In past seasons, Philadelphia Eagles fans generally rooted for their own team, and kept an eye on the rest of the NFC East. In 2018, with the Birds initially being among the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, it was perhaps worth keeping tabs on the conference, as opposed to just the division.
And so, each week we laid out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule. While a divisional championship is a more realistic goal after a disappointing 3-3 start, we'll still keep tabs on the rest of the NFC. And yes, I'm aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winner in bold:
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• Patriots at Bears: I think that the more games the Bears can win, the better. That's a team the Eagles can handle in the playoffs, so if they can win the NFC North, that would be ideal.
• Lions at Dolphins: Detroit is also creeping back into respectability, as a win would get them to 3-3. They would also be an ideal NFC North winner, albeit a longshot.
• Vikings at Jets: While Philly owns Minnesota's soul, the Vikings already beat the Eagles this year, so maybe it's just best if the Eagles avoided them? I mean, at least in favor of the Bears or Lions?
• Bills at Colts: Both of these teams are done. The loser of this matchup might be quicker to get into sell mode before the trade deadline. Personally, I think the Bills have more appealing players (cough, Kyle Williams, cough) to the Eagles than the Colts.
• Browns at Buccaneers: The Bucs aren't good, but their vertical passing attack matches up well against the Eagles. It's best if they just go away.
• Saints at Ravens: This game is interesting. On the one hand, the Eagles own the Ravens' second-round pick, so the more losses they have, the better. On the other hand, a Saints loss would improve the Eagles' chances for a first-round bye. I think the latter is more important.
• Rams at Niners: Obviously, a Rams loss is preferable.
• Cowboys at WASTEAM: If you took the Cowboys' players and put them in, say, Tennessee, nobody would pay any attention to them. It's just not a very good roster. Meanwhile, the Redskins currently lead the NFC East, and they don't play a team that currently has a winning record the entire rest of the season. They need some losses.
• Giants at Falcons: It is officially time to start rooting for the Giants to win every week so they mess up their draft position.
Irrelevant to the Eagles:
- Titans at Chargers
- Texans at Jaguars
- Bengals at Chiefs
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