picking low in the draft often with Wentz as the QB. They need to draft high and get a higher 2nd round pick now when they have the chance. The Eagles should have three picks in the top 50. For a team with a lot of holes and not a lot of cap room, it’s imperative the Eagles hit on those.
I am taking a long-term approach here. The long-term gain is more valuable than a one and done playoff appearance. So, in short, an Eagles loss let’s Carson rest, silences the pro-Foles crowd, improves the Eagles draft position, and lets you see what you have in Sudfeld. It’s all about the big picture and not just the present.
