Do We Strategically Lose To The Eagles in December with the aim of conquest in January?

[Riggo Reincarnated]

WIth 3 of our 4 remaining games looking largely winnable, and some other wild card competitors losing yesterday, it looks more and more like we will be the 7 seed and Philly the 2 seed in the playoffs.

Do we hold back against them in December, with the aim of surprising them in January? Perhaps have them become overconfident going into the wild card game?

With Philly winning yesterday it looks much less likely that we wll catch them for the division lead.

 

[burgold]

I don't think this team can take the foot off the gas. We're building a mindset here not just for this season, but going forward. Besides, you saw what it looked like in the third quarter yesterday and at Dallas when we tried to play it safe.

 

[Blaze Thunderball]

No. Not even worthy of consideration.

At this point they have to play to win every game in order to have full control of destiny. There is no guarantee they will make the playoffs.

You don't beat a team by tricking them into thinking you're not as good as you are. You beat them by outplayed them, or at the very least by keeping the game tight and riding the potential chaos at the end of the game to a positive outcome if you are the inferior team.

Winning the next match up gives the best odds of a playoff upset.

 

[Chris]

Asking competitive alpha-males (players and coaches) to not do their best? Sorry but 🤣

 

[Kel Varnsen]

No. No athletes and competitor ever wants to lose. And if they do, they should find a new career.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Nope!

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

There is never a 100% prediction on game results. There can be days a player isn’t at his best for whatever reason, coaches make mistakes, players who play out of their minds that day, injuries, a coach wrinkle that works “that day” - in a word, unpredictability.

You have to play to win every Sunday as a result. Nothing is guaranteed week-to-week. I don’t remember the team or player, but a few years back one dude was hurt in the MLB. The reported cause was “slipping in the bathroom.” I always wondered if he asked for them to lie for him, like, “Hey guys, can you tell ‘em I slipped in my garage at least? Heading for my motorcycle?”

 

[TD_WashingtonRedskins]

If things are locked in and cannot change, then I think you can do certain things differently at a level ABOVE the players. You could call different plays, play backups earlier, etc.

But I don't think you can "lose on purpose" in a sport like football.

 

[CapsCommies]

If we played them Week 18 and were well and truly locked into the 7 seed, you could rest starters and play backups.

As it stands, we get them in three weeks. At best, we will be 9-5 aka still fighting to earn a playoff berth. Can't get coy with the glut of 6-6 teams just behind us in the standings.

Not to mention, the 6 seed is not out of the question at all. Pack are 9-3 and about to play Detroit. If they lose, we'd enter Week 15 just one game back at 8-5 with them at 9-4, and they have the Seahawks, Vikings, and the Week 18 spoiler Bears to go.

Getting the 6 seed should absolutely be a priority because you want one of the weaker division winner opponents in the wild card vs. Philly and if the 7 seed (say GB) beats the 2-seed Eagles, we'd avoid Detroit in the divisional game.

Lot of permutations still on the table, but our priority remains winning as many games as possible.

 

[redskins1963]

no,but it will take a miracle to beat them.that defense put on a show in charm city sunday.

 

[Commander Wraith]

The teams behind us in the wildcard hunt have a game more than us left to play, which means less of a cushion than it currently appears. Tampa also has the tiebreaker and Atlanta would too if they beat us.

Even more importantly, I don’t see how you can pull that off without ticking off the lockerroom. With that said, perhaps you don’t pull all the tricks out of your bag in case we do face them in Jan.

 

[Bulldog]

This team is just learning how to win.

Part of that is not merely playing good teams close but beating them.

Any opportunity should not be missed.

 

[Kingdaddy]

We can't and won't throw any games but I'd like your question better if you asked if we should hold back certain things that we do. Problem with that is that we're gonna need to win the game given the small cushion we have right now. Besides, we need to worry about and put total focus on beating the Saints first and foremost.

 

[NickyJ]

The Panthers are playing the long game here. They've intentionally lost almost all their games the past 2 seasons to lull everyone into a sense of security. They're going undefeated next season. 8 dimensional chess.

 

[DieselPwr44]

This thread is hilarious.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Or we win 3/4 and get the 6 seed instead of the 7. Worry about Philly if we see them again, not before.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

 

[Riggo Reincarnated]

The thing is there are ALOT of teams, like the Chiefs/Bills, where the Bills claim superiority during the season then blow it in the playoffs at Arrowhead.

Do we want to lose the battle, or WIN THE FINAL FIGHT? They EMBARRASSED us the last time when we crumbled iin the 4th quarter, and SAQUEON RAN OVER US.

Beating the Philadelphia Eagles in December and breaking their 10 game win streak means NOTHING if they DEMOLISH us in January when everything is on the line. If they pull the same shit the Chiefs pull and turn it on again ALL OF A SUDDEN. We had dominance over them when we were 3-1 and they were 2-2, but ever since then they have been UNBEATABLE - ALL OF A SUDDEN WITH SAQUEON. The best teams flip a switch ALL OF A SUDDEN.

 

[Gooseneck]

The thing is there are ALOT of teams, like the Chiefs/Bills, where the Bills claim superiority during the season then blow it in the playoffs at Arrowhead.

Do we want to lose the battle, or WIN THE FINAL FIGHT? They EMBARRASSED us the last time when we crumbled iin the 4th quarter, and SAQUEON RAN OVER US.

Beating the Philadelphia Eagles in December and breaking their 10 game win streak means NOTHING if they DEMOLISH us in January when everything is on the line. If they pull the same shit the Chiefs pull and turn it on again ALL OF A SUDDEN. We had dominance over them when we were 3-1 and they were 2-2, but ever since then they have been UNBEATABLE - ALL OF A SUDDEN WITH SAQUEON. The best teams flip a switch ALL OF A SUDDEN.

I think they will not takes us lightly in the playoffs no matter what happens in December. But it is all speculation at this point.

 

[NickyJ]

Do we want to lose the battle, or WIN THE FINAL FIGHT?

Why not win both? Other playoff teams don't seem to have this sort of moral dilemma of needing to lose to make people think they're losers.