October 08, 2026

Week 5 non-Eagles rooting guide

The Eagles have shown evidence of packing it in for the season, but for those still holding out hope, these are the other games to keep an eye on.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Peter Casey/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's better for the Eagles if the Commanders beat the Giants, I guess? I dunno, who cares?

The Philadelphia Eagles got embarrassed by the Chicago Bears Week 3, and then blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead against the Los Angeles Rams Week 4. Since then, Lane Johnson retired, and the team traded Cam Jurgens.

There's evidence that the Eagles have packed it in for the season after just four weeks. Personally, I think they're cooked, and I think they know they're cooked.

I know some of you disagree. So, for now, for the believers out there, we'll forge ahead on this rooting guide as if their season isn't already over. But the tone of these rooting guides could be changing pretty drastically soon. Also, I'll just be honest. I'm writing this at the airport, and I'm eager to start getting deep into an old fashioned or three, so there will not be high-level analysis here. Nobody is reading this anyway this week 😂. Ideal winners bolded.

NFC East

• Buccaneers at Cowboys: If we're assuming the Eagles are still trying to make the most of this season (again, I'm not), then the Cowboys remain the Eagles' biggest threats in the NFC East.

• Giants at Commanders: The Giants are 3-1. The Commanders are 1-3. It's ideal if those records are evened out a bit.

NFC vs. NFC

• 49ers at Seahawks: These are arguably the two best teams in the NFC right now, with the Bears and Rams in the mix as well. This is probably a "Let's see who's better" game.

• Bears at Packers: As noted above, the Bears are probably among the top four teams in the NFC.

• Vikings at Saints: The Vikings are 4-0. The Saints are 1-3.

• Lions at Cardinals: The Lions are obviously a bigger threat to make the playoffs than the Cardinals.

NFC contenders vs. AFC

• Bills at Rams: The Rams obviously own a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Eagles.

• Ravens at Falcons: Again, if you still believe in the Eagles this season, the ideal winner here is the Ravens. If you want the fifth-round pick the Eagles just got from the Ravens to be as high as possible, you'll be rooting for the Falcons.

Draft considerations

• Raiders at Patriots: The Eagles own the Patriots' fifth-round pick. The higher that pick is, the better, I guess.

The Patriots just need to be good enough to finish second in the AFC East, thus landing a second-place schedule in 2027, when the Eagles will really need them to be bad, since they own New England's 2028 first-round pick. That shouldn't be a problem with the Dolphins and Jets certain to lose a lot of games.