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If all playoff berths were created equal, the Philadelphia Eagles could treat Saturday's trip to the nation's capital as a relaxing year-end diversion.
The Eagles, of course, know better. A victory over the Washington Redskins guarantees the NFC East title and a first-round bye, essentially a prerequisite for any banged-up team with Super Bowl plans.
Should the Eagles
(11-4) lose, they would relegated to wild card status if Dallas (10-5) beats
New Orleans on Sunday. The Cowboys would win the division because of a better
record against NFC East opponents.
``We really hope we can get that bye, because we've got guys like Troy Vincent
who need another week to get healthy,'' safety Clinton Hart said. ``It's going
to be very important that we get it.''
Even healthy teams have a difficult road without a week of rest in the postseason. Of the 26 teams who have played in the Super Bowl since the NFL went to 12 playoff teams in 1990, only four got there without the bye.
So, while just getting to the postseason might be reward enough for a rising team like Carolina, it just won't do for an Eagles team that has been the NFC runner-up the last two years.
``After being in that position the past couple of years, hopefully this is the year,'' quarterback Donovan McNabb said. ``But we can't look that far right now. Can't afford to.''
The schedule has not played into the Eagles' hands. Their regular season bye was way back in September, making this the 14th straight week they have played. Coach Andy Reid has been forced to compact his practice routine for the second consecutive week because Philadelphia was given a Monday night game followed by a Sunday game followed by this Saturday's game.
The injury-depleted defense has been playing like it desperately needs a break, allowing more than 150 yards rushing for five straight games, including 209 in last week's overtime loss to San Francisco. Linebacker Carlos Emmons this week became the fifth defensive player to be placed on injured reserve.
While the bye is important, the Eagles are less concerned about the weekend's other playoff subplot. A win and a St. Louis loss to Detroit would give Philadelphia home field advantage throughout the postseason.
Big deal, say the players who remember a certain 27-10 result in last year's NFC championship game.
``It's not doomsday if you don't have the home field,'' linebacker Ike Reese said. ``I think that was proven last year when Tampa came here. It only means so much. It only means your fans are going to be cheering for you the loudest.''
Regardless of motivation, the Eagles should have the upper hand against the Redskins (5-10), whose players this week seemed more interested in Christmas shopping than in the direction of their team.
Washington has lost nine of 11, and coach Steve Spurrier is promising to announce significant structural changes once the season is over -- perhaps as soon as Sunday afternoon. The players shrugged their shoulders in response, having been jaded by year after year of upheaval under owner Dan Snyder.
``There's nothing than can be done that I haven't seen,'' veteran linebacker Jessie Armstead said.
Spurrier didn't sound convincing when discussing his team's incentive to do well against the Eagles. He even downplayed the role of spoiler, referring to a 27-0 loss to Dallas two weeks ago.
``I thought we had a lot of extra incentive for the Dallas game, and we probably played our worst game of the year,'' Spurrier said. ``We're all professionals. We've got a ball game. We'll try our best to win.''
All-time sack king Bruce Smith will be playing his last NFL game and will be honored at halftime, but that hasn't produced much of a rally cry either. Smith might even be greeted by more cries of ``boooooo'' than ``Bruuuuce'' because traveling Philadelphia fans could easily overwhelm the apathetic Washington locals.
In other words, it's down to every-man-for-himself mode for the Redskins, with the exception of a few team leaders who are tired of seeing the Eagles do so well.
``The thing I can control is giving the Eagles another loss so they can't play in the home field advantage,'' cornerback Fred Smoot said. ``I don't want no NFC playoff game within 200 miles of D.C.''