NFL Week 17 Results: Saints beat Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles, the top team in our NFL power rankings, hosted the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. The Saints, who needed a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, won the game in a contest that had a multi-possession spread for a final score. The result was New Orleans 20, and Philadelphia 10 as the Saints managed an improbable double-up on the Eagles.

Game Summary Week 17: New Orleans vs Philadelphia

• Final score: New Orleans 20, Philadelphia 10
• The Eagles fell to 13-3
• The Saints, with the win, improved to 7-9
• Andy Dalton‘s passer rating: 86.3
• Gardner Minshew‘s passer rating: 82.0

Andy Dalton passes for 204 yards

Andy Dalton of the Saints was the winning quarterback in the game. He had 204 passing yards in the outing and his ratio of TDs to INTs was 0 to 1. Dalton, on 18 for 22 passing, had a passer rating of 86.3 as the Saints stressed a ground attack featuring Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara.

Gardner Minshew of the Eagles, the team’s backup QB, was the losing quarterback in the game. He had 274 passing yards in the outing and his ratio of TDs to INTs was 1 to 1. Minshew, who played last week for Philly, had a passer rating of 82.0 in his most recent game. Philadelphia is 0-2 in the games in which he starts and Eagles fans will be keen to see the return of Jalen Hurts.

Saints @ Eagles Sunday: Philadelphia have work to do

With the loss, the Eagles are now 13-3 on the season. Following the game, they had not locked up their division, nor their first-round bye through the conference playoffs. The Eagles need a win over the New York Giants in Week 18 to guarantee first place in the NFC and the NFC East. On that matter, the Giants might coast through the week as they clinched a playoff spot on Sunday with a win over Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, the Saints improved to 7-9 with the 10-point victory. There are scenarios where an 8-9 record actually gets them into the playoffs as a Wild Card. They need to win in Week 18 and then hope a lot goes right for them in other games. However, a Green Bay win in Week 17 would eliminate the Saints. At the time of writing, Green Bay was up 14-3 over the Minnesota Vikings.

Further reading: Our recent NFL Power Rankings