November 28, 2022
Thanks to their wild — yet impressive — win over the Packers on Sunday Night Football, the Eagles remain two games clear of their rivals in the best division in football.
At 10-1, and with perhaps their toughest tests still ahead, the Eagles still have the best record in the division and in all of football by an uncomfortably tight margin.
First, an updated look at the NFC East:
| Team | Record | GB | |
| Eagles | 10-1 | — | |
| Cowboys | 8-3 | 2 | |
| Giants | 7-4 | 3 | |
| Commanders | 7-5 | 3.5 |
The combined 32 wins in the division are the most of any in the NFC by a ridiculous amount — the other three have 20, 20 and 18 combined wins respectively. In the AFC, the East has 29 wins.
With three Wild Card slots in the ever-expanding playoff field, it's actually entirely possible that the NFC East reaches the postseason in its entirety. If the season ended today (it does not...) Dallas, New York and Washington would comprise the conference's 5, 6 and 7 seeds.
The Eagles will do battle at home with the run-happy Titans next week before facing teams in the NFC East three times over the season's final five weeks. With things as tight as they are, there is a lot left to be determined by way of playoff positioning.
Philadelphia is also in pursuit of the 1-seed and a bye into the second round, holding a slim, one-game lead over the Vikings for that designation. According to the math wizards at fivethirtyeight.com, the Eagles currently hold a 71% chance of winning the division (Dallas has a 28% chance) and a 62% chance of having the best record in the NFC.
A look at the current race for the bye:
| Team | Record | GB | 538 % |
| Eagles | 10-1 | — | 62% |
| Vikings | 9-2 | 1 | 17% |
| Cowboys | 8-3 | 2 | 15% |
| 49ers/Giants | 7-4 | 3 | 2%/0% |
The advantage for the 1-seed might actually lie with the Vikings — though they would need to exceed Philly's total, as they would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to the Birds' win in Week 2. Minnesota has the 27th toughest (or 6th easiest) remaining schedule, with just the Giants and Jets remaining with winning records — and neither of those teams are particularly intimidating. The Giants looked like pretenders in Dallas on Thanksgiving and the Jets recently moved from Zach Wilson to Mike White at quarterback.
The Eagles have the 15th toughest slate ahead, facing the aforementioned Titans, the Giants twice and the Cowboys on Christmas eve. They should also have two easy wins ahead against the Saints and Bears but you never know.
For what it's worth, the Cowboys and Niners are also in the middle of the pack by way of remaining strength of schedule, with the Giants ranked No. 1 (which makes sense, as they play the 10-win Eagles twice, Commanders twice plus the Vikings).
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