I haven’t done much straight-up sports commentary in these weekly essays, but it’s NFL playoff time and it’s almost a Lehigh Valley responsibility to talk about the Eagles. And at the end I will provide my absolutely worthless, do-not-take-it-to-the-bank prediction, as the birds begin what could be a march to the Super Bowl, which takes place on February 9.

But seeing the interest in the Eagles always gets me thinking about why football has such a hold on the American public. No matter what poll you look at, American football is anywhere from four to five times more popular in terms of viewership than any other sport. And I am illustrative of that. After 55 years as a sports writer, the NFL is the one sport I follow fairly religiously, and it actually kind of bothers me.

It’s not because I like the violence of the game, and make no mistake about it, it is a violent game. If anyone tells you they’re fed up with the movement to reduce head injuries and protect players, I can tell you they’ve never stood on the sidelines of an NFL game as I have and almost felt the collisions.

It’s also not because I think football players are more talented or braver or more conscientious than other sports. And with the occasional exception of someone like Saquon Barkley this season, you don’t generally watch football to watch a certain superstar. Basketball is the sport for superstars.

I’m also not more familiar with football. I played basketball in high school, covered mostly basketball during a long career at Sports Illustrated. But it’s football — specifically pro football and more specifically the Eagles — that holds most of my attention for this simple reason: the games matter.

From the start of the season, a team’s loss can conceivably affect their standing at the end. College basketball? Hey, let me know when the NCAA selection show is on. Pro basketball? We had a rule at Sports Illustrated that no story should be done on a team that gets off to a hot start in November or December. And baseball? My god, that season is longer than the Hundred Years War. You can celebrate the start of spring training, then take a good long break until August and you still have almost 60 games to watch before we get to the World Series.

But football centers around the game. Compare the Eagles 17-game season to the 81 that will be played by the Sixers. Or the mind-numbing 162 played by the Phillies. But when Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield torched the Eagles defense way back on September 29, it mattered. Win that game and perhaps the Eagles would have the #1 seed and get a week to rest instead of playing this weekend.

Look, I’ve covered every major sport and I can tell you that for journalists, only football revolves around the game. You cover the Sixers, you’re looking for the next Joel Embiid injury angle. Or in baseball you’re looking for a subtle lineup tweak that may indicate a larger problem. Sure, the games matter a little, but there’s another game tomorrow and a game after that and a game after that and a game after that.

But, okay, playoff time, and in any sport that means one-and-done. My prediction for the Eagles: I think they’ll get by this first playoff game but fall in the second round, one step shy of the conference championship. I just don’t trust the consistency of their offense. Given time to scheme, I think defenses will find a way to at least control Saquon, and I still worry about Jalen Hurts’ ability to pick out his receivers if the Eagles ground game stalls.

Keep in mind, I hope I’m wrong. The longer the Eagles keep winning, the longer I stay interested.