A common thing I've heard this week is something along the lines of, "We're really going to see what the Eagles are made of over the next four weeks, when they face the Cowboys, Seahawks, and Rams," who of course are three playoff contenders in the NFC.
While it's true that the Eagles' schedule does become more difficult over the next four weeks, the Eagles have it pretty easy in comparison to the rest of their biggest threats in the NFC.
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Here's a look at the remaining schedules for the NFC's division leaders, in order of their current seeds if the season ended today:
| (1) Eagles (8-1) | (2) Vikings (7-2) | (3) Saints (7-2) | (4) Rams (7-2) |
| At Cowboys (5-4) | Rams (7-2) | Redskins (4-5) | At Vikings (7-2) |
| Bears (3-6) | At Lions (5-4) | At Rams (7-2) | Saints (7-2) |
| At Seahawks (6-3) | At Falcons (5-4) | Panthers (7-3) | At Cardinals (4-5) |
| At Rams (7-2) | At Panthers (7-3) | At Falcons (5-4) | Eagles (8-1) |
| At Giants (1-8) | Bengals (3-6) | Jets (4-6) | At Seahawks (6-3) |
| Raiders (4-5) | At Packers (5-4) | Falcons (5-4) | At Titans (6-3) |
| Cowboys (5-4) | Bears (3-6) | At Bucs (3-6) | 49ers (1-9) |
| TOTAL: 31-32 (.492) | TOTAL: 35-29 (.547) | TOTAL: 36-30 (.545) | TOTAL: 39-25 (.609) |
While we'll at it, here's a look at the top four contenders for wildcard spots. (Apologies to the Lions and Packers who are also 5-4, but are not as big a threat to the Eagles as the Falcons or Cowboys.)
| Panthers (7-3) | Seahawks (6-3) | Falcons (5-4) | Cowboys (5-4) |
| BYE | Falcons (5-4) | At Seahawks (6-3) | Eagles (8-1) |
| At Jets (4-6) | At 49ers (1-9) | Buccaneers (3-6) | Chargers (3-6) |
| At Saints (7-2) | Eagles (8-1) | Vikings (7-2) | Redskins (4-5) |
| Vikings (7-2) | At Jaguars (6-3) | Saints (7-2) | At Giants (1-8) |
| Packers (5-4) | Rams (7-2) | At Bucs (3-6) | At Raiders (4-5) |
| Buccaneers (3-6) | At Cowboys (5-4) | At Saints (7-2) | Seahawks (6-3) |
| At Falcons (5-4) | Cardinals (4-5) | Panthers (7-3) | At Eagles (8-1) |
| TOTAL: 31-24 (.566) | TOTAL: 36-28 (.563) | TOTAL: 40-24 (.625) | TOTAL: 34-29 (.540) |
So if we lined them all up in order from hardest remaining schedule to easiest remaining schedule, it would look like this:
| Team | Remaining opponents' combined record |
| Falcons | 40-24 (.625) |
| Rams | 39-25 (.609) |
| Panthers | 31-24 (.566) |
| Seahawks | 36-28 (.563) |
| Vikings | 35-29 (.547) |
| Saints | 36-30 (.545) |
| Cowboys | 34-29 (.540) |
| Eagles | 31-32 (.492) |
*If you're of the opinion that the Lions or Packers are more threatening contenders than the Falcons or Cowboys, you're wrong, but just FYI, the Lions' remaining opponents' combined record is 28-35 (.444), while the Packers' is 33-31 (.516).
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