Sports radio polls are generally useless, but in a rare W, respondents got this one right:

Option C is the correct answer. Ding ding ding! You play the starters and then pull them if Dallas is hammering Warshington.

Some things to consider from a macro standpoint –

  • the Eagles can’t win the division unless they beat the Giants and the Cowboys lose
  • Washington absolutely stinks
  • you can never rule out a Dallas choke job
  • the MetLife turf sucks and is an injury risk
  • the Birds have no momentum and could benefit from a positive showing in the season finale

Taking all of that into account, the MetLife surface isn’t enough to justify going with option B. If you rest your starters and Dallas goes into halftime tied at 10, then what? Does Jalen Hurts enter the game for Marcus Mariota? Can’t do that. You just can’t sit the starters when the division remains on the line, no matter how long the odds are.

Option A is basically a truncated option C. Besides the obvious division scenario, these guys just haven’t played well in recent weeks and could use some live game reps to work out the kinks and regain a bit of confidence. If you can’t get things going against the Giants, which is the only team you’ve defeated since November, then you’re hopeless.


So Option C is the only viable path forward. You play the starters. If Dallas is in a tight game with the Communists, you go for the division. And if the Cowboys are throttling those bums, then Jalen Hurts and company take a seat on the bench coming out of halftime or at some point in the 3rd or 4th quarter. Ideally you get the reps, rip off a couple of decent series on both sides of the ball, and go into the playoffs on some kind of positive note.

This is the way.