Eagles have chance to put good spin on tough season

The Philadelphia Eagles were once 5-7 and a punch line when the NFL playoffs came up. Now, they’re riding a four-game winning streak and ready to host the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round come Sunday.

Philadelphia can’t be happy with how things have played out. No team has endured as many injuries — and nobody is particularly close. With guys like Darren Sproles, Brandon Brooks, Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, Ronald Darby and others missing significant time, the Eagles have patchworked both their roster and season throughout, somehow finding a way to the NFC East title.

In a year where the Super Bowl was a realistic expectation, a division crown and nine wins seems hollow on the surface. Should the Seahawks come into Lincoln Financial Field and dispose of Philadelphia quickly, perhaps that’s fair. However, if the Eagles can handle business and advance to the Divisional round — likely drawing the San Francisco 49ers — the season should be considered a success even if it ends in a week.

Sometimes, expectations need to be adjusted. If the Green Bay Packers or New Orleans Saints sustained this amount of attrition throughout the year, nobody would blame them for a downturn in the standings. Philadelphia gets more scrutiny nationally than smaller markets, but the point remains. The Eagles have been ravaged and yet continue to move forward, bloodied but unbowed. Now, Philadelphia is one of the final 12 teams remaining in the chase for Lombardi.

For Carson Wentz and Doug Peterson, beat the Seahawks would be a nice way to continue moving forward in their respective careers. In Wentz’s case, he’s never started a playoff game. Beating Seattle would check off a worthwhile milestone and give him a chance to pull the monumental upset in a week’s time. As for Peterson, he can win another postseason game, making this his third straight year of advancing in January.

Should the Eagles lose to Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, there is no shame. Philadelphia is playing with a legion of backups against what appears to be a better team. Seattle should win. If the Eagles don’t, so be it. Which is why this would be such a gratifying win.

Philadelphia has to piece together 60 more minutes and then its fans can walk into the night feeling as though something was found in a season where almost everyone was lost.