Before driving into the Official Review, presented by AAA, make sure to check out these features from the Eagles' 24-17 loss to the Commanders in the regular-season finale:
If you missed the game, here's how everything unfolded in real time.
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Eagles to face 49ers in Wild Card Round
The Eagles and 49ers will meet in the postseason once again.
In a rematch of the 2022 NFC Championship Game, the Eagles will host the 49ers in the Wild Card Round on Sunday at 4:30 PM (FOX).
The Eagles opted to sit some starters in Sunday's loss to the Commanders, and they head into the playoffs healthy and well-rested.
"This whole week was about getting these guys ready to play this game and give them the best opportunity to play," Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. "I won't get into anything else. That was what our focus was this entire week."
The 49ers finished the regular season 12-5 and had an opportunity at the NFC's No. 1 seed in Week 18 but fell to the Seahawks at home and dropped to the No. 6 seed.
San Francsico has one of the NFL's most explosive offenses led by quarterback Brock Purdy, do-it-all running back Christian McCaffrey, and tight end George Kittle. The 49ers' offense was on a heater for the past month but scored only three points against Seattle's strong defense. The 49ers' defense has been banged up this season, losing key players like Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Mykel Williams.
"Every team in the playoffs is going to be a good team," Sirianni said. "It's going to be a good football team. I've got a lot of respect for [49ers Head] Coach [Kyle] Shanahan and all the success that he has had and that team. [49ers Defensive Coordinator Robert] Saleh, all those guys. Again, the players. A lot of respect for that football team."
Nick Sirianni doesn't regret decision to rest starters
With the Bears' loss to the Lions, an Eagles win over the Commanders would have given Philadelphia the NFC's No. 2 seed and guaranteed a home Divisional Round game had the Eagles advanced.
There was no guarantee that would be the case heading into Philadelphia's game, which was at the same time as Lions-Bears, and after the loss, Sirianni said he doesn't second-guess his decision to rest some starters against Washington.
"You go through your process, you make what you think is the best decision for the football team, and that's what we did," he said. "I knew this was an outcome, that these things could happen. Like I said to you guys, one thing I could guarantee was giving them rest. I couldn't guarantee anything else. Us being healthy and going into the playoffs healthy is a big deal for us, and that's served us well in the past. Again, I know there'll be debate on that, but I have to do what I think's best for the football team moving forward, and that's what I did."
DeVonta Smith reaches 1,000 yards
While the Eagles rested a lot of starters in Week 18, DeVonta Smith got the start for Philadelphia. Forty-four yards away from a 1,000-yard season, Tanner McKee's first four passes went to Smith, who reeled in three grabs for 52 yards to eclipse the mark.
Smith became the fifth player in Eagles history to record three 1,000+ yard receiving seasons.
"Sometimes it feels like, as him being the coach, he'd be wanting it more than us sometimes, so it's great when you have a coach like that that's backing you up to complete those milestones," Smith said on Sirianni allowing him to decide if he wanted to play or not. "… When he sees guys close to things like that, he wants guys to go for it. For him to allow me the opportunity to do that, I'm grateful for it."
Said Sirianni: "We were safe with him as far as what kind of routes we were running and what he was doing, and so that was something that we decided to do, and obviously you can't rest everybody. There were guys that, as far as D-line reps, some of those guys played through the game. We tried to limit their reps a little bit and play them a little bit less than they normally do, but with a position like D-line, those are the circumstances that you have. But, decided to do that so he could go get a thousand, and he came out good."
Jalyx Hunt makes Eagles history
With Jalyx Hunt's diving interception off Josh Johnson, he became the first player in Eagles history to finish the season leading the team in both sacks (6.5) and interceptions (3).
Hunt has put together an exceptional second season in the NFL, posting two multi-sack games while making game-changing interceptions, including a pick-six against the Vikings.
"He's living good," linebacker Zack Baun said. "He's doing something in his life that karma's just treating him right."
Hunt began his college career as a safety at Cornell and finished as an outside linebacker at Houston Christian. That versatility has clearly shown early in his NFL tenure, leading to some huge plays that have made a difference.
"He's super impressive," Baun added. "Thinking about his transition in positions in college and high school, it's insane. Me going through a similar situation, and I've got to give credit to guys like that that work really hard to put themselves in good positions, and then at the end of the day, it pays off for them." — Written by Matt Ryan
