Ask every player, any coach, anybody who understands the cadence of an NFL season, and the goal is always, always, always to – and this is almost verbatim in every of the 32 teams' locker rooms – "play your best football at the end of the season."
In other words, peak at the right time.
For the 2025 Eagles, at 11-5 going into the Week 18 game against Washington, the month of December has largely been an example of that. Things are not perfect, of course, but look back at what the Eagles have done in December and understand that there are plenty of things to feel good about as we ring in the new calendar year.
"That's what you want to happen throughout the course of the year, is just continue to rise, and those guys have done that," Head Coach Nick Sirianni said on Wednesday, answering a question specifically asked about the defense.
You get the point, though: The Eagles had a 3-1 December, ending a three-game losing streak, soundly defeating Las Vegas and Washington before a heavyweight showdown-kind of win on Sunday at Buffalo.
The offense, while not playing with the level of consistency the Eagles are striving for, had a terrific outing against the Raiders, moved the ball up and down the field at Washington, and then had a strong first half in forging a 13-0 lead in the driving rain at Buffalo.
The defense? Pretty much lights out the entire way, and it's safe to say the Eagles are playing at an extremely high level with the regular season one game from ending.
On special teams, punter Bradon Mann is thriving in the late-season, lousy weather that the East Coast brings. Placekicker Jake Elliott has self-corrected himself, and the return and coverage teams have been steady.
"Always things to work on, always want to improve and get better every week," said running back Saquon Barkley, who followed up his 2,005-yard season in the 2024 regular season with 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns this season to date, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. "I think we know what we have here and what we are capable of doing, so we want to put it all together and play our kind of football. That's what we're working on. But, overall, here we are. We've done the NFC East and we're in the playoffs and we're going to take our shot."
Said offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo: "I think there's some things that we're starting to see now that this is kind of who we want to be going forward. It's popped up as we've gone on throughout the season, because we've played such different games with different opponents that we've had and different styles of defenses. I think there's certain things that Jalen's (Hurts, quarterback) doing a really, really nice job of, and we'll continue to lean into that. His exposure to things and experience in the playoffs will really help us going on the long road.
"I think we've been a little inconsistent, and we know we have it in us to do what we need to do because we've done it in spots. That's what we've got to really lean into and press into and be detailed and do what we have to do."
In 2024, the Eagles split their opening four games and then went on a tear, losing only a single game in December (at Washington) the remainder of the regular season. It hasn't been that smooth in 2025, but the Eagles are right where they need to be with three straight victories, a great sense of confidence and camaraderie and the chance to head into the postseason healthy and ready to have a deep run.
"What we did last year, we've said it all season that it's a new team and it has taken us some time to put things together," defensive tackle Jordan Davis said. "We can be better. We always believe that. We want to dominate and play complementary football in every phase. We stuck together in that down period that we had, and we've come out of it at the right time. So, yeah, things are looking up for us."
The 2017 Eagles, the one that brought the first Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia, opened December with a tough loss in Seattle and then won in Los Angeles on a day when quarterback Carson Wentz was injured and lost for the remainder of the season. The team wasn't exactly on stable ground heading into the playoffs that year but got it right at the needed time.
So, you never know. But this much is true for this version of the Philadelphia Eagles: They righted the ship in time to take command of the NFC East and head into the postseason the right way. What's next? The sky is the limit for a team that knows how to win big games.
"Every game is something new, so just go out there and do your job and play your best football," left tackle Jordan Mailata said. "Week to week, that's the game of football. Every day we're here trying to get better as a football team. That never changes."
