December 03, 2023
Junfu Han/USA TODAY Sports
If the Eagles earn the 1 seed in the NFC, it'll be ideal if a wildcard team is able to knock off Jared Goff and the Lions.
Each week during the NFL season we lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the schedule. And yes, I'm aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
The standings:
| NFC East | Record | Division | GB |
| Eagles | 10-1 | 3-0 | - |
| Cowboys | 9-3 | 2-1 | 1.5 |
| Giants | 4-8 | 2-2 | 6.5 |
| Commanders | 4-8 | 0-5 | 6.5 |
The NFC East is a two-team race between the Eagles and Cowboys, as usual. As a reminder, the tiebreakers for the division are as follows:
The Eagles have a 2-game lead in the NFC East with a head-to-head win over the Cowboys under their belt. They also have a 3-0 record in the division, and have already played three of their four most difficult divisional games. They also have a favorable outlook on common opponents so far, should the tiebreaking process get that far:
| Common Opponent | PHI | DAL | WAS | NYG |
| 49ers | Loss | Loss | ||
| Cardinals | Loss | Win | Win | |
| Rams | Win | Win | ||
| Seahawks | Win | Loss | Loss | |
| Bills | Win | Loss | Loss | |
| Dolphins | Win | Loss | ||
| Jets | Loss | Win | Loss | |
| Patriots | Win | Win | Win | Win |
• Seahawks at Cowboys: The Cowboys already won this game on Thursday night, but Seattle put a scare into them. Week 14 begins the very difficult portion of the Cowboys' schedule:
Week 14: Eagles (10-1, +64)
Week 15: At Bills (6-6, +101)
Week 16: At Dolphins (8-3, +88)
Week 17: Lions (8-3, +36)
Week 18: At Commanders (4-8, -104)
Their next four opponents have a combined record of 32-13 (0.711), with a combined point differential of +289.
• Dolphins at Commanders: The more games the Commanders win and mess up their draft position, the better.
The Giants are on their bye.
The NFC standings:
| Seed | NFC standings | Record | Conf record |
| 1 | Eagles | 10-1 | 6-0 |
| 2 | 49ers | 8-3 | 6-1 |
| 3 | Lions | 8-3 | 5-2 |
| 4 | Falcons | 5-6 | 4-4 |
| 5 | Cowboys | 9-3 | 6-3 |
| 6 | Vikings | 6-5 | 6-2 |
| 7 | Seahawks | 6-6 | 5-4 |
| 8 | Packers | 5-6 | 4-3 |
| 9 | Rams | 5-6 | 4-4 |
| 10 | Saints | 5-6 | 2-4 |
| 11 | Buccaneers | 4-7 | 3-4 |
| 12 | Giants | 4-8 | 3-4 |
| 13 | Commanders | 4-8 | 2-7 |
| 14 | Bears | 3-8 | 2-5 |
| 15 | Cardinals | 2-10 | 2-6 |
| 16 | Panthers | 1-10 | 0-7 |
As you can see, the Cowboys aside, the Lions and 49ers are the Eagles' biggest threats for the 1 seed in the NFC. Obviously the Eagles-49ers game on Sunday is of major importance in the NFC playoff picture.
• Lions at Saints: The Lions' loss on Thanksgiving to the Packers put a big dent in their chances to land the 1 seed in the NFC. A loss in New Orleans would set them back further.
Let's for a moment assume that the Eagles will earn the 1 seed in the NFC. They will have a first-round bye, and will play the lowest remaining seed in the NFC. Here's a quick look at what the wildcard round matchups would be if the season ended today:
• (7) Seahawks at (2) 49ers
• (6) Vikings at (3) Lions
• (5) Cowboys at (4) Falcons
Last year the Eagles were very fortunate that the 6-seed Giants beat the 3-seed Vikings in the wildcard round and got to face the Giants in the divisional round. This year, ideally the Eagles would get to play the 4-seed (the NFCS champ, who would play the Cowboys), the 6-seed, or the 7-seed in the divisional round. Again, if the season ended today, those teams would be the (4) Falcons, (6) Vikings, or (7) Seahawks.
It's best for the Eagles if the teams that occupy those lower wildcard seeds have a chance of knocking off the Lions and 49ers. There's probably some debate if wildcard contenders such as the Packers or Rams would be in a better position to pull off upsets than the Seahawks or Vikings.
I don't have a strong opinion at the moment which two teams among the Vikings, Seahawks, Packers, and Rams pose the biggest threat to the Lions and 49ers, but I think that all of those teams are worth monitoring as the home stretch of the season unfolds. The Vikings have their bye, but the Rams and Packers each have games against AFC teams this weekend:
We normally carve out a "draft pick watch" section of the rooting guide just for the Saints, since the Eagles own their second-round pick. This is a rare occasion the Eagles would like to see the Saints win, as noted above. Still, let's fire up the PFF mock draft simulator!
• Round 1: Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
• Round 2 (from Saints): Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota
• Round 2: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
• Round 3: Tykee Smith, S, Georgia
• Round 4: Mohamed Kamara, EDGE, Colorado State
• Round 5: Smael Mondon, LB, Georgia
• Round 5: Jaheim Bell, TE, Florida State
• Round 5: Justin Eboigbe, iDL, Alabama
• Round 6: Jacob Cowing, WR, Arizona
Obviously, it's better if the Falcons or Buccaneers win the NFC South instead of the Saints:
It's also better for the Eagles if the Titans and Patriots, a pair of teams that either ahead of or near the Giants and Commanders in the draft order, keep losing.
It doesn't really matter who wins these games, but we'll bold the Eagles' future opponents:
The Eagles play the Cardinals Week 17.
Byes: Giants, Vikings, Bears, Ravens, Bills, Raiders.
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