Focus

Football is football. The team that blocks better, tackles better and executes better is going to win. That’s true in September and January. But things can be crazier when the playoffs roll around.

Since there are no longer 32 teams to cover, the media focuses on the teams that are still alive. That means more stories, more interviews and more scrutiny. That can distract some teams. The Eagles get as much media coverage as any team in the league so they are used to a lot of attention. Still, things do escalate in January. Which team will handle the noise better?

Extra media attention is just one of the many distractions that can roll around at this time of the year. Weather can get more extreme and become a factor. That will be the case in Philly on Sunday. The forecast calls for snow and cold weather. The Rams are from sunny California and play their games inside. The Eagles have an advantage since they live in the northeast and play outside. Which team will handle the weather better?

Matthew  Stafford played in a pretty famous bad weather game in Philly a decade ago.

A snow game in Philadelphia vs. Matthew Stafford this Sunday?

Won’t be the first time…#TBT

pic.twitter.com/oZKkbtbac1

— Eagles Fan Central (@PhilaFanCentral) January 16, 2025

That was such a fun day. I don’t think we’ll see anything that crazy, but the weather will make things interesting.

Good teams focus. They can put on blinders and ignore everything on the outside. Nick Sirianni has done a really good job this year of getting the Eagles to stay focused. They have only lost one game since September despite dealing with some oddball issues and situations. This team has been able to lock in.

They’ll need to be able to do that on Sunday.

The Rams played their best game of the year last week. They have been red hot for a while now. The only game they’ve lost since playing the Eagles was Week 18 when they rested their starters. Don’t be fooled by the Rams 10-7 record. Injuries killed them early on. Once they got healthy, they started winning.

This should be a tough game.

The Rams blowing out the Vikings was a favor to the Eagles. Seeing that kind of a performance certainly had to get the team’s attention and should help keep them focused. I don’t think they will overlook the Rams.

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There will be one more issue for the Eagles to deal with. Kellen Moore is doing head coach interviews with multiple teams. This won’t affect the players. It could affect Moore. The gameplan is already finished so him doing interviews late in the week shouldn’t be a big issue. Still, anything can have an impact when the playoffs roll around.

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AJ Brown was back at practice on Thursday. That was expected and is good news. Dallas Goedert was out due to an illness. Hopefully he’ll be better by Sunday. Goedert gave the offense a big lift last week, as a blocker and receiver.

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Brandon Graham had a major impact in the first game against the Rams. He won’t be able to play on Sunday, but he’ll still be around the team. BG is the ultimate trash talker and brings fun to the football field. Here he is from the Giants playoff game in 2022.

Never a dull Coin Toss with Jason Kelce & Brandon Graham (Divisional Round Edition) ️ pic.twitter.com/I2WEur3ffl

— Eagles History (@EaglesHistory) January 16, 2025

It is great to know that Saquon is one of the good guys these days.

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