CRUNCH TIME

NOW OR NEVER, BIRDS

Five games left for the slumping Birds to regroup, solve the riddle, and head into the postseason with momentum. Because you know what they say - teams that finish strong are the ones that go far in the playoffs. Right?

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Well... maybe.

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We studied the past 20 seasons to see how the eventual Super Bowl champion fared in its last 5 regular season games.

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Turns out there were only 5 times when the championship team finished the regular season 5-0. The 2024 Eagles were one such team.

But in more than half of the past 20 seasons, the championship team went 3-2 or worse in its final 5 regular season games. So it turns out that it is not all about finishing strong (although if the Eagles were suddenly to go on a 5-game tear, no one would complain).

One team that should be of particular interest to Eagles fans was the 2012 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens were cruising along with a 9-2 record, when suddenly they hit a rough patch and ended the regular season in a disastrous tailspin, losing 4 of their final 5 games. The Ravens managed to score more than 20 points in only 2 of their final 7 games.

Sound familiar?

The Ravens' 10-6 regular season record was tied for the worst of any NFL team that made the playoffs that year. Things looked grim.

But the Ravens suddenly turned it around at crunch time - scoring an average of 31 points per game in their 4 playoff games and winning those games by an average margin of 9 points.

Every single team the Ravens defeated had outperformed them in the regular season.

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The Ravens' QB was Joe Flacco. The Eagles' QB is Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts. We know what our Birds are capable of doing. Do not write them off.