Philadelphia Eagles: Mini miracle leads back to the playoffs

Everything fell into place for the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17. Their miracle push to the playoffs has many feeling like they are destined for a big run

Everything that needed to happen on Sunday in Week 17 for the Philadelphia Eagles to make the playoffs transpired. The Eagles handled their business with an impressive 24-0 victory in Washington. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears took down the Vikings in Minnesota to give the Eagles the final Wild Card spot in the NFC.

While the events that happened on Sunday wouldn’t constitute a miracle, it was the way the Eagles ended the season that builds the argument. Let’s go back to Week 14. The Eagles were just defeated by the Dallas Cowboys in an overtime thriller, dropping them to 6-7 on the season.

Adding fuel to the fire, it was determined after the game that quarterback Carson Wentz had a back injury that would sideline him for the rest of the season. Many people counted the Eagles out just hoping that things wouldn’t get any worse. But then they flipped a switch.

Reigning Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles was inserted as the starter as the Eagles went to Los Angeles to face the Rams — sound familiar? It was clear that the Eagles needed to win their final three games to have any chance at making the playoffs, but nobody in Philadelphia even had the playoffs on their minds anymore.

Foles and the Eagles were able to upset the double digit favorite Rams on a Sunday Night Football matchup. From there, the hope and belief started to come back to this team. Although, the next week, the Eagles would be hosting the AFC South-leading Texans.

That didn’t matter to Foles and the Eagles as they were able to win on the final play of the game with a field goal as time expired. Those two improbable victories brought the Eagles to the situation they were in on Sunday. A win and a Vikings loss would put them in the playoffs,. And, of course, it happened.

Nobody in their right mind thought the Eagles would win their final three games and be in the position they are in now. Next week, the Eagles head to Chicago to face the team that helped put them in the playoffs by beating Minnesota.

We all remember what Nick Foles did last year with this Eagles team in the playoffs. It would be highly unlikely if he had the same run that he did last year in guiding the team to a Super Bowl victory. But at this point, how can we count this team out? All we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride, no matter how long it might be.