NFL Colts outlook, Philadelphia Eagles panic, and Rams are inevitable

There is nothing like Thanksgiving week.

Getting a bit more specific, there is nothing like Thanksgiving week when your football team is coming off of a huge win. Such is life for many fanbases around the NFL right now.

We have reached a critical time in the season and it is likely one that we will look back on having changed the playoff picture in one way or another. Things are starting to come together in that sense and crystallize for what January will give us, but we don’t have to get too far ahead of ourselves right now. We need to take things as they come.

Our job here at the Skinny Post between us, Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa, is to do all of that for you.

Let’s begin.

How much panic should there be in Philadelphia right now?

RJ: 

The Eagles blew a 21-0 lead against the team that they dedicate an entire week towards in terms of hype and fanfare. Consider that elementary children in the Philadelphia area at large were punching dummies with pictures of Cowboys players on them last week. This really happened.

Philly is ultimately still 8-3, but their offense looks completely and totally nonexistent right now. It is hard to not draw comparisons to 2023 for them when they completely fell apart down the stretch. That record makes doing so hard to imagine, but they have another big game on Black Friday against the Bears where they could really spiral out of control.

This is a critical time.

Michael: 

Normally when it comes to good teams experiencing a dip, it’s probably a good idea NOT to worry too much as history shows more often than not that they’ll find their way sooner rather than later. However, this was not just a down game where they should burn the tape and move on. The Eagles blew a commanding 21-0 lead to the Cowboys (who aren’t really known for their defense this year) and lost 24-21 after they couldn’t score a single point for the final 41 minutes of regulation.

Now THAT is concerning.

Remember, this is the same team (for the most part) where Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,000 yards a season ago. This year, Barkley is legitimately averaging less than half the yards per game that he averaged in 2024 (62.2 vs. 125.3).

The Eagles need to take a good hard look at what happened in this one before they move on or else they could fall prey to their tendencies again in some very important games down the final stretch of the season.

Are the Colts on the verge of falling all the way apart?

Michael: 

No, I don’t think Colts are all that close to falling apart, but I do think their weaknesses have become more and more clear as the season has rolled on. Defenses are realizing that this team truly rides on the play of running back Jonathan Taylor. If opponents force the Colts to win through Daniel Jones, I think it greatly decreases Indy’s chances of winning each week.

While the defense looks better as of late, the offense is all of a sudden not churning along like it did through the first half of the season. The runaway train led by Taylor wasn’t going to last forever and it looks like it’s now time the Colts figure out a new identity that will take them the rest of the way into the postseason or else they risk losing seeding advantage in January.

RJ: 

It took so many people so long to come around on the Colts that I don’t want to jump ship quite yet. They earned the right for us to give them some benefit of the doubt.

I will say that losing to Kansas City, especially after having a huge lead, has to creep into your head, though. When you are on the verge of taking over the throne and can’t do it then questions naturally come through. Are you for real? Do you have a ceiling? What did everything mean if you can’t get it done against the NFL’s elite?

It is going to be important for the Colts to bury last week and simply move on.

How worried should the Vikings be?

RJ: 

Things look really bad right now. Minnesota approached the quarterback position in a very weird way all season long and right now JJ McCarthy looks like one of the worst players to register a start at the position this season.

Of the teams we have discussed so far I think the Vikings are in the hottest type of water. There is no real relief in sight and they are in a division where everyone else is seemingly improving and getting better while they flounder.

It is a tough scene.

Michael: 

Now this is a team that I’m very worried about.

The Vikings have been on the healthy side of the spectrum compared to earlier stretches this season and it simply hasn’t mattered. J.J. McCarthy has looked terrible since the Vikings somehow beat the Lions several weeks ago with eight interceptions on the year compared to just six touchdown passes. He has not been able to consistently get the ball to superstar Justin Jefferson and that should be the most concerning thing given that Jefferson has been largely QB-proof over the years.

It’s also concerning that head coach Kevin O’Connell has not been able to work his magic with McCarthy as the “quarterback whisperer.” The offense looks uninspired and McCarthy looks lost out there most weeks.

One stat I read recently was that McCarthy ranks 831st among 832 qualifying quarterbacks in EPA per Dropback since 2000. The only quarterback to rank lower than him? Jamarcus Russell.

Yes, it’s been that bad.

Are the Rams inevitable?

Michael: 

When you talk about the best teams in the NFL, they’re usually pretty loud in that you hear them being talked about week-in and week-out during the season. The Rams have quietly become (arguably) the best team in the league while also being unusually quiet. I mean, they’re winning games with the top scoring defense and an offense that has singlehandedly won games by throwing it to Davante Adams from inside the 5-yard line. Adams currently leads the NFL with 12 touchdown catches on the year with EIGHT coming from 5 yards or less.

The Rams are realizing they don’t need to get cute near the goal line. They’re getting it to their best player in the most important area of the field and it’s working wonders for them. It’s only just a MEGA-PLUS that they also have the stingiest defense in the NFL, as well.

RJ: 

Super Bowls are not won the week of Thanksgiving, but right now I do think I’d have a hard time taking the field over the Rams. It isn’t just that LA looks so solid there is no other team, in either conference, who I feel as strongly about. You can argue that every other would-be contender has their share of warts.

Right now things look to be fully there for the taking for Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and everyone else.

Michael and I once pondered “if anyone cared” that the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, and I imagine a lot of people will care if they do it again in a few months.