After beginning a new winning streak with wins over the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles will head into the bye week in good shape in the NFC. With the Birds on their bye, here we’ll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league. And yes, I’m aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
NFC East
First, the NFC East standings:
NFC East Record Division GB Eagles 6-2 2-1 – Cowboys 3-4-1 2-1 2.5 Commanders 3-5 1-1 3 Giants 2-6 1-3 4
Inpredictable.com has the Eagles as 87 percent likely to win the division.
• Cardinals at Cowboys: I’m irrationally excited to watch this game, as both teams have talent but they’re also train wrecks in their own ways. The Cowboys are the closest team to the Eagles in the NFC East, so a Dallas loss is ideal (duh).
• Seahawks at Commanders: The Commanders are one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL so far this season at 3-5, at least for those folks who didn’t see their laundry list of obvious flaws heading into the season. They are currently three games behind the Eagles in the NFC East. 3.5 games would be even better for the Eagles. #Analysis.
• 49ers at Giants: The Giants are irrelevant to the Eagles at this point, as they have already played each other twice and the Giants are buried in the standings. To me, this game is more about the 49ers, who have a chance to eke their way into the playoffs, but only because they have an extraordinarily easy schedule. They would be an ideal first-round opponent.
The biggest threats in the NFC
First, a visual of the NFC standings/seeding:
Seed Team Record 1 Packers 5-1-1 2 Eagles 6-2 3 Buccaneers 6-2 4 Seahawks 5-2 5 Lions 5-2 6 Rams 5-2 7 49ers 5-3 8 Bears 4-3 9 Panthers 4-4 10 Cowboys 3-4-1 11 Falcons 3-4 12 Vikings 3-4 13 Commanders 3-5 14 Cardinals ☠️2-5 15 Giants ☠️2-6 16 Saints ☠️1-7 ☠️ = Graveyard
• Panthers at Packers: As you can see above, the Packers are the only team ahead of the Eagles in the NFC standings. A loss is ideal. But also, the Eagles’ next opponent is the Packers, in Green Bay. That could be the Birds’ most meaningful game of the season, to date.
• Vikings at Lions: If we’re not including the Eagles, the Lions are probably the most talented team in the NFC, and the loss of both of their coordinators hasn’t stopped them from looking like the team they were a year ago when they were the 1 seed in the NFC. A Lions loss is better for the Eagles, and on a small side note, a Vikings win would help the Eagles’ “common opponent” tiebreaker, if necessary.
• Saints at Rams: The Rams are a clear threat in the NFC. A loss to the lowly Saints would help. (Don’t hold your breath.)
Other NFC fringe playoff contenders
• Bears at Bengals: The Bears were gifted an extremely easy schedule, and while they have a winning record, they look like pretenders. Should they sneak into the playoffs, they’d be an easy out in the first round.
• Falcons at Patri*ts: The Falcons are fading fast, though I do suppose there’s a miniscule chance they can still win the NFC South.
Draft considerations
• We would normally have Bryce Huff sacks here, but he won’t play for the second straight week because of a hamstring injury.
For future reference
- Chargers at Titans
- Chiefs at Bills
It doesn’t really matter who wins the above games, but the Eagles play the Chargers Week 14, and the Bills 17, so they’re just worth keeping an eye on.
Trade deadline watch
- Jaguars at Raiders
The Raiders should be sellers anyway, but another loss would end all doubt.
Irrelevant to the Eagles:
- Colts at Steelers
- Broncos at Texans
BYE: Eagles, Buccaneers, Jets, Browns.
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