September 21, 2025
Amber Searls/Imagn Images
Marcus Mariota will take over for Jayden Daniels against the Raiders.
The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. 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. And yes, I'm aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
• Raiders at Commanders: The Commanders will be without Jayden Daniels against the Raiders, and Marcus Mariota will get the start. On the one hand, Mariota appeared in three games for the Commanders last season, and had great numbers. He was 34 of 44 for 364 yards, four TDs, and no INTs. On the other hand, when he played for the Eagles in 2023, Mariota was one of the worst QB2s I've ever watched in training camp practices in my time covering the team. So I guess we'll see which version shows up on Sunday. But obviously, a Commanders loss here is best for the Eagles.
Eagles fans will have to hope that the weirdo quarterback gurus who love Geno Smith for some strange reason are right about him for one week.
• Cowboys at Bears: The Cowboys' offense has looked better than anticipated through the first two games of the season. Again, a loss to the Bears is obviously a better outcome for the Eagles.
• Chiefs at Giants: It's incredible to me that Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen kept their jobs this offseason, and ideally from the Eagles' perspective, they will remain employed further. At some point they're going to have to win some games in order to keep their jobs in 2026 and beyond. This team is not a threat at all in the NFC East to the Eagles, in my opinion, so an upset win at home over the Chiefs is more ideal.
• Packers at Browns: After acquiring Micah Parsons and looking impressive the first two weeks of the season, the Packers are now the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl at most sportsbooks.
• Jets at Buccaneers: The Eagles own the Jets' third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but a Bucs loss here is more important in the NFC seeding race than third-round draft positioning.
• Lions at Ravens: The Lions bounced back in a big way Week 2 after a bad Week 1 loss. They're still a threat, and a road win over the Ravens would do wonders for their confidence.
If I were to pick the most ideal / semi-realistic division winners in the NFC North, NFC South, and NFC West, I'd go with:
• NFC North: Vikings. J.J. McCarthy is more or less a rookie after missing his entire actual rookie season with an injury. Quarterbacks starting their first ever playoff games don't typically fare well. And if comes to pass that he's not better than backup Carson Wentz, well then they just don't have a chance anyway.
• NFC South: Falcons. Again, Michael Penix would be a first-time playoff starter. Also, this team is much less threatening than the Buccaneers.
• NFC West: Seahawks or Cardinals. The NFC West is kind of wide open, but the Rams are the best team, in my opinion, and the 49ers have a higher ceiling than the Seahawks or Cardinals.
As such, the following bolded teams are ideal winners this week:
The following bolded teams play the Eagles this season, so they're just worth keeping an eye on:
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