What the loss means for Eagles' playoff seeding
The loss to the Vikings locks the Eagles into the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs, meaning they'll host a game in the wild-card round.
What the loss means for Eagles' playoff seeding
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
There will be plenty of time to discuss just what happened to the Eagles in their 24-14 loss to the Vikings Tuesday night.
But, for now, let's break down what it means.
The Eagles are locked into the three-seed in the NFC. That means they'll host a game in the wild-card round. They can no longer earn a first-round bye. And also, they cannot lose any ground with a Week 17 loss.
In other words, don't expect any starters to play against the Cowboys.
As for who the Eagles will play in the first round, it comes down to three teams: the Giants, Packers or Bucs. One of those three will be traveling to the Linc.
The Packers are in with a win against the Bears. The Giants are in with a Packers loss and a win over the Redskins. And the Bucs are in with losses by both the Giants and Packers, plus a win against the Saints.
Game observations
* Michael Vick turned in his worst performance of the season. In the first half, he completed 13 of 21 passes for 128 yards, a touchdown and an interception. But his QB rating of 75.1 could have been even worse. The Vikings dropped at least two interceptions. Overall, he was 25 of 41 for 263 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a QB rating of 77.6. He averaged 6.4 yards per attempt.
* Vick turned it over a total of three times, fumbling twice. He's now been picked off in five straight games.
* The Eagles scored on one of seven first-half possessions. After Vick completed a 3-yard touchdown to Clay Harbor in the first quarter, here were the Eagles' next five possessions: punt, interception, punt, fumble, missed field goal. Antoine Winfield sacked Vick at the end of the first half and forced a fumble. He recovered it and went 45 yards to the end zone to tie the game at 7.
* Vick and DeSean Jackson could not get on the same page. He failed to complete a pass to Jackson the first six times he targeted him. Overall, Vick completed two passes for 32 yards to Jackson on 12 targets.
* We saw some new faces on defense for the Eagles. Rookie defensive tackle Jeff Owens saw his first action of the season before going down with a knee injury in the second half. Derrick Burgess was active for the first time. And Akeem Jordan saw his most significant playing time since being benched earlier in the season for Moise Fokou at the strong-side linebacker position. I have to re-watch the game, but I believe Jordan was used mostly in the Eagles' nickel package.
* Trevor Laws left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury, but later returned.
* The Eagles scored 14 points, the lowest total in any game Vick has started and finished this season. The previous low was 26.
* Cornerback Dimitri Patterson was beat for a 46-yard gain by Percy Harvin in the fourth. He was also whistled for a pair of penalties. Patterson was benched in the fourth as Joselio Hanson played right cornerback in the base defense, and Trevard Lindley came in to play outside in the nickel.
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Vick was a little off in the 1st half, but Desean was also not running his routes correctly, or standing around. The team was not ready. Andy did not have the team ready to play.— awl- This team is one and done in the playoffs. They're going to get rolled at home (AGAIN) by the Packers. But that's ok. Philly loves mediocre football. Congrats Andy Reid! I'm sure you'll get another contract extension to celebrate another meaningless 10 win season.— bjlindy
Well, at least next week, as in the next 4 days, is a mini bye week. Sorta.
Vick needs a game off. I'm almost glad, almost, they lost, because now they can save their energy for the playoffs, and not the cowboys. It would be the best if they just let the cowboys score every-drive and no fancy moves, no injuries needed.
The vikings came to play, and the defense just fell apart, like they usually do.
So the Gov was right. The small little wimps that run the Eagles got it shoved in their faces tonight. They wanted the game changes so their "Fast" team could play on a better field? Ha, they said they cared about the fans. All you losers that believe that are just that. Vick could not carry this lousy team by himself. Nice game plan Marty you almost got Vick killed tonight. Congrats to you people that wanted the game changed. The team was ready on Sunday, not tonight. Not bad, one lucky quarter in the last 8, now thats a super bowl team.— delcodanno- Good analysis, but not useful: A team this sloppy, that can't beat the Vikings, is not going very far in the playoffs.— incinerator
- After the emotional victory against the Giants this was a trap game. It was a wake up call.— soulman386
- After the emotional victory against the Giants this was a trap game. It was a wake up call.— soulman386
- The loss means they stink and will be one and done in the playoffs once again. A change of scenery will be good for Andy and the Eagles. Go Flyers and Phils!— djw26
- bjlindy, that's exactly what i was going to say. this team won't win another game this season. another sad, sad, ending to such a promising season. could have all been avoided if andy would just run the ball. the run/pass ratio has been awful, again. nobody notices because vick runs the ball on what are really called passes, but if you look at mccoy's carries, you'll see it probably been a 70/30 ratio on average. pitiful!— pbowers
- Snow had nothing to do with game. As long as the rest of the time stands around and wait for Super Vick to do something, the Eagles are finished. Maybe a win and out. WOW!— Brohn
- Cornerback Dimitri Patterson has the potential to lose Round One all by himself. He's overmatched in the NFL.— steve478
Vick seemed to take a lot of hits for nothing tonight. He's going to be useless in the playoffs if they don't try a little harder to protect him.— Hame of Famer
I told you those "Victory" shirts were a dumb idea. Aargh. Anyway, go Birds.— Richard Saunders- Can this put an end to all the superbowl talk? This team is way too flawed. They have no offensive line and their defense can't stop anyone. They made Joe Webb look like Steve Young tonight. Until this team puts together an offensive line that can block someone and a secondary that can cover someone, they are always going to come up short.— Hemingway
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