Following an Eagle-less weekend in Week 15, the NFC playoff picture got a bit more interesting.
Here’s what the NFC playoff race currently looks like:
- Green Bay Packers (11-3)
- Dallas Cowboys (10-4)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4)
- Arizona Cardinals (10-4)
- Los Angeles Rams (9-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (8-6)
- New Orleans Saints (7-7)
In the hunt:
- Washington Football Team (6-7)
- Minnesota Vikings (6-7)
- Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)
- Atlanta Falcons (6-8)
There are still a handful of games on Monday and Tuesday that need to be played to complete this week’s slate of games. LA will play Seattle on Tuesday at the same time the Eagles face Washington. Minnesota will take on Chicago on Monday night as well.
The two major games that affected the Eagles on Sunday were San Fran-Atlanta and Tampa Bay-New Orleans.
With San Fran’s win over Atlanta, they’re continuing to solidify their playoff position in the sixth seed. At this point, catching them is almost out of the question for the Eagles. Philly would need to win out while San Fran goes 1-3 in the final four games.
Our eyes should be fixated on the seventh and final playoff spot, which is now occupied by New Orleans after their upset victory over Tampa Bay Sunday night. While that’s obviously a great win for New Orleans’ playoff chances, the Eagles still hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over them. So if both teams finish with the same record, Philly will get the nod.
As far as the rest of the team’s in the hunt, the Eagles can put Washington out themselves since they play twice in the final four weeks. Minnesota is the team Eagles fans need to watch the most, as they hold the common opponents tiebreaker over Philly. They’ve gone 3-3 against the Cowboys, Lions (twice), Panthers, Chargers, and 49ers. The Eagles have a 2-3 record against those same opponents.
Minnesota has a pretty tough slate of games down the stretch. They’ll face the Bears Monday, followed by the Rams, Packers, and Bears again. If they drop two of those games and the Eagles go 3-1 in the final four — which is certainly a possibility — the Eagles will be in.
There are still an assortment of different scenarios that can play out in the final four weeks to shift the NFC playoff picture. But the Eagles luckily control their own destiny for the most part. They just need the Vikings to falter a bit down the stretch.
If the Eagles handle their business, starting Tuesday against Washington, we could see our Eagles in the postseason again.