As the final week of the 2015 regular season is upon us, here is a look at what's in store for this Monday, December 28 ...
1. Live Coverage Begins At 1 PM Today
Head coach Chip Kelly will meet with the media at 1 PM for the first time since his immediate post-game remarks following the Eagles' 38-24 loss to the Washington Redskins. We will stream the press conference live online and on our app. Make sure to join us later this evening at 5 PM as Brian Westbrook joins Dave Spadaro on Eagles 360 to recap Kelly's comments and go over what went wrong on Saturday night.
2. Giants Stumble On Sunday Night
The Eagles close out the regular season Sunday at 1 PM against the New York Giants, who also enter the game with an identical 6-9 record after a 49-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The Giants trailed 19-3 at halftime as quarterback Eli Manning threw an interception that was returned by safety Harrison Smith for a touchdown. Manning finished with three interceptions on the night. Running back Adrian Peterson ran for 104 yards and a touchdown, while backup Jerrick McKinnon scored twice in the fourth quarter - the second touchdown on a 68-yard run - to put the game well out of reach.
Philadelphia has won three straight meetings with the Giants, including a 27-7 Monday night showdown back in Week 6 at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won last year's Week 17 matchup at MetLife Stadium 34-26.
3. Fletcher Cox Rests His Case
Defensive end Fletcher Cox finally earned Pro Bowl honors and said that another goal this season is to be named first-team All-Pro after garnering second-team distinction last year.
Despite the struggles of the defense this season, Cox has been superlative in every single way. With two sacks against the Redskins, Cox has 9.5 on the season, a career high and the most by an Eagles interior lineman since Corey Simon had the same amount in 2000. The Redskins game marked the third straight where Cox had at least one sack, the longest streak of his career.
Cox was credited by the NFL with seven tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits on Saturday night. Cox easily graded out as the best player on the Eagles' defense by Pro Football Focus, earning a positive grade for the 14th time in 15 games this season.
4. Matthews Entering Rare Company
Jordan Matthews was recently named the No. 4 wide receiver to come out of the last two prolific draft classes at that position, according to longtime executive and current analyst for NFL.com Gil Brandt. After hauling in six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown against the Redskins, Matthews tops the franchise list and is tied with Sterling Sharpe and Andre Johnson for 14th in NFL history for most receptions by a player in his first two NFL seasons with 145.
With 78 grabs in 2015, Matthews is tied for eighth on the single-season receptions list in Eagles history. Matthews is also closing in on his first 1,000-yard campaign with 943 yards in addition to six touchdowns.
5. Bradford Strong Down The Stretch
According to Pro Football Focus, Eagles pass catchers dropped eight balls on Saturday night. One of them was a would-be touchdown throw to rookie wide receiver Nelson Agholor in the end zone.
Still, quarterback Sam Bradford set career highs with 380 passing yards and tied a franchise record with 37 completions Saturday against Washington. In his last two games, Bradford has 741 passing yards which is the third-highest total over a two-game span in Eagles history.
Since the November 8 game in Dallas, Bradford has completed 65.9 percent of his pass attempts for 1,639 yards and eight touchdowns for a 94.5 passer rating. With 3,405 passing yards for the season, Bradford is on the verge of beating his career high of 3,702 yards set back in 2012.
