Eagles to rest key starters in season finale vs. Commanders even with playoff seeding at stake

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Eagles are so concerned about clinching the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, so mindful of potentially earning at least one extra home game in their pursuit of a second straight Super Bowl title that they are, well — they are treating the regular-season finale like a preseason game.

Jalen Hurts and the bulk of the starting lineup are taking the day off.

Philadelphia will sit some starters against Washington. Some will be limited, and others will be dressed but won't play as the team needs to meet the league minimum of available players.

Coach Nick Sirianni is playing the long game with his decision to essentially treat Sunday’s home game against the Commanders — unbelievably in retrospect, the matchup was last season's NFC title game — like a bye week. Sirianni would rather give his regulars more time to rest, heal up from nagging injuries and start preparing for potential playoff opponents than risk injury to Hurts and others with only seeding at stake.

The Eagles (11-5) would earn the No. 2 seed and could be in line to play two home games if they beat the Commanders (4-12) on Sunday and Chicago loses to Detroit.

If not, the Eagles are the No. 3 seed and are guaranteed only to host during wild card weekend.

Even with backup quarterback Tanner McKee getting the nod to start in place of Hurts, the Eagles remain the betting favorite to win the game and sweep the season series against the Commanders. The Eagles clinched the NFC East two weeks ago with a 29-18 win over the Commanders — who, with Jayden Daniels shut down and Marcus Mariota dealing with a leg injury, will start 39-year-old third-stringer Josh Johnson.

Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in last week's loss to Dallas.

“This game doesn’t have the magnitude that we hoped it would have when the schedule came out,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said.

Sirianni isn't shy about benching star players in the short term if the greater good of a championship is within reach.

Saquon Barkley lost his shot at breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record when he was a healthy scratch in last season's finale against the New York Giants. Barkley finished the season with 2,005 yards rushing, 101 shy of breaking Dickerson’s record of 2,105.

“Your seeding’s not locked down yet, but you are thinking, ‘Hey, can I put ourselves in the best position seeding wise?’ But also, you’re thinking to yourself how important byes are and creating them if you don’t earn the right for the first-round bye,” Sirianni said. “Those are all things you’ve got to think through and go through because I think a lot of guys would say, last year, that that was a big deal of being able to have a bye last year to set us up for what we ultimately did last year.”

One reason Sirianni might be fine with settling for the No. 3 seed: The Eagles are beasts on the road.

The Eagles lead the NFL in road winning percentage (.667, 30-15) since 2021, including playoffs. Philadelphia owns an 11-4 record (.733) over its last 15 away games.

The Eagles won last week at cold, rainy Buffalo — a Super Bowl contender — even as Hurts failed to complete a pass in the second half for the second time this season.

“Another thing about having the road record that we do, I think that’s a product of really good players and good coaches, and so it’s everything that goes into that, but good mental toughness,” Sirianni said. “I think that really signifies your mental toughness, too.”

With Hurts holding a clipboard, McKee is excited to get another shot at starting a game.

McKee, a sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, has thrown for 356 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in limited action over the last two seasons.

He was 27 of 41 for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his Week 18 start last season against the Giants.

“Each week leading up, I've been preparing like I'm going to play, in case I do,” McKee said. “Preparation's been pretty similar. It's nice to get more reps in practice, obviously.”

The 25-year-old McKee has taken limited snaps in mop-up duty in three blowout victories this season. He completed all three passes for 33 yards in a win over the Raiders.

“I feel like I have a good feel, can play fast,” McKee said. "As a quarterback it’s really big to be able to play and just react to the game instead of trying to think of, ‘What’s my job? What’s my footwork? What’s everybody else doing?’ You can just play and react. So I feel like I’ve gotten to that point and I feel comfortable doing that.”

The Eagles clinched their second straight NFC title in a win two weeks ago at Washington in a rivalry game that had three players ejected after a fight broke out among several members of both teams in the aftermath of Barkley’s 2-point conversion that increased Philadelphia’s lead to 19 points with about 4 1/2 minutes left.

Two players on Washington’s defense — lineman Javon Kinlaw and safety Quan Martin — and one Eagles player — offensive lineman Tyler Steen — were disqualified after being flagged for unnecessary roughness during the brawl.

There was some punching, a ton of pushing and shoving, and a lot of jawing, too, as the scrum spread across the grass.

Sirianni wasn't expecting tempers to flare in Philly.

“No, because I know the referees do a great job of controlling that, and I have the utmost respect for coach Quinn,” he said. “I know myself, too, is like, we want to go out there and have an opportunity to play football.”

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Washington Commanders quarterback Josh Johnson, right, passes against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Commanders quarterback Josh Johnson speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni reacts after the Eagles blocked an extra point attempt during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

New Orleans (6-10) at Atlanta (7-9)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Falcons by 3.

Against the spread: Saints 8-8; Falcons 9-7

Series record: Falcons lead 57-56

Last meeting: With Kirk Cousins at quarterback, the Falcons beat the Saints 24-10 on Nov. 23 in New Orleans to end a five-game losing streak.

Last week: Saints beat Titans 34-26 in Nashville, Tenn.; Falcons beat the Los Angeles Rams 27-24 on Monday night in Atlanta.

Saints offense: overall (23), rush (30), pass (17), scoring (29).

Saints defense: overall (9), rush (23), pass (5), scoring (16).

Falcons offense: overall (15), rush (5), pass (19), scoring (24).

Falcons defense: overall (14), rush (26), pass (11), scoring (20)

Turnover differential: Saints minus-3; Falcons plus-4

Rookie Tyler Shough is looking to make a final case that he's the long-term answer at quarterback. He has led the team to four consecutive wins, the Saints' longest winning streak since Drew Brees led the offense in 2020. Shough topped 300 passing yards in the past two wins. He completed 22 of 27 passes for 333 yards, two touchdowns and a 142.7 rating against the Titans last week. Shough ranks first among rookie quarterbacks with a 92.1 rating this season.

Bijan Robinson's 229 scrimmage yards, including his career-high 195 rushing yards, against the Rams gave him the team record with 2,255 scrimmage yards for the season. His big game included another team record with a 93-yard touchdown run, but the Falcons may be reluctant to ask Robinson to match that heavy workload following a quick turnaround, especially with Tyler Allgeier available as a capable backup. The Falcons obviously want to close the season with a fourth straight win, but they also want to protect Robinson's health for the future.

Robinson and Allgeier vs. Saints run defense. The Saints rank only 23rd against the run. Atlanta ranks fifth in rushing yards following Robinson's huge game against the Rams. The Falcons are expected to continue to emphasis their running game after Kirk Cousins attempted only 20 passes, completing 13 for only 126 yards, last week. The Falcons rushed for only 121 yards with no touchdowns in their first game against the Saints.

Saints: WR Chris Olave is expected to miss the game after being hospitalized with a reported blood clot in his lung. ... TE Jack Stoll (knee) was held out of practice Wednesday and Thursday after leaving the game against the Titans. DT Bryan Bresee (knee) and RB Alvin Kamara (knee and ankle) did not practice Wednesday and Thursday after missing Sunday's game. RG Cesar Ruiz (ankle) was limited on Wednesday but had a full practice on Thursday.

Falcons: DL Brandon Dorlus (hamstring) will miss the game but the Falcons were relieved he didn't suffer a more significant injury. CB Mike Hughes (ankle) was placed on injured reserve after missing two games. CB Clark Phillips III (triceps, illness) missed practice Wednesday and Thursday. WRs Darnell Mooney (knee) and Drake London (knee) were limited.

The NFC South rivals split their regular-season series each of the past two seasons, with each team winning at home. The Falcons' win in the first game this season was their first in New Orleans since a 27-25 victory on Nov. 7, 2021. The Saints won nine of 11 in the series in a stretch that began with the second game in 2017 and continued through a sweep of the 2022 games. Atlanta took a 27-21 wild-card round win in 1991 in the only playoff game in the rivalry. The Falcons' most recent sweep came in 2016.

The home team has won five of the past six games, with Atlanta's win on Nov. 23 the exception. ... Shough is 5-3 as a starter, including the four consecutive wins. He took over as the starter when the team was 1-7. ... Shough has topped 300 passing yards in each of the past two games. ... The Saints don't have a win over a team that currently has a winning record. ... Saints RB Audric Estime set a career high with 94 rushing yards with a touchdown last week and could be in position for another big role. ... TE Juwan Johnson set a season high with 95 receiving yards last week and has a career-best 828 yards for the season. ... The Falcons are 4-1 in prime-time games and 3-8 in afternoon games. The prime-time record includes Monday night wins over the Buffalo Bills and Rams. ... The Falcons' three-game winning streak came after the team was eliminated from playoff contention. ... Allgeier leads Atlanta with eight rushing touchdowns, one more than Robinson. ... Falcons S Xavier Watts leads NFL rookies with five interceptions. Watts and Jessie Bates, who has three picks, have combined for eight interceptions to tie for the most of any safety duo in the league. ... The Falcons rank second in the NFL with 53 sacks after ranking next-to-last with 31 last season. ... Robinson's 5,605 scrimmage yards for his career are the most by a player under the age of 24 in NFL history. Robinson is 23 and will turn 24 on Jan. 30. ... James Pearce Jr. leads NFL rookies with 8 1/2 sacks. Jalon Walker is second with 5 1/2 sacks.

Zane Gonzalez has made 15 of 18 field goals, including last week's go-ahead 51-yarder with 21 seconds remaining, in his eight games with Atlanta. Gonzalez made each of his three attempts in the Falcons' first win over the Saints and has made at least two field goals in five of his eight games. Gonzalez nailed his game-winning kick last week after having an earlier attempt blocked and could be a good pick for more fantasy points as he attempts to put a lock on the job for 2026.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Atlanta Falcons place kicker Zane Gonzalez (45) celebrates his go-ahead field goal with long snapper Liam McCullough (49) in the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons safety Xavier Watts (31) celebrates his interception with safety Jessie Bates III (3) in the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) celebrates after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) celebrates after an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)