Sometimes — temptation comes knocking. More often than not it’s lurking on a football field of play — inviting you for one more chance at a huge play, a scoring opportunity — and with it the chance for a key injury that can ruin a season.
What the Eagles will show up with at AT&T Stadium this weekend will be more than just Kelly Green Uniforms and a retro Eagles’ logo. It’s a chance to take another tangible step toward a week of potential rest in January. An opportunity to watch other NFC teams over-extend themselves in order to live another week or to go home for the season.
Last season — with everything locked up at the end of the year and the Eagles having no path through the playoffs but to make a run at the Super Bowl by playing without a bye week — the Eagles needed rest for their starters. History had shown that winning a Super Bowl having to play in the NFL Playoff Wildcard Round was possible (the 1997 Denver Broncos, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, and the 2007 New York Giants among others.)
So what did Nick Sirianni do? He rested his starters in week 18 against the Giants and created a week of rest. The result was no accident.
Just a few weeks earlier — Sirianni sat down on the bench next to Saquon Barkley and presented him with an option. Already amassing 176 yards against the Giants — Barkley was only thirteen yards away from his career high. Sirianni doesn’t just know the odds — he knows his players.
For most NFL Teams — the bye week is a chance to rest. An opportunity to heal those wounds accumulated through weeks of NFL attrition. Evaluation and reflection — in preparation for another long stretch toward the NFL Playoffs. But for Nick Sirianni’s Eagles — it’s always come as a fresh start.
Earlier last year — an early bye week benefitted the Eagles. A struggling offense befuddled by a 31–16 thumping in Tampa Bay charted a new direction — one to a championship. After the bye week this season — the Eagles are 2–0 and benefitting from the previous rest of a mid-season break.
For a team like Philadelphia — who advanced to Super Bowl LVII three years ago with the aid of a first-round bye week after obtaining the top seed in the NFC and made it back last season without it — the Eagles know that to have it makes things much easier.
The post Charting a Path Back to the Super Bowl — One That the Eagles Know Well. appeared first on Philadelphia Sports Nation.