NFL Week 15 Under Review: One Big Question for Each of the NFC Contenders – The Ringer
The truth is that the Eagles passing game has been an issue throughout this season, and it’s hard to get to the Super Bowl without being efficient through the air. Among the 20 teams to make the conference championship game in the past five seasons, 18 of them (90 percent) have had a passing offense that ranked in the top quartile (DVOA). The Eagles currently rank 15th, but Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh was a big step in the right direction.
Against the best defense he’ll face this year, Hurts found a rhythm early, completing 12 of his first 13 passes for 146 yards. Overall, it was an 85th-percentile game in terms of dropback success rate. Now the question is whether the Eagles can repeat that type of performance down the stretch and in the playoffs. The defense is Super Bowl caliber. The offensive line is elite. And Saquon Barkley is Saquon Barkley. But ultimately, the efficiency of the passing game will determine this team’s ceiling. The Eagles were the biggest winners in the NFL on Sunday. With their win and the Lions’ loss, the Eagles now have a 40 percent chance of landing the top seed in the NFC. And they have the NFL’s fifth-easiest remaining schedule: at Washington, home vs. the Cowboys, and home vs. the Giants. If the Eagles can jump the Lions and get the bye and home-field advantage, they’ll become the favorites in the NFC.
Eagles film breakdown: Jalen Hurts and Kellen Moore revive the passing game against the Steelers – Inquirer
Whether you would call it “rhythm” or “synchronization,” the Eagles have lacked it in the passing game for some time. Sluggish starts had become a constant for the offense all season and the lack of timing throws from Hurts within the offense’s structure reached a low point against Carolina. Hurts averaged a season-high 3.47-second average time to throw against the Panthers, but he did much better getting the ball out with anticipation against the Steelers on Sunday. His average time to throw dropped to 3.24 seconds, which might not seem like much, but was illustrative of an uptick in drop backs that saw Hurts get the ball out on time to balance out his scrambles.
Fran’s film review: Empty sets help Jalen Hurts and the Eagles passing game break out while Nolan Smith dominates on defense – PHLY
This week, Hurts saw 10 such dropbacks, completing 4-of-7 passes for 51 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions, and three sacks. The EPA number climbed significantly (up to 0.11) and his success rate rose to a clean 40.0 percent. That’s looking at the whole game against the Steelers. To be honest, this didn’t quite match up with the eye test, because I thought Hurts came out of the gate firing in this matchup. The ball rarely hit the ground in the first half, and the offense had some of its cleanest drives of the entire season to start this game. So I narrowed the focus down to just the first half. In the first two quarters against Pittsburgh, Hurts held the ball for over four seconds on three occasions … all three of them resulted in sacks. The rest of his dropbacks saw him go 12-for-13 for 146 yards and two scores, and an average time to throw of 2.60 seconds flat, his fastest ‘ATT’ in any half of a game this year.
Why your NFL team won, lost in Week 15 – PFF
Wh the Eagles won: Jalen Hurts was exceptionally efficient under center for the Eagles. He completed 19 of his 21 pass attempts from a clean pocket for 220 yards and a passing touchdown while averaging 10.5 yards per attempt. It was a necessary performance from Hurts, as the Eagles‘ passing offense has received some criticism in recent weeks. However, Hurts delivered in the big moments, earning a 79.3 PFF overall grade.
More details on the Nick Sirianni-Jalen Carter sideline interaction – BGN
I’ve seen people ask what the deal was with Nick Sirianni being involved in a seemingly heated sideline interaction during the Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, so, let’s take a look at that.
NFL mock draft 2025: Travis Hunter falls to new team in latest first-round projection – SB Nation
30. Philadelphia Eagles — Michael Green, EDGE, Marshall. Please go watch Michael Green play if you have to, he’s a delight. Green is a blur off the ball with speed and bend, and despite not having much of a role against the run, he can be an instant boost to any pass rush. Philly grabs him and adds him to their group of freakish edge defenders waiting to roll out at any time.
NFL Week 15: Sam Darnold’s rise with Vikings, Lions’ injuries – ESPN+
What the Eagles did to the Steelers in the second half — and especially in the fourth quarter — was a high school coach’s fever dream. Philadelphia strung together a 21-play, 88-yard, 10:29 drive to burn the entire fourth quarter out of their 27-13 win over the Steelers. By time of possession, that is the longest drive to end with the clock expiring since the Seahawks killed 11:53 in a 2009 win over the Jaguars. And by total number of plays, the Eagles’ drive is the second longest to kill the clock in league history, per Elias Sports Bureau.The teams that play in high-scoring games — the Bills, the Lions — are an avalanche on offense. The Eagles are … quicksand. You get stuck in a game against them and just sink, slowly and inevitably. There’s nothing to do about it. You can grab at branches and struggle against the pull, but eventually they just bleed the game away. It is as valuable of an advantage as any team has entering the playoffs; once the Eagles get the ball with the lead, they finish the game like nobody else in the league.
They’re the best defense in the NFL and it’s not even close – NBCSP
They do this every week. Another game holding an opponent below 200 yards, another game not allowing a point after halftime, another game stuffing a pretty good running back, another game not allowing any big plays. The Eagles’ defense is rolling, and they put together another routinely dominating performance Sunday night in the 27-13 win over the Steelers. The Eagles’ defense has now held 10 consecutive opponents to 20 or fewer points, their longest such streak since a 14-game streak the first 14 games of the 2001 season. “I’m really proud of the performance,” Zack Baun said. “I mean, put in tough situations, having to get stops when we needed to. We did a really good job overall. We were very detailed.” The Steelers got those two 1st-quarter takeaways but managed just three points off of them, and that was pretty much ballgame.
The Joy of Defense – Iggles Blitz
There was a time earlier this season when Nolan Smith was talked about as a bust. Fangio kept teaching and Smith kept learning. Now we are seeing player development in action. The light has gone on and Smith is playing well. He’s got 5.5 sacks and 7 TFLs this season. The bust talk is now a distant memory. What has put this defense over the top is that the players work so well together. They cover gaps in the run game. They rush the passer under control. They cover as a group. This isn’t just 11 talented guys running around wildly.
Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley leads Pro Bowl Games voting by fans – NFL.com
Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley, with 108,016 votes, leads all players in balloting for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games with one week remaining in voting. Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson (106,999 votes) ranks second overall, while Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen (101,703), Baltimore running back Derrick Henry (99,346), and Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs (94,940) round out the top five. The Detroit Lions lead all clubs in total votes received, followed by the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles.
Spadaro: Putting Jalen Hurts’ season in perspective – PE.com
1. Offense finds its groove early. It made a difference as the Eagles came out smoking on offense and then finished the game with an incredible, clock-consuming drive (more on that later). The early success? It was very real. The Eagles had 148 total yards and 10 points in the first quarter, both season highs. As the Steelers did all they could to take away Saquon Barkley and the running game, quarterback Jalen Hurts made plays in the passing game throughout the first half. He completed 12 of 13 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns with a 153 passer rating in the first half. “Jalen did a great job of (adjusting) when we couldn’t get the run game going the way we wanted to,” Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. “I’d say, again, Pittsburgh held teams to 90 yards rushing, and I know we had more than that. So, we still were able to run the ball against a very good front, very good defense. “But we were able to throw it in those scenarios. Again, we’re going to focus on what we need to do, not what everybody else thinks we need to do. Our focus and our main thing for each and every week is how do we win this football game? Today we had to pass for 290 yards, and that was just a great job by our guys.”
Eagles, state leaders deliver holiday presents to students across Philadelphia – NBC Philadelphia
It’s not every day all the Philadelphia sports mascots show up to your school with the governor and the Eagles. But thanks to Operation Snowball, this year’s holiday season for students in Philadelphia public schools will be one to remember. Proceeds from “A Philly Special Christmas Party” album by Connor Barwin, Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailtata, and Lane Johnson helped buy presents for every student in the city’s public school system.
Michael Vick reportedly talking to Norfolk State, Sacramento State about head coaching openings – Yahoo! Sports
Michael Vick appears ready to make the jump into coaching. The former Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is in discussions with both Norfolk State and Sacramento State to take over as their head football coach, according to multiple reports on Monday. It would mark the first head coaching job for Vick, who has worked as an analyst for Fox Sports after he retired from the NFL.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on late fourth-down punt: “I took a chance” – Behind The Steel Curtain
Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin has been heavily criticized for some of his decision-making in Sunday’s 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, most notably for deciding to punt in the fourth quarter trailing by two touchdowns. With under 11 minutes to play while faced with a fourth-and-7, Tomlin chose to punt from the Eagles’ 46-yard line. Pittsburgh never touched the ball again. When asked about the decision to punt in his weekly press conference, Tomlin shared …
Zach Ertz, Jeremy Chinn begin Week 16 in concussion protocol – PFT
The Commanders have a few injury issues coming out of Sunday’s win over the Saints. Via multiple reporters, head coach Dan Quinn said Washington tight end Zach Ertz and safety Jeremy Chinn are in concussion protocol.
Schedule Update: Washington Commanders Week 17 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football – Hogs Haven
The NFL’s schedule for the final two weeks is flexible so they can work out the best times for their better games. Washington is set to host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17, and it will now be on Sunday Night Football, replacing the previously scheduled Dolphins vs Browns game. This game will be critical to both teams’ playoff hopes. The Falcons have been struggling with Kirk Cousins at QB, losing four in a row before this week’s win over the Raiders. They’re 7-7 and will need to win out to grab that last playoff spot. Washington can lock up a spot by beating the Falcons.
Jerry Jones: Dallas Cowboys have no interest in trading Micah Parsons – Blogging The Boys
To be clear the new headline is that Jerry Jones is refuting the headline generated by Stephen Jones. This front office is truly elite at running around in circles and acting like they are moving north. Nevertheless, it is important that Jerry mentioned that the Cowboys do not seem interested in trading Parsons away. This season has been a challenging one in many ways but there is no question that the Cowboys are closer to their ultimate goals with Micah Parsons on their roster and not represented by capital acquired in some sort of trade. For what it’s worth, Parsons handled the rumors rather well. Speaking after the Panthers win, the first time Parsons was available after Stephen’s comments were publicized, he noted that he understood that this was all a business and that he ultimately wanted to be with the Cowboys.
2025 NFL Draft order: The Giants’ path to the No. 1 pick narrows – Big Blue View
The biggest blow of the weekend was the Las Vegas Raiders losing a winnable game to the Atlanta Falcons, falling 15-9. Beyond that, several of the teams the Giants needed to lose to lower their strength of schedule came away with victories. Because of that, while the Raiders’ strength of schedule stayed nearly the same (dropping just 0.001), the Giants’ strength of schedule has risen to 0.550. That’s given them the third-highest strength of schedule in the NFL, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers (0.569) and the Chicago Bears (0.559).
Against the Rams, Samuel had three catches on seven targets for 16 yards, as well as two carries for three yards. In the Super Bowl against the Chiefs, he had three catches on 11 targets for 33 yards, and three carries for eight yards. In the NFC Championship Game in Philly the year before that, he had three catches on six targets for 33 yards, and six carries for -9 yards.
In other words, in the last three games that sealed the Niners’ fate for the season (NFCCG vs. PHI in 2022, SB vs. KC in 2023, Week 15 vs. LAR in 2024), Samuel had nine catches on 24 targets for 72 yards (3.0 yards per target), and 11 carries for two yards (0.18 YPC). Maybe it was the long snapper’s fault. Looking ahead, Trent Williams will be 37 next season, Christian McCaffrey’s long-term viability will be in question, and most importantly, Purdy will be eligible for a contract extension that some believe could be in the ballpark of Dak Prescott’s $60 million per year deal.
David Montgomery injury update: Lions RB needs surgery, out for season – Pride Of Detroit
The Detroit Lions injury luck cannot possibly get any worse. After suffering three more defensive injuries against the Buffalo Bills, the news got even worse on Monday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Lions running back David Montgomery is “out indefinitely” after suffering an MCL injury on Sunday. Per Schefter, Montgomery is undergoing more tests, but could be out for the season. Lions coach Dan Campbell confirmed that Montgomery’s injury will require surgery and he will miss the remainder of the season. Montgomery left the game temporarily early and was tended to by trainers. He eventually returned to the game, but was used sparingly in the second half after the Lions fell behind by several scores.
Report: Patrick Mahomes diagnosed with ‘mild high-ankle sprain’ – Arrowhead Pride
While Mahomes could practice this week, the “week-to-week” description of the injury suggests that Carson Wentz will make the start on Saturday against the Houston Texans. The tricky part for the Chiefs is the quick turnaround to a road game four days later against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day. Given the typical recovery timeline for high-ankle sprains, Wentz could be in line to start the next two games. Kansas City could clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC and playoff bye with victories in both matchups.
