Should the Eagles rest starters in Week 18?

The Philadelphia Eagles have a big decision to make in Week 18.

Should they play their starters against the Washington Commanders? Or should they rest them?

Had the Chicago Bears defeated the San Francisco on Sunday night, resting the starters would’ve been the easy call since the Birds would’ve been locked in to the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoff picture.

But the Bears’ loss leaves the door open to the Eagles moving up to the No. 2 seed if 1) Philly beats Washington AND 2) Chicago loses to the Detroit Lions in the final week of the regular season.

So, what should the Eagles do?

Here are some thoughts on the matter with a conclusion to follow.

There is significant value in the No. 2 seed.

It’s not like the difference between No. 2 and No. 3 is irrelevant. We just saw the Eagles win the Super Bowl as the No. 2 seed last season.

The No. 2 seed is guaranteed to host a second home playoff game if they can win their first home game in the Wild Card round. If the Eagles are able to move up to No. 2, they’d be guaranteed a home game against the Green Bay Packers … a team they previously beat at Lambeau Field earlier this season. And a team that is now without Micah Parsons and might enter the playoffs on a four-game losing streak if Green Bay can’t beat the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18.

If the Eagles can beat the Packers and then win in the Divisional Round, they’d be able to host the NFC Championship Game in Philly if the No. 1 seed loses their first playoff game. This obviously happened last year when the Detroit Lions lost to the Washington Commanders.

The Eagles might not need to play starters to beat the Commanders.

The Commanders are pretty bad. They might be starting 39-year-old Josh Johnson at quarterback.

The Eagles’ backups won a Week 18 game over the New York Giants’ starters last year. That result doesn’t guarantee it’ll happen again in this spot. But there’s some reason to feel that Tanner McKee could play well enough to lead the Birds to a win.

Dan Quinn might be out to really spoil the Eagles’ No. 2 seed hopes.

Commanders players didn’t seem to appreciate Nick Sirianni going for a two-point conversion late in the Eagles’ win over Washington in Week 17. After the game, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn talked tough about how they’ll see the Eagles again in Week 18.

Seems like the Commanders could relish playing the Eagles tough. And maybe even playing dirty to try to sabotage their division rival.

The Lions’ motivation to beat the Bears is unclear.

The Lions were officially eliminated from playoff contention by losing to the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas. They have nothing to play for but pride in Week 18.

But do we really expect a Dan Campbell team to merely roll over? The Lions could finish their season on a positive note by beating the Bears to potentially knock Chicago down to the No. 3 seed.

The Lions notably have a rest advantage in this matchup since they last played on the afternoon of December 25 while the Bears played a road game on the night of December 28.

There are caveats to the Eagles resting players.

It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. The Eagles can rest some players who aren’t necessarily totally ready to play in Week 18, such as Lane Johnson. Or Nakobe Dean, who missed Week 17 with a hamstring injury.

The Eagles can also monitor how the Lions-Bears game is going. If Chicago takes a big lead early on and it looks like they’re going to win, the Eagles can pull their starters.

Making the call

If I’m the Eagles, I’m asking myself what I’d regret more in this scenario.

If I rest the starters in a loss to Washington and the Bears happen to lose, it would be really hard to live with not having tried to get the No. 2 seed.

If I play the starters and someone gets hurt and the Eagles don’t get the No. 2 seed, well, that sucks. But at least I knew I tried to get the No. 2 seed. I can live with that.

And so I’m of the belief that the Eagles should try to seriously pursue the No. 2 seed. Resting starters would be ideal but it’s not like this team has been so great with extra rest this season. They won a six-point game against Carson Wentz’s Minnesota Vikings coming off a mini-bye. They won a three-point game against the Green Bay Packers coming off their actual bye week. They lost to the Los Angeles Chargers coming off another mini-bye.

Play the starters and feel good knowing you at least tried to get the No. 2 seed if you don’t get it.

What say you?