In their 17th game of the 2024 regular season, the Eagles played mostly reserves on a cold, windy day at Lincoln Financial Field, giving most starters the weekend off. It worked as planned. Those players who have worked so hard throughout the year took the majority of the reps and came away with a 20-13 win over the New York Giants, who played their starters.

The Eagles finished the regular season with a 14-3 record, tying their club record for most victories in a season. Now it's on to the postseason next weekend against the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field.

1. Tanner McKee impresses at QB

In his NFL starting debut, second-year man Tanner McKee looked good.

He operated the offense efficiently, got in and out of the huddle quickly, and worked with a group that he didn't have much time with like it was no problem. McKee threw with great timing and accuracy. He worked the pocket nicely. On a first-quarter touchdown drive, McKee showed his range – rolling right on a completion to tight end Dallas Goedert (16 yards), had a straight dropback and completion to Goedert (17 yards), and then rolled left and squared his shoulders down the field on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ainias Smith, who hauled in his first catch and touchdown all on the same play.

"Looking internally, I felt like I showed I have confidence in myself to go out, operate and run the offense," McKee said after the game. "I feel like for me it just showed that my preparation's been working. My preparation has helped me just get to how the offense was run today. Obviously, there's a ton of things we can change. We're going to go back and watch film and there's a lot of things, different checks or progressions or something that I did wrong. Obviously for me, it was a growing opportunity, which was great, so I'm happy to get my feet wet a little bit. It was my first start and just going to grow, watch the film and learn from the experience."

Boom.

McKee finished the game 27-of-41 for 269 yards with two touchdowns and a 100.6 passer rating. He looked every bit the poised prospect the Eagles know he is. The future is bright for Tanner McKee.

2. Dallas Goedert knocks the rust off

This was a very good day for Dallas Goedert, who had his practice window opened during the week, was activated from Injured Reserve on Saturday, and played for much of the first half. Targeted six times, Goedert had four receptions for 55 yards and looked great. Now it's on to the playoffs for Goedert, who missed four games late in the regular season with a knee injury. The Eagles will benefit greatly from having Goedert in the lineup at tight end.

3. WR Jahan Dotson featured, and produces

There haven't been many targets for wide receiver Jahan Dotson with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on the field, so it was great for him on Sunday to be a primary target for McKee. Dotson responded with seven catches for 94 yards on 10 targets. He and McKee were on the same page the entire game and they both worked the field nicely. Dotson is who the Eagles traded for, but it's just that his opportunities are limited with the stars the Eagles have at wide receiver as well as Goedert at tight end. The game for Dotson on Sunday was a nice confidence-builder for him.

"I left some plays out there I want to get back, obviously. But, you know, not everything's perfect. So, it was a good performance, but definitely something to build on," Dotson said.

"Just really relying on people around me. I know the type of player I am. I know I can make plays whenever my opportunity is called upon. I know I'm I'm ready for it. I'm able to make plays. So, just staying patient has been a thing that I've learned coming up through time college, I had to stay patient and wait my turn. This year, I'm doing the same thing. So it is not nothing new to me. You got to stay true to yourself and keep working on your craft. That's what I do every single day. I got a lot of great guys around me to help me keep getting better. It's easy for me, whenever my opportunity is called upon to go get it."

4. Offensive line does its job against New York's starting front

The Giants have a strong defensive front with edge rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, but the Eagles more than held their own at the line of scrimmage with Fred Johnson at left tackle, Tyler Steen at left guard, Nick Gates at center, Jack Driscoll at right guard, and Darian Kinnard at right tackle, with Trevor Keegan as the sixth man in heavy packages. Keegan and Steen swapped roles in the second half. Good job by that group, but we always expect that from Jeff Stoutland's offensive line.

"It's been awesome sitting there in meetings and watching those guys on the field," Gates said. "I've learned a lot just about showing up every day. They set the standard so high for everybody and it rubs off on everybody. It's just cool to see the guys that are at that level of play still show up and work their butts off every single day to be the best player they can, so it's fun to fun to be around that," Gates said. "This is the best group of offensive line guys I've been around my whole career."

5. Depth shows up again

There are certain things games like this tell you about a team. One, the Eagles have a lot of depth on this roster and that is to be appreciated. A third QB who plays like McKee? Are there any others in the NFL? An offensive line that was put together with a week's notice that did such a nice job? Find another one out there. The Eagles' defense held its own, too, with linebackers Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Oren Burks around the football the entire afternoon.

The Eagles played the 17th game of the regular season with most of their starters on the sidelines – Goedert and defensive tackle Jordan Davis – who had five total tackles, including one tackle for loss – the exceptions. They allowed some air in the fourth quarter – the touchdown pass to wide receiver Malik Nabers was too easy on the catch and then Nabers broke a tackle, stayed inbounds, and reached the end zone – but for the most part, it was a very, very solid showing against – once again, a New York team that played its starters.

6. And now, the postseason

The week ahead ramps up its intensity and focus. What do we need to learn in the days ahead? Quarterback Jalen Hurts remains in the concussion protocol, as Head Coach Nick Sirianni updated the situation after the win. The rest of the team appears to be in very good health. Then it's just a matter of having a great practice week and coming out and playing the best football of the season for the Eagles.

They've been down this road before, of course. They know how to handle these moments. It will be a cold weekend and an intense environment at Lincoln Financial Field against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round. Bring it on! Let the playoffs begin!

"They play a physical brand of football, and that's what we try to do. And that was like our first big test of who are we going to be as a defense? I know they do a lot of different stuff in the run game. I'm excited," linebacker Zack Baun, who had a career-high 15 tackles in Week 1 against the Packers in Brazil said. "Everyone makes their adjustments throughout the season, tries to figure out who they are as a team, as a defense, as an offense. You throw in wrinkles here and there, and you see what sticks. And we've changed, and I know they have to."