Dec 10, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (11) is escorted off the field after injuring his knee in the second half of the Eagles 43-35 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles reclaimed the top spot in the NFC playoff picture with a thrilling road victory against the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams. The 43-35 victory over the Rams showed the Eagles were able to bounce back on the road after a bit of a reality check moment the previous week in Seattle, and the win clinched the NFC East for the Eagles. Of course, the win came at a high price with the loss of quarterback Carson Wentz.

Wentz was removed from the game on Sunday with what was described as a left knee injury. Wentz suffered a torn ACL and now his season is done. The Eagles must now play out the rest of the 2017 season with Nick Foles at quarterback.

I’m absolutely ready. That’s why I’m here. So I’m ready to go, I prepare every day, work every day – if need be,” Foles said after the game when asked about the role he will now play for the Eagles. “Coach (Doug) Pederson showed a lot of confidence with me and I have a long history with him. He knows I can go out and play so we’ll see what happens.”

The Eagles are now in a strikingly similar situation the Oakland Raiders were in a season ago right about this time of year. The Raiders were 12-3 and looking every bit a legitimate Super Bowl contender as they neared the end of the regular season, but quarterback Derek Carr broke his leg in a win against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 24.

Carr, who had been playing like an MVP, was lost for the rest of the regular season, but he at least may have had a chance to return for a possible Super Bowl appearance. Of course, the Raiders came nowhere close to sniffing the Super Bowl once they lost Carr.

Oakland missed out on a chance to lock up a first-round bye week when they lost their final regular season game of the year without Carr, a 24-6 loss on the road against the Denver Broncos. The loss dropped the Raiders into a tie for the division with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Because the Chiefs won each of the regular season meetings with the Raiders, Kansas City took the division and the first-round bye week, and the Raiders fell into the AFC Wild Card to play on the road against the Houston Texans. Without Carr, the Raiders only managed to pick up 206 yards of offense against the Texans and their season that looked to be shaping up a possible Super Bowl run had blown up in a big way with a Wild Card weekend exit from the postseason.

Could the Eagles suffer a similar fate with a couple of extra games still to play in the regular season?

The first mission for the Wentz-less Eagles is to secure home-field advantage in the NFC, and that is still an attainable goal. The Eagles own a one-game lead in the NFC playoff picture with the Vikings losing yesterday. If the Eagles go 3-0 in their final three games, the Eagles will lock up home-field advantage, and the schedule is somewhat favorable for that to be a realistic enough scenario even without Wentz.

This week, the Eagles take on the New York Giants (2-11) on the road, and then they finish up the season with back-to-back home games against the Raiders (6-7) and the Dallas Cowboys (7-6). The Eagles could also afford to lose one of these games if the Vikings take a stumble in the final three weeks as well, but with home games against the Bengals and Bears sandwiching a road game to Green Bay, those odds may not be too great. As it stands right now, the Eagles may still have an excellent chance to secure a first-round bye, and the possibility of winning home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs is still in sight.

The question is whether or not that home-field advantage will matter? Yes, it will be essential to any NFC title hopes for the Eagles this season.

The NFC is deep in the talent pool this season with playoff contenders. The Eagles have had plenty of reasons to be optimistic about their chances outside of the MVP-caliber performance of Wentz this season.

The defense has had a couple of rough weeks, but they have been a different animal at home. The defense will have to rise to the occasion to protect Lincoln Financial Field if the Eagles are to make any sort of playoff run. The running game will also have to be ready to carry the load too, and the Eagles have a running back committee fully capable of doing so with LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi, and Corey Clement.

If the Eagles have to go on the road in the playoffs, they will be vulnerable. Their only losses this season have come on the road against Kansas City and Seattle and the Rams had them on the ropes as well. But the only team that may be able to take home-field from them will b the Vikings, and a potential NFC Championship Game featuring Case Keenum and Nick Foles at quarterback is far from what anyone would have envisioned at any point in history. If the Eagles get that home-field advantage, the playoff matchups will be key. Avoiding the Saints in the NFC Divisional round would be the best possible situation for the Eagles at this point.

The Eagles could certainly still be the top seed in the NFC, and if the defense and running gameplay well, the Eagles are still a tough out in the NFC playoff picture, especially at home. But do they stand a chance against the Pittsburgh Steelers or New England Patriots without Carson Wentz? Not likely. But hey, just get there and see what happens, right?

Losing Wentz is a critical blow to the Eagles’ NFC championship hopes, but it is not yet a fatal one.

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.