Philadelphia Eagles:

While NFL Week 15 did not do much to the playoff picture other than end the misery for a handful of teams by officially eliminating them from post-season play, it did bring genuine contenders one step closer to clinching scenarios in Week 16. Eighteen teams still have at least a mathematical chance at a playoff spot with two weeks to go; that is surely something that Roger Goodell’s parity-driven Park Avenue league office that strives for participation banners is surely proud of.

In both conferences the race for the number five seed is nearly as meaningful as getting a first round bye. Both of the number five seeds will most likely be playing against a team with a .500 (or losing record). On the other hand the number six seed will have to go on the road against a ten or eleven-win club.

With the winter weather beginning to creep back in, the time is coming when the passing offenses begin to slow down and an effective running game becomes essential.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had words with female official Sarah Thomas on Sunday regarding an issue he had with how an Eagles player was trying to bring down one of his players.

The Patriots committed the cardinal sin in all of sports; don’t ever, ever let an inferior team hang around, because it come back to bite you.

Philadelphia rookie CB Eric Rowe gets his first NFL start Sunday, and it against a New England team that since 2003 is 38-4 coming off a loss and is 52-8 in the month of December since 2001.

Look no further than the Patriots third-down percentage the past two games to see that the running game is slowing down the offense. New England is 5 for 28 on third down percentage the last two weeks including just 2 of 13 against Denver.

Week 13’s best game is between Seattle, who just went over .500 for the first time all season, and Minnesota, who ranks 25th in the league in scoring. The only other game with two winning clubs involves a pair of 6-5 teams: the under achieving Colts with a 40-year old backup QB, and a Pittsburgh defense that has given up 39 and 35 points in recent games. NFL fans deserve better than this.

In the last five games, the Philly defense has allowed 828 yards on the ground an average of 165.6 yards per game. This is the time for Blount to get some yardage and take some pressure off the receivers.

Since realignment in 2002, the Pats own a stellar 45-10 record against NFC teams including a 3-0 record against the other teams from the NFC East this season.

Look for the Patriots to try to wear down this Eagles defense with much more Blount and Bolden carrying the ball this week in a similar offensive game plan as when they faced a fellow NFC East foe, the Redskins.

For those of you living in the southeastern United States that don’t have the Sunday Ticket, it’s another Sunday off to the local sports bar if you want to catch the Pats; for the rest of the country, you will be able to see the Patriots from the comfort of your living room couch.

Thru eleven games in 2015 the Philadelphia defense has been on the field for 83 minutes more than the offense.

Unbeaten Carolina is just a 3½ point favorite against a struggling Saints defense in New Orleans; Miami is favored by 6½ (granted, it is against the Ravens); Minnesota is a 1½ point home underdog against Seattle; and Dallas was listed as a three-point road favorite at Washington – though to be fair, this was prior to Tony Romo’s injury on Thanksgiving Day. It is also interesting to note that there are more favorites playing on the road (nine) than home favorites (just six).

As is what seems to be the case every year, a Thanksgiving Day game involving the Detroit Lions is seemingly in place to simply make the following games look that much better