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In a hypothetical five-game NFL playoff series, there’s belief that the Detroit Lions would have the upper hand over the Philadelphia Eagles.
“One game, head to head, yes, the Eagles could win, but if they played five games, Philly would lose at least three of them, maybe four of them,” one NFC coach whose team faced the Eagles told Mike Sando of The Athletic.
With the Lions owning a 10-1 record and the Eagles sitting at 9-2, both teams currently occupy the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the NFC standings.
Detroit has been dominant on both sides of the ball throughout the year, owning the league’s top scoring offense and second-best scoring defense.
Philadelphia is currently riding a seven-game win streak, averaging 32.4 points per game over the past five weeks.
This included a 37-point performance in a win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football in which star running back Saquon Barkley amassed a career-high 255 rush yards to go along with two touchdowns.
While the Eagles reached the Super Bowl during the 2022 season, their playoff struggles in 2023 compared to the Lions’ success is a cause for concern heading into the postseason.
Detroit earned a trip to the NFC Championship Game last season and suffered a narrow three-point loss. Philadelphia ended the 2023 regular season by losing five of its final six games before experiencing a 32-9 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round.
The addition of Barkley gives the Eagles a new element to their rushing attack that they didn’t have last season, but they still may not be favored in a possible playoff meeting between the two teams.