Dec 28, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) during a timeout in the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Eagles Get Locker Room Material From Anonymous Executive

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 6, 2026 4:57 PM ET

The reigning Super Bowl Philadelphia Eagles will begin their pursuit of another ring on Sunday when they take on the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia enters the playoffs a little differently than it did last year. The Eagles started the 2024 season 2-2 and then won 12 of their final 13 games. Philadelphia lost the season finale against the Washington Commanders this season, but did have a three-game winning streak before that. Overall, though, the season hasn't been as dominant as the 2024 campaign. Still, this team should have a good shot in the playoffs to make a deep run even with that being the case.

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The Eagles should be the favorite

But everybody doesn't think the Eagles are going to do what they did last year. In fact, they got a bit of locker room material on Monday. Mike Sando of The Athletic shared a story breaking down the playoff matchups with quotes and opinions from anonymous executives from around the league. One executive picked San Francisco over the Eagles citing less "dysfunction" with the 49ers.

"I like the 49ers," the executive said to Sando. "There's less dysfunction going on, you know? I don't expect Philly to magically turn it on. And as good as (Vic) Fangio and their defense is, I feel like what happened to the 49ers against Seattle was an aberration. Philly's gonna have to score points, and I'm not sure they'll be able to do that."

This is the same 49ers team that hasn't had Brandon Aiyuk on the field all season with some dysfunction of their own. The Eagles are the trendy team to garner some negative buzz. Despite all of the noise of the season, they have gotten through. This could be yet another example. There isn't a team in the playoffs more battle-tested than Philadelphia right now.

The offense has gotten a lot of flak throughout the season, but it has done enough to win the NFC East. Plus, when you have arguably the top defense in football, the offense doesn't need to do as much. This is a team that just two weeks ago gave up only 12 points to the Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills.

Overall, this Eagles team is poised for a run.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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