The Eagles will wake up this morning and see the final score of the Bears' whipping of the Vikings on the ice cold, frozen field at the University of Minnesota.
The Vikings will have a short week to prepare for the Eagles after the 41-10 loss to Chicago. The Vikings have no chance of making the playoffs. Rookie sixth-round draft pick Joe Webb, who was originally drafted to be a wide receiver, could make his first-career start after Brett Favre was knocked out of the Bears game with a concussion.
The Eagles will be overwhelmingly favored to beat the Vikings on Sunday Night Football after the amazing 38-31 come-from-behind win over the Giants. But the Eagles can't afford to take the Vikings lightly with so much still on the line.
"I don't think it takes a genius to figure this out, that we didn't play very well for three quarters and we better figure that out. So I'm not sure as coaches, and I'm starting with me and the coaches and players, I'm not sure that any of us can sit there and say that we painted a beautiful picture," head coach Andy Reid said. "So that's not where we will be at."
The Eagles can clinch their first NFC East division title since 2006 with a win over the Vikings or a Giants loss to the Packers. The Eagles and the Bears are currently tied for the No. 2 seed, but the Bears win the tiebreaker by virtue of their 31-26 win over Philadelphia in Week 12.
This is a young Eagles team, with an average age of 25.7 years. There will be more and more attention paid towards this squad as the playoffs draw closer. But wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who scored the game-winning touchdown Sunday on a 65-yard punt return, said his teammates understand that there can be no drop-off in the team's level of play.
"We can't let that happen, honestly," Jackson said. "We're just happy we have the last two games at home. We're ready for the opportunity, but we know we have two tough games left. That's one thing about the NFL. You can never take a game off. These two games are more important than any other game we've played all year."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 6:00 a.m., December 21
