By Charlotte Carroll, Ben Standig, Brooks Kubena and Saad Yousuf
We hope you all had a merry Christmas and are enjoying a wonderful holiday season!
With two regular-season games to go for each team in the NFC East, we thought it was a good time to check in with The Athletic’s NFC East writers to discuss some important topics: Can the Philadelphia Eagles be considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders? Will the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys bring back their coaches? What’s the best Christmas song?
Like we said, some hugely important topics, so let’s dive right in:
Entering Week 16, the Eagles could have made a case as the team to beat in the NFC. How did Sunday’s loss to the Commanders affect your perception of their Super Bowl chances?
Charlotte Carroll: The massive asterisk from that game to keep in mind is the Eagles lost Jalen Hurts early due to a concussion. But this team still managed to blow multiple leads, and the defense couldn’t stop the Commanders despite notching five takeaways. A fun fact courtesy of Mike Sando’s Pick 6: Philly became only the 16th team since 2000 (and the first Eagles team) to have a 13-point lead through three quarters and lose. Maybe this is the wake-up call the Eagles needed before the playoffs. While I think they’ll go far in the postseason, in terms of NFC Super Bowl chances, I still have more faith in the Detroit Lions — despite their injury situation.
Ben Standig: Not really. Jalen Hurts’s exit after a concussion on the second drive changed the game. Kenny Pickett was fine, but he’s not at Hurts’ level. The Eagles didn’t even use the staple “Brotherly Shove” in short-yardage situations without their starting quarterback. Saquon Barkley rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns, but only 27 yards came after halftime, as the Commanders focused on stopping the run.
Hurts doesn’t play defense, and Washington scored 36, with 22 in the final quarter of the rematch. Complementary football is a real thing. My biggest concern from the loss: Safety C.J. Gardner Johnson, ejected following two unsportsmanlike penalties, is a turbulent wild card who could hurt his team at the worst time.
Brooks Kubena: The factors that contributed to the Eagles failing to defend a two-score lead must be resolved before I can believe they can win the Super Bowl. Their defense failed to defend long fields twice against the Commanders, and their pass rush failed to bring down Jayden Daniels on two fourth-down scrambles.
Losing pass rusher Brandon Graham for the season hurts. They’ll soon get Bryce Huff back. But Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ mobility is what cost the Eagles a Super Bowl in 2022. The Eagles defense has increased this team’s margin of error. My doubts increased after cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay were both burned on explosive pass plays.
Also, the Eagles special teams’ play has been consistently poor over the last several weeks. Jake Elliott made a 50-yarder, but his 56-yarder fell short. Can he be trusted with a playoff game on the line? Braden Mann’s botch of the opening kickoff, Luke McCaffrey’s 47-yard return and Jeremiah Trotter Jr.’s unnecessary roughness penalty embodied the sloppy play that’s recently been awarding opponents advantageous field position. Super Bowl-caliber teams will make the Eagles pay.
Saad Yousuf: My perception of the Eagles hasn’t changed much from what it was before their loss to Washington on Sunday. I still think Philadelphia is a quality team with a great chance of reaching the conference championship, at least. With how the Lions have been playing, I’ve never felt this season that the Eagles were the team to beat in the NFC.
Detroit’s injuries are stacking up to a level that is getting concerning and helps Philadelphia close the gap, but until the Lions show they have lost one man too many, I hold them atop the conference. I think the Eagles are in that second tier of quality teams in the NFC that could beat a banged-up Lions team by playing a high-quality brand of football.
One troubling thing coming out of Sunday, though, is that the Eagles forced five turnovers and were plus-three in the margin and still didn’t win. However, I view that as more of a one-off, aided by the injury to Hurts and a brutally timed DeVonta Smith drop, than a troubling trend.
Are the Commanders going to be this year’s wild-card team “no one wants to play”?
Carroll: Daniels’ late-game poise continues to be enormously impressive. It’s amazing to see how comfortable he’s gotten as the season has gone along. His production (258 passing yards and five touchdowns to go along with 81 rushing yards) against a stout Eagles defense was fantastic. But perhaps more important was that he was able to pull off the comeback and maintain his composure despite those five turnovers (two of which were his interceptions). That’s what great QBs do. Are they the wild-card team no one wants to play? Maybe not, given what’s going on in the NFC North with the Lions, Vikings and Packers. Those are three of the NFC’s best teams, and two of them will be wild cards.
Standig: No … and yes? The other two projected wild-card teams, Minnesota and Green Bay, would be favored against Washington on a neutral field. While loaded with highly competitive players, the Commanders’ roster remains flawed, mainly due to the lack of offensive playmakers not named Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin.
The defense has made significant strides in the second half of the season and might have DT Jonathan Allen returning as soon as this week. However, running games have feasted on the Commanders all season, and cornerback Marshon Lattimore’s lingering hamstring issues are worrisome. Still, nobody wants to tangle with Daniels. I know he’s played only 15 games, but Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen might be the only quarterbacks you would rather not face in the final minutes of a one-score game than the insanely poised and soon-to-be-named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Kubena: Absolutely. Their win over the Eagles on Sunday serves as a primary example. Daniels is just so dynamic. He’s the sort of playmaker who can force defensive coordinators to tear their hair out. He twice scrambled for fourth-down conversions. He launched two explosive pass plays while being blitzed.
The Commanders aren’t going to be the most talented team in the playoffs. They still make mistakes. They lost three fumbles, and Daniels tossed two interceptions against the Eagles. But the Daniels Factor is enough to destroy a better team’s Super Bowl dreams. It’s quite likely the wild-card matchup will be Eagles-Commanders Part III. The Eagles know they can’t miss on close-out plays (like Smith’s drop on their final offensive drive) if they want to put the Commanders away. Any other team that watched Sunday’s game knows that now, too.
Yousuf: I don’t view the Commanders as the wild-card team “no one wants to play.” That’s not to take anything away from the wonderful season they’ve put together and the spectacular rookie campaign of Daniels, who is worthy of all the hype he’s getting. But that Green Bay team is legit, and regardless of which team ends up in the wild-card spot between Detroit and Minnesota — which may not be decided until the final day of the season — I see that team as the one I would want to play less than I’d want to play the Commanders.
The Commanders feel like they’re ahead of schedule, thanks in large part to the play of Daniels, especially in the clutch. That’s certainly worthy of being scared of, and the Commanders could be a team that catches lightning in a bottle, but the battle-tested nature of the other wild-card teams, especially Green Bay and potentially Detroit, scares me more.
Do you think the Cowboys bring back coach Mike McCarthy in 2025?
Carroll: Yep. This team is still playing hard, evidenced by four wins in their past five games. A team with a lost locker room and no faith in its coach likely isn’t doing that. They have the quarterback, which is a huge piece to the puzzle, and his injury must be accounted for when making sense of this disappointing season.
Standig: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but … yes. Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury effectively ended the Cowboys’ postseason dreams, yet they are 4-1 in their last five games. This is bad for the 2025 draft slots, but it indicates that the players still ride with McCarthy. Keeping the status quo isn’t only about the coaching staff. A certain level of new hire might want more roster control than team owner Jerry Jones would allow. McCarthy knows where his power ends and Jerry’s begins. Improving the run game, re-signing Micah Parsons and figuring out how to win big with Prescott is where I can see Jones focusing his attention.
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Kubena: If the Cowboys had rolled over and quit after their 3-7 start, I would’ve said no. But they’ve beaten two playoff-caliber teams during their 4-1 stretch, and there’s enough life emanating from that locker room to suggest the players haven’t lost their faith in McCarthy. Prescott earned a contract extension playing in McCarthy’s system, and there ought to be continuity and an actual effort in the offseason spent investing in the roster to see if this partnership is best for the team’s future.
Yousuf: Ever since Bill Belichick went to North Carolina, my feeling has been that it’s more likely than not that McCarthy returns to coach Dallas in 2025. That’s not because I thought Belichick was definitely next in line to lead the Cowboys, but taking that résumé off the market really does shine a spotlight on McCarthy’s résumé — from Green Bay and his five years in Dallas — and how much further ahead it is than most of the other candidates. That’s not to suggest that automatically makes him the best person to lead the Cowboys, but the résumé appears to be something Jones really values. McCarthy has that.
He also has a higher level of regular-season success than what the Cowboys had become accustomed to, and he understands how to navigate the unique nature of being the head coach in Dallas. Add in the Prescott extension and how the team is playing hard for McCarthy late in this lost season, and it all adds up to a very practical possibility that his run in Dallas continues.
However, I am curious about one underrated aspect: If Jones decides to extend McCarthy, what will the contract terms be? And will McCarthy be willing to accept them, or would he feel he could do better elsewhere?
Do you think the Giants bring back coach Brian Daboll and/or GM Joe Schoen in 2025?
Carroll: The Giants entered 2024 hoping to celebrate the franchise’s 100th season in style. Instead, the team has plummeted to historic lows, with the most recent negative number coming in the form of a franchise-record 10-game losing streak. While only two games remain until fans are out of their misery, a new low could be reached Sunday with the Giants going winless at home for the first time since 1974.
The question is how much Giants ownership values continuity over the reality of these gruesome results and what they usually mean for coaches. It’s clear fans want to see a change. Our fan survey earlier this season revealed that the vast majority of fans had lost faith in both Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. With the No. 1 pick nearly locked up, a blank slate could be appealing.
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Standig: The people paying for those banners to fly over MetLife Stadium cannot be ignored in a civilized society. However, I’m guessing the Giants only go with a half measure and cut Daboll free while retaining Schoen. I’m not saying it’s right, and nobody here is ignoring the personnel issues, but the offense — Daboll’s side of the field — has been atrocious. Only once in this 10-game losing streak has New York scored more than 20 points. Starting completely over is a possibility, but I’m guessing Schoen survives, and everyone remaining agrees to stay far, far away from HBO cameras going forward.
Kubena: As I said in the last roundtable, the Giants’ on-field product is terrible. They’re listless and lifeless. They should be paying their fans to watch them. There needs to be a reset of both the system and the roster, and I don’t think co-owner John Mara can trust that Schoen and Daboll are the right people to fix it. The best path forward for this franchise is for ownership to use its top pick and its collection of young talent as selling points to the next general manager and head coach, who can build the team in their image.
Yousuf: Giants fans have made their opinion pretty clear throughout this season: They are ready for a major shakeup. If ownership were to abide, I think this would be the offseason to do it. They already parted ways with Daniel Jones, who Schoen handed that albatross contract, so there’s a blank slate at quarterback. Schoen hired Daboll, so that’s been a tandem from the start, and it’s mostly been a failure. With the uninspiring way this franchise is going right now, it could be the best decision to cut all strings, let a new GM pick a new coach, and together they can figure out a solution at quarterback.
Last year, only Ben correctly identified “Die Hard” as the best Christmas movie. This year, we’ll leave it more open. What’s the best Christmas song?
Carroll: My family knows I can be indecisive about even the smallest things, so they won’t be surprised by this: I can’t decide! I did the research, with a thorough listen-through of my Christmas playlist, but I couldn’t find a clear No. 1. Instead, you’re getting my top three-ish. Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” will forever remind me of home, which is what this time of year is all about. Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” and Wham!’s “Last Christmas” belong at the top, as well, because I can’t help but sing along, and they make me smile. I also love Darlene Love’s “All Alone on Christmas” and Otis Redding’s version of “White Christmas.” See what I mean about my indecisiveness?
Standig: The obvious one is the correct answer no matter how many times you hear Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” this month. For those seeking something other than a chalk pick, Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” rocks.
Kubena: “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” And I don’t care who sings it. As someone who’s spent several Christmases in hotels or stadiums covering banal NFL matchups or blowouts in the College Football Playoff, there’s always a spot in my soul for the melancholy. God knows there are people out there in more difficult, dire or depressing situations than covering a sport for a salary. This song was written from the point of view of a soldier overseas. Every year, I find myself thinking about people away from their families, those who don’t have families or those who are just a little lost for the time being. Sometimes, as the song suggests, a dream is enough to keep us going.
Yousuf: It’s a tough question because different answers could fit here depending on what vibe you’re going for. If you’re going to a Christmas festival or lights-seeing, give me “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. If you’re going for a Christmas morning feel, I prefer the classic Christmas carols, of which “Deck The Halls” is my favorite. The “Polar Express” soundtrack will also get you in the mood. But if I have to pick just one song for the answer to this question, give me NSYNC’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.”
(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
