Eagles veteran explains the real advantage in having a bye week

Jason Kelce has been around awhile and he knows the advantage a bye week can have. But, that advantage isn't merely resting. It's the time the team spends looking inward. “I think the rest is OK," Kelce said. "Obviously, the rest is great, but you’re not going to gain that much physicality with a week […]

Ian Kayanja

Jan 14, 2023 5:12 PM EST

Jason Kelce has been around awhile and he knows the advantage a bye week can have.

But, that advantage isn't merely resting. It's the time the team spends looking inward.

“I think the rest is OK," Kelce said. "Obviously, the rest is great, but you’re not going to gain that much physicality with a week off at this point in the season. It’s been a long season, everybody’s still going to be sore next week.

"I really do think the biggest advantage is that little shift from assessment of somebody else to self-assessment. Because we fully believe that success on game day, at the end of the day, is going to come down to us. Whether we make mistakes, or whether we turn the ball over, all of these things have been very controllable from our point of view. That’s going to determine whether we win or lose any of these games."

Padded practice this late in the season is a bit unheard of. But it is clear that the Eagles aren't treating this week as a week off, instead, it's just another work week where they will be ready for the NFL's Divisional round.

“We know that if we play our game and do what has allowed us to be really successful this year,” Kelce said, “that we can hang with everybody, we can beat everybody.”