The Eagles on their win and Ronald Darby on his interception. Martin Frank/The News Journal
The month of January would always be the same for Eagles left guard Stefen Wisniewski.
The NFL playoffs would begin, and he'd be on his couch watching, wishing he could be playing, wondering if that would ever happen.
"I’m a die-hard football fan," Wisniewski said. "I always have been since I was a little kid. I’ve always been on the couch watching the playoffs, when I was 10 years old, 18 or 25."
Wisniewski is 28 now, in his seventh NFL season with 106 games of NFL experience heading into the Eagles' regular-season finale Sunday against the Cowboys.
He is two weeks away from giving up his couch seat and actually playing in the NFL's postseason. The Eagles will play host to a divisional round playoff game the weekend of Jan. 13-14.
"I'm pumped, I'm excited," Wisniewski said. "I've waited a long time for this."
The same is true for three other veteran starters on the Eagles who have never reached the playoffs. They are safety Rodney McLeod (95 career games), linebacker Nigel Bradham (89) and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (79).
The four veterans have combined for 366 regular season games in their NFL careers, the equivalent of 23 full seasons, and no playoff games. They will all fall well short of Takeo Spikes' mark of 219 games without a playoff appearance from 1998-2012.
"I always believed I could get there," Bradham said. "It was just waiting until my opportunity came. That was it. Just trying to always be better, so I could help the team I'm on get there."
The Eagles haven't made the playoffs since the 2013 season. That means players drafted by the Eagles in 2014 have had the potential to play as many as 64 games without a playoff appearance. Of those players, only seventh-round pick Beau Allen (62 games) has been with the team continuously.
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Wisniewski was drafted by the Raiders in 2011 and played with them through the 2014 season. He spent 2015 with the Jaguars.
Those teams were a combined 24-56. The routine of late December was familiar to Wisniewski as the season wound down with no hope for the playoffs.
"It’s especially tough when a lot of times, a lot of guys give up on your team," Wisniewski said. "It’s just not a good environment to be around. It’s a lot harder to motivate yourself. Obviously, if you’re a pro, you go out and take care of your business. That’s your job, but it’s a tough situation."
When Wisniewski became a free agent after the 2015 season, he said one of his priorities was finding a team with a chance to make the playoffs. He valued that just as highly as money, and just as highly as starting.
Until then, he had started every game in his NFL career. He signed a one-year contract with the Eagles in the spring of 2016 knowing that his streak might not continue.
It didn't. He started just six games and the Eagles went 7-9 and missed the playoffs. But Wisniewski could see they were building toward becoming a playoff team after Carson Wentz's first NFL season.
"Honestly, I saw this as a playoff team all along," Wisniewski said. "And I approached it like I’d rather have less money to be on a better team in a better situation. I’ve kind of made that decision before [to go for more money]. It’s a lot more fun coming to work every day if you’re winning.
"To me, that’s worth maybe taking a little bit less money. Maybe it's not to everybody, but I think it is."
Wisniewski signed another contract last spring, this time for three years, knowing that his situation as a reserve might not change. The Eagles had pretty much handed the starting left guard job to Isaac Seumalo, their third-round pick in 2016, in training camp.
But Seumalo played poorly in the first two games and was benched. Wisniewski became the starter in Week 4 until an ankle injury kept him out the last two games. He's questionable for the season finale against Dallas, but he should be ready for the playoffs.
Offensive coordinator Frank Reich said the Eagles will need him.
"He's like a quarterback," Reich said. "He's like [center Jason] Kelce. There are very few guys that I could say could be in the same zip code mentally as Kelce as far as everything that Kelce does up front. But Wiz is definitely in the same zip code."
McLeod, who's second on the team with three interceptions, has had a similar effect at safety alongside Malcolm Jenkins. Like Wisniewski, McLeod said having a chance to reach the playoffs was a major factor for him when he reached free agency in the spring of 2016.
He had spent his first four seasons with the Rams, who played in St. Louis then. Those teams were a combined 27-36-1. They never had a winning season and never finished higher than third in the four-team NFC West.
"No player wants to be on a losing team and wants to spend their whole career never experiencing the playoffs, or never having a chance for the Super Bowl," McLeod said. "I wanted a situation where I felt the team was building toward that, and the Eagles have always been competitive in the NFC East.
The Eagles' offer of five years and $35 million, with $23 million guaranteed, certainly helped, too. But McLeod said he could have signed with other teams that didn't have a chance to win for similar money.
Bradham had spent his first four seasons with the Buffalo Bills (combined record, 29-35) before signing with the Eagles for two seasons and $7 million in the spring of 2016. He quickly became a key player at linebacker. That is especially true this season after middle linebacker Jordan Hicks tore his Achilles midway through the season.
Now, he's going to the playoffs.
"It's something I’ve always strived for," he said. "To finally get that achievement for being on a team as talented as this one, it’s amazing."
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Jeffery, who has 56 catches for 781 yards and eight touchdowns, saw the same potential when he signed with the Eagles last spring after five seasons with the Bears (combined record, 32-48). Still, the Eagles were coming off a 7-9 season, and Wentz was coming off an uneven debut.
But Jeffery saw Wentz's potential. And Wentz showed that in becoming an MVP candidate this season before tearing his ACL on Dec. 10. Jeffery signed a four-year extension worth $52 million earlier this month, even though he won't reach 1,000 yards receiving or come close to 100 receptions.
"We’re winning games. That’s all that matters to me," Jeffery said. "I’m blessed to be here. I’m loving it here, and we’re winning games. So it’s great."
McLeod said he feels that way, too. He said he didn't do anything special to celebrate when the Eagles clinched a playoff spot on Dec. 10, when they beat the Rams 43-35.
He just knew that all of his seasons of losing had come to an end.
"I’m excited, obviously anxious," he said. "I’ve been waiting for this moment for my whole life, pretty much – playing on a big stage like this, and having the chance to win games in order to get to the Super Bowl."
Wisniewski is looking forward to not lounging around.
"It'll be nice to have other guys lying on their couches watching me play for a change," he said. "I’m pumped. I’m real excited. It’s frustrating to always be losing. Everybody who plays this game puts a lot of work in. And if you don’t win and never make the playoffs, it’s definitely tough."
Eagles activate Jones
The Eagles activated rookie cornerback Sidney Jones from the non-football injury list Saturday.
Jones, the Eagles' second-round pick, tore his Achilles’ tendon last March. He has been practicing with the team since Dec. 12. The Eagles had a three-week window to either activate him or put him on season-ending injured reserve.
To make room on the 53-man roster, the Eagles placed linebacker Joe Walker on IR
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.