The quarterback, about to be pancaked to the turf, throws a pass into the corner of the end zone with the perfect trajectory and accuracy.  Undrafted rookie Corey Clement, who is not only living out his dream of playing in the NFL, but doing so for his hometown team, makes a difficult, against the shoulder catch in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

The Enchanted Season continues…

Rookie kicker Jake Elliott, sitting on the Cincinnati practice squad because he could not win their placekicker’s job, joins the team and makes eleven consecutive field goals, including a 61-yarder with no time left on the clock to defeat the New York Giants as the crowd erupts into a frenzy.

The Enchanted Season continues…

Injuries continue to decimate this team, especially on the defensive side.  The situation gets even worse last Monday night, when nine-time Pro Bowler Jason Peters, a stalwart on the offensive line, and Jordan Hicks, the quarterback of the defense, have to be helped off the field with what turn out to be season ending injuries.

The team that had the least number of injuries in 2016 has now had the law of averages catch up to them.  Yet, the “next man up” philosophy has continued to operate effectively, with the injuries not causing the team to skip a beat.

The Enchanted Season continues…

With the Eagles nursing a precarious seven point lead at the start of the 4th quarter, the quarterback drops back to pass and is met with a ferocious pass rush in a play that surely looks to be a sack.  Suddenly, out of a pile, the QB miraculously  appears like Houdini, turning what should have been a 9-yard loss into a 17-yard gain.  Even one of Jon Dorenbos’s magic tricks never looked so good.

The Enchanted Season continues…

With a 6-1 record, the Eagles sit atop the NFL with the league’s best record, while visions of a Super Bowl slowly began to dance in their fans heads.  But even a 16-game season is a long one, and there still remains nine regular season games left to be played.

Nine games for more injuries to mount.  Nine games for the Eagles to have a letdown.  Nine games to allow the Cowboys to beat them twice and creep back into the NFC East race.

The Eagles currently hold a 2.5 game lead in the NFC East, with both the Cowboys and Redskins in their rearview mirror at 3-3.   A division title is certainly in the Eagles grasp, which guarantees you a #4 seed at worst and a home playoff game in the first round of the playoffs.  But while the Eagles would have been thrilled with that at the beginning of the season, their aspirations are much higher considering what has transpired thus far.

The race to a Super Bowl begins with securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  And in a sport where playing at home gives you an advantage unlike any other, having that #1 seed is the best way to do so.  But even with a 6-1 record, the Eagles have both the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams hot on their tail at 5-2, as well as the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks at 4-2 (since they’ve both already had their bye week).

The Eagles will have a tough stretch of road games come December, when they will face the Seahawks on December 2nd followed by the Rams the following weekend.  These two games could be HUGE in determining the NFC playoff picture, assuming that all three teams continue at their current rate of success.

This week, the San Francisco 49ers will come to town, which will mark the 41st time in NFL history that the team with the best record in the NFL will face the team with the worst record.  San Francisco is not only one of two teams in the league that still remain winless (the other being Cleveland), but they have also lost 19 straight games played on Sundays, a losing streak which is also second only to the Browns, who have lost 24 straight on Sundays.

But even though the Niners are still in search of their first win, they are also the only team in NFL history to lose five straight games by 3 points or less.  That last stat reveals that the Niners are not to be taken lightly.  They are a team that has not yet learned how to win, much like the Eagles from last season.

The Birds will have Halapoulivaati Vaitai at left tackle filling in for the injured Jason Peters (say that name three times over without screwing up). “Big V”, as he is known for simplicity purposes, had extensive on the job training filling in for Lane Johnson last year and, after some first game jitters, performed admirably for the Eagles.  He may have to fill the void for the remainder of the season with Peters being out.

On the defensive side, the Eagles, as they usually do, will probably go with only two linebackers on the field for the majority of the snaps, with Nigel Bradham taking over Jordan Hicks’ spot as the quarterback of the defense and Mychal Kendricks most likely taking the other starting spot.

Kendricks was not getting as many snaps as either Hicks or Bradham, but whenever he has been in the game, he has had a favorable impact.  And while the only time Bradham had the responsibility for making sure the defense was in the right alignment was when Jordan Hicks was hurt in the Panthers game, he actually played pretty well in Hicks’ absence.

Once again, I don’t think this game will be a blowout (I know, I know…I always say that) as the Niners have played it close in so many games.  Expect a wet and stormy day filled with the natives in ponchos and some rain soaked Chickie & Pete’s crab fries, as the Birds win, 28-17, and go to 7-1.

The Enchanted Season continues…

Amit’s Marquee Matchups of the Week:

Steelers at Lions  8:30 PM  NBC

Broncos at Chiefs  8:30 PM  ESPN