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Momentum entering the playoffs, Matt Nagy’s decision to play starters, and Carson Wentz-Nick Foles comparisons | Early Birds

Also, a look at Golden Tate's role and links to our coverage.

Injured Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, left, helping quarterback Nick Foles up after he took a hard hit in the fourth quarter against the Texans on Dec. 23.
Injured Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, left, helping quarterback Nick Foles up after he took a hard hit in the fourth quarter against the Texans on Dec. 23.Read moreTIM TAI / Staff Photographer

Good morning. The Eagles will practice at 1:10 this afternoon and players will meet with reporters after practice. It will be the Eagles' first practice of this week. Nick Foles would have been limited if the Eagles had practiced yesterday, so pay attention to whether he’s a full participant today. (Foles said his ribs are “drastically” improving.)

This is a Thursday edition of the Early Birds newsletter. I want to know what you think, what we should add, and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email or on Twitter @ZBerm. Thank you for reading.

— Zach Berman

Does momentum matter going into the playoffs?

There aren’t many hotter teams in the NFL right now than the Eagles, who have won five of six games, including two December games against division champions. So they have momentum, if that matters.

“You hope so,” coach Doug Pederson said. “This is a different season now. ... You’re in the postseason, so obviously expectations increase. Sense of urgency increases. Speed of the game gets faster. … But I think everybody kind of has that clean slate and the momentum thing, you try to continue it. You try to keep it going.”

The Bears, by the way, also fit in this category. They were 3-3 at one point before a 9-1 stretch. So just as the Eagles might not be a desirable opponent, neither are the Bears.

It’s clear the Eagles are playing well right now. They don’t view themselves as a team that back-doored its way into the playoffs. Even though they needed help in Week 17 just to earn the sixth seed, the Eagles look at the fact that they needed to win tough December games as a reason to be confident.

“We didn’t sneak into this thing — we had to earn our way into it,” tight end Zach Ertz said. “But at the same time, everything is 0-0 right now.”

How the Bears helped the Eagles

The Bears helped make the Eagles their opponent this weekend. If the Bears had lost to the Vikings last week, the Eagles would have been eliminated from playoff contention. However, Bears coach Matt Nagy said he did not consider the opening-round opponent when he decided to keep his starters in the game against the Vikings.

“There were just too many scenarios and what-ifs,” Nagy said.

There was talk all week about whether the Bears would pull their starters, especially if the Rams built a big lead elsewhere to clinch the No. 2 seed. Yet when that happened, and the Bears were essentially locked into the No. 3 seed, Nagy still played his starters. The Bears were leading at the time, too, and Nagy acknowledged it was “most difficult” in the fourth quarter because he didn’t want a key contributor to get injured at that point, but he thought playing (and coaching) to win was the right call.

“It’s so easy to coach when you coach to win,” Nagy said. “And when you start getting into all these other variables … then your guys aren’t going to play because there’s reservations in how they’re going to do it, and we weren’t going to do that. That’s the approach we took.”

The challenge for Zach Ertz about Nick Foles and Carson Wentz

Zach Ertz makes it clear when asked about Nick Foles that his answer should not be viewed as a criticism about Carson Wentz, aware that outside the facility, the debate about Foles vs. Wentz is rampant. The Eagles don’t believe they have a quarterback controversy, but Ertz knows how an answer to a question can be interpreted, which is why he’s prefaced comments by saying he’s not comparing the two.

“I think it’s just the nature [of society] that we’re in right now,” Ertz said. “This entire society is always comparing one thing to the other. It’s very seldom that you can enjoy two things; you’re always going to try to compare the two. ... And often times, when you praise one, people are going to want to think you’re demeaning the other.”

It’s clear that the Eagles (and the fan base) appreciate what Foles is doing right now. But the players also know Wentz is the franchise quarterback, and barring something foreseen, that won’t change.

“We’re lucky to have both of them,” Ertz said. “Because there was a time we had neither, and it was tough sledding.”

What you need to know about the Eagles

  1. Darren Sproles was crucial to the Eagles' playoff push. They’ll need him on Sunday to beat a team that features Sproles 2.0.

  2. No one is doubting Nick Foles this time around, Paul Domowitch writes.

  3. Trey Burton will always be known for the Philly Special, but he doesn’t want it to define him, as Marcus Hayes writes.

  4. Doug Pederson is loose and in a good mood, Mike Sielski writes.

  5. Jeff McLane remembers a day when Matt Nagy played for the Eagles.

  6. Fletcher Cox was named defensive player of the week.

  7. Hayes looks at the Nagy-Pederson connection.

From the mailbag ...

I believe so. Golden Tate has been a factor in recent weeks, although he obviously hasn’t been used as much as he was in Detroit. But he has been targeted 14 times in the past three games and has 11 catches for 89 yards.

They’re using him mostly in the short passing game. He’s not going to be a featured receiver with the way the Eagles use Alshon Jeffery and Ertz and the number of two-tight-end sets they play, too.

The draft pick they traded is a sunk cost now, and I don’t see Tate back next year, so at this point, the trade can be judged on how much he contributes in the role he’s playing. But if you thought the trade made sense only if the Eagles made the playoffs — well, they’re in the playoffs.