November 26, 2023
The Eagles sweeping games against the Chiefs and Bills was great. But the real battle for playoff positioning starts next week.
Yes, the Eagles hold the best record in the NFL, the best record in the NFC, the lead in the division and are two games clear of three teams vying for a coveted first round bye in the NFL playoffs come January. But there's a lot of football left.
Here's the current landscape:
| Team | Record | GB |
| Eagles | 10-1 | — |
| 49ers | 8-3 | 2 |
| Lions | 8-3 | 2 |
| Cowboys | 8-3 | 2 |
There really aren't any other relevant teams in the race for the 1-seed — the Vikings and Seahawks each have six wins and are four games back.
The Eagles are perfect in the NFC, which is the tiebreaker after head-to-head when determining playoff seeding. Those head to head games are about to become extremely important, as the Birds host the Niners and then hit the road to face the Cowboys in Dallas in back-to-back weeks.
The battle for the NFC East division title could be all but sewn up with a win on Sunday Night football in Dallas in Week 14, after the Eagles won the first meeting between these foes.
It's entirely possible that the Eagles have an insurmountable lead for a 1-seed after the aforementioned two-game stretch. Or if their lackluster performance from the first half against Buffalo rears its ugly head, Philly could be clinging to avoid relegation to a Wild Card spot (and the fifth seed?) pretty quickly.
There are still six games to be played in total, and there is a chance the Eagles can sweep their final four games to keep the 1-seed conversation going regardless. The Seahawks (who Philly will have to face on the road), have stumbled of late, and the Cardinals and Giants (twice) seem as close to automatic wins as appear on an NFL calendar.
Meanwhile, the Lions, Niners and Cowboys have tougher roads in their final four games:
| Team | Opponents | Win % |
| Eagles | SF, DAL, SEA, NYG, ARI, NYG | .464 |
| Cowboys | SEA, PHI, BUF, MIA, DET, WAS | .618 |
| 49ers | PHI, SEA, ARI, BAL, WAS, LAR | .515 |
| Lions | NO, CHI, DEN, MIN, DAL, MIN | .515 |
By virtue of their red-hot start, the Eagles can really pull apart over the next two weeks, but won't be out of contention for a top seed by any means even if they falter, with cupcakes rounding out the regular season slate.
The vibes in Philadelphia will certainly be sculpted by their performances against San Francisco and Dallas (they do not play Detroit this year) — though it's hard to imagine them souring anytime soon after their epic comeback against Buffalo in the pouring rain.
It probably goes without saying, but the first round bye is invaluable in the NFL's postseason. Last February, the Eagles and Chiefs became the 31st and 32nd teams since 1990 to advance to the Super Bowl as No. 1 seeds. Of those 32, 14 Super Bowl champions have come from the 1-seed. So 50% of the Super Bowl combatants have been top seeds, and 43% of those 1-seeds have become champions.
Health and planning go a long way in the modern NFL and Philly could sew things up and schedule themselves some extra time to prepare in January if they can handle their next two monumentally important games.
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