January 14, 2024

Wildcard round non-Eagles rooting guide

Ahead of the Eagles' Monday night playoff matchup with the Buccaneers, here are ideal scenarios for the Divisional Round if the Birds can win in Tampa.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

The Packers spoiled the 2016 Cowboys' 13-3 season.

Each week during the NFL season we lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the schedule. Disclaimer: None of what we say below matters unless the Eagles beat the Buccaneers on Monday night.

To begin, there are two non-Eagles NFC playoff games in the wildcard round, both of which are being played on Sunday.

• (7) Packers at (2) Cowboys

• (6) Rams at (3) Lions

The Eagles have four potential opponents in the divisional round should they advance that far. They are the 49ers, Cowboys, Lions, and Rams. They cannot play the Packers in the divisional round. Here are the scenarios in which they would play each potential opponent, in order of highest to lowest likelihood.

• Cowboys and Lions win: Eagles play on the road against the 49ers.

• Cowboys and Rams win: Eagles play on the road against the Cowboys.

• Packers and Lions win: Eagles play on the road against the Lions.

• Packers and Rams win: Eagles play at home the Rams.

I would rank the Eagles' most ideal divisional round opponents like so:

Rams (at home): The Eagles beat the Rams already this season (even if that feels like a very long time ago), and, you know, it would be at home.
Lions: I wouldn't like the Eagles' chances of stopping the Lions' offense, but I also think the Eagles could score on the Lions' porous pass defense.
Cowboys: The Eagles' loss in Dallas was ugly.
49ers: The Eagles' loss to the 49ers at home was even uglier.

As such, it's best for the Eagles first and foremost if the Cowboys lose, which would eliminate both the Cowboys and 49ers as divisional round opponents. A Lions loss would at a minimum eliminate the 49ers as a divisional round opponent, and of course if the Cowboys and Lions lost the Eagles would have a home game, as noted above.