September 20, 2026

Week 2 non-Eagles rooting guide

It helps the Eagles if mostly all NFC teams lose, but there are some NFC teams – including a division rival – that could help the Eagles by winning.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Kevin Jairaj/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Eagles fans should be rooting for a Commanders win in Dallas.

The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Tennessee Titans at 1 p.m. on Sunday. That matchup aside, 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. Last week, the Eagles got a number of ideal results around the NFL, most notably losses by the Cowboys and Rams.

And yes, I'm aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.

NFC East

• Commanders at Cowboys: Barring a tie, one of these teams is going to be 0-2 to start the season. The Cowboys played like crap Week 1, but they are still the biggest threat to the Eagles in the NFC East, and the Eagles already have a head-to-head game in hand against the Commanders. Easy choice here.

• Giants at Rams: Winning the NFC East should be one of the Eagles' goals this season, but the real goal is winning the Super Bowl, and the Rams are a far greater impediment to that than the Giants. Again, easy choice here.

NFC vs. NFC

• Vikings at Bears: The Bears put 59 points on the board against the Panthers Week 1. Are they primed for a special season? It would be ideal for the Eagles if the Vikings knocked them down a peg, and showed that Week 1 was a little fluky. Also, this matchup should be of particular interest since the Eagles face the Bears Week 3.

• Seahawks at Cardinals: The Seahawks are going to get everyone's best and their season is going to be a grind, but they are obviously the reigning champs and a major contender again this year.

• Panthers at Falcons: Meh, who cares?

NFC contenders vs. AFC

• Browns at Buccaneers: The Bucs are still probably the best team in the NFC South, so it's best if some other team wins that division.

• Packers at Jets: The Packers feel like frauds, and the Eagles have been able to handle them during the Jalen Hurts era. But, for now, it's best if the Eagles compile wins and the rest of the NFC... doesn't.

• Dolphins at 49ers: The Niners are two-touchdown favorites in this game.

• Saints at Ravens: I know this kind of contradicts the idea of some team other than the Bucs winning the NFC South, but it's still probably best for now if all the NFC teams lose games initially.

Draft considerations

• Steelers at Patriots: The Eagles own the Patriots' fifth-round pick. That's probably not worth putting a lot of energy into rooting against the Patriots, but it's still more ideal if they lose.

Note: It is highly unlikely that the Pats will finish behind the Jets or Dolphins in the AFC East, so they will very likely have at least a second-place schedule in 2027, when their success (or lack thereof) will mean WAY more to the Eagles, since the Eagles own the Pats' first-round pick in 2028. But for now it's OK to root for a few losses, just because, you know, who wants to see the Patriots win games?