1. Is it time to bench James Bradberry?
You can sure make a case for it. Bradberry isn’t remotely the same player he was last year, and his struggles on that last drive Monday night really crystallized what a tough time he’s been having. It’s not easy benching a guy who was a 2nd-team all-pro last year, but last year is ancient history, cornerbacks can lose it fast and quarterbacks are attacking Bradberry week after week. Bradberry’s defensive passer rating the last three weeks: 149.3 vs. the 49ers, 139.1 vs. the Cowboys and a maximum 158.3 Monday night in Seattle. QBs in those three games were 15-for-17 for 230 yards with three TDs and no INTs when targeting Bradberry. His opposing passer rating for the season is now up to 117.7, 5th-worst in the league among 58 cornerbacks who’ve faced 50 or more targets. He’s allowed 11 passing TDs, most on record since Stathead began tracking cornerback coverage stats in 2018. Conventional wisdom says if the Eagles are going to make a change at corner they’d have to wait until Darius Slay returns after getting his knee scoped. But honestly, I’m close to the point where I’d rather take my chances with Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks, two young guys who are lacking in experience but are fast, have good size and don’t seem to shy away from those big moments that decide games. For the record, Ringo on Monday night didn’t allow a completion on two targets in his first NFL start and Ricks didn’t allow a completion on three targets. It may be time.
2. Frustrated Eagles players are starting to speak out
Despite an inconsistent start to the season, there wasn’t a whole lot of discourse among players — at least not publicly — while the team was 10-1, and then 10-2. But now that they’re 10-4 and coming off a loss that was somehow uglier than the two in the weeks prior, the discontent from within the locker room is starting to show. That’s never a good sign. Last week, before it was revealed that Darius Slay underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, he posted a video in which he responded to the fans who put two trash cans outside NovaCare, one with his name on it. Slay explained that he actually had a great game against the Cowboys, but the team played poorly.
3. NFC East Mixtape Vol.143: Literally everybody lost
Brandon Lee Gowton and RJ Ochoa recap the Week 15 action in the division.
4. 2023 NFL Playoff, Super Bowl probabilities for all 32 teams
The Eagles once had a 26% chance of winning the Super Bowl, but losses to the 49ers, Cowboys and Seahawks have dropped that chance to 9%. However, they now have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL. They are projected to go to the Super Bowl 18% of the time.
5. A Gift From the Eagles
Happy Holidays from the Philadelphia Eagles. They got you a gift and you didn’t even ask for one. I’m sure some of you are questioning if I got hold of some spoiled egg nog or I’m suffering from PTSD after last night’s brutal loss.
6. Best NFL players at 101 different skills: Top QBs, WRs, CBs
Blankenship is the gatekeeper of the Eagles’ defense when a run breaks. He can quickly eliminate the distance to the ball carrier, creep the feet and shoot/wrap to finish. Blankenship has 85 tackles this season. Best punt returner: Britain Covey, Eagles. Fearless and hard to tackle, Covey catches it clean and gets vertical with the ball. He’s averaging 13.7 yards per return this season.
7. Spadaro: 10 takeaways from a tough loss in Seattle
That was the touchdown drive that gave Seattle the win. Quarterback Drew Lock completed 3 passes to wide receiver DK Metcalf for 58 yards, one a 34-yard gain on a third-and-10 play. On the second third down of the drive, third-and-10 from the Philadelphia 29-yard line, Lock dropped a dime to rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the right corner of the end zone for the winning touchdown. Stunning ending.
8. Eagles’ Loss Against Seahawks
Monday night’s game between the Eagles and Seahawks included a sideline altercation capped by someone not in uniform throwing an accidental-on-purpose shoulder at Eagles receiver A.J. Brown. The two men then exchanged words, with the non-player and player giving it to each other in roughly equal measure. While anything is possible and the Cowboys opponents they’ve beaten could get hot (and Philly’s falter), it seems highly unlikely that the Cowboys could jump ahead of the Eagles in the SOV tiebreaker scenario.
9. NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 16 edition
They are 3-4 on the road with a point differential of -4. The Cowboys’ loss on the road to the Bills Week 15 significantly damaged their chances of winning the NFC East.
10. NFL playoff picture: Postseason probabilities entering Week 16 of 2023 season
Although the model hasn’t completely ruled out a Giants playoff bid…
