November 17, 2024
Junfu Han/Imagn Images
After beating the Commanders on Thursday night, the Eagles can turn their attention to rooting against the Lions on Sunday.
Each week we'll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league.
First, a look at the updated NFC East standings:
| NFC East | Record | Div record | GB |
| Eagles | 8-2 | 3-0 | - |
| Commanders | 7-4 | 2-1 | 1.5 |
| Cowboys | 3-6 | 1-1 | 4.5 |
| Giants | 2-8 | 0-4 | 6 |
The Eagles have a 1.5-game lead over the Commanders, while the Cowboys' and Giants' seasons are pretty much cooked. The Eagles have an 82 percent chance of winning the division, per Inpredictable.
• Texans at Cowboys: The Cowboys are already done, so this outcome doesn't matter much, but one last shovel of dirt on the coffin wouldn't hurt.
As usual, let's first look at the NFC seeding if the season ended today (it doesn't).
| Seed | Team | Record | Conf record |
| 1 | Lions | 8-1 | 6-1 |
| 2 | Eagles | 8-2 | 5-2 |
| 3 | Falcons | 6-4 | 6-2 |
| 4 | Cardinals | 6-4 | 3-3 |
| 5 | Vikings | 7-2 | 3-2 |
| 6 | Packers | 6-3 | 2-3 |
| 7 | Commanders | 7-4 | 5-2 |
| 8 | 49ers | 5-4 | 3-3 |
| 9 | Bears | 4-5 | 2-2 |
| 10 | Rams | 4-5 | 3-4 |
| 11 | Seahawks | 4-5 | 1-4 |
| 12 | Buccaneers | 4-6 | 4-3 |
| 13 | Cowboys | 3-6 | 1-5 |
| 14 | Saints ☠️ | 3-7 | 3-4 |
| 15 | Panthers ☠️ | 3-7 | 2-4 |
| 16 | Giants ☠️ | 2-8 | 1-6 |
As you can see, the Eagles actually have more of a buffer between themselves and either the Falcons or Cardinals (2-game lead) for the 2 seed than they do over the Commanders (1.5 games). They are also only a half-game behind the Lions for the 1 seed.
NFC North
• Jaguars at Lions: A Lions loss to the Jaguars would even their record with the Eagles at 8-2, though the Lions would still own the tiebreaker for the 1 seed. The Lions are two-touchdown favorites in this matchup.
• Packers at Bears: The Bears were 4-2, but have lost three straight and now have the hardest remaining schedule in the NFL. We've been saying all season so far that they would be an extremely ideal first round opponent should the Eagles earn the 2 seed, but it's unrealistic that they will sniff the playoffs at this point. I believe the Packers are the more ideal winner in the NFC North instead of Lions, and also a more ideal team to qualify for the playoffs than the 49ers.
• Vikings at Titans: The Vikings would be the most ideal NFC North winner, and are very clearly a more ideal playoff opponent than the 49ers.
NFC South
• Falcons at Broncos: The Falcons are two games ahead of the Buccaneers in the NFC South with a sweep over them as well. However, as noted in the Hierarchy this week, the Buccaneers have their bye Week 11 and then an impossibly easy schedule the rest of the way:
The Eagles do not want to see the Bucs in the playoffs, as Todd Bowles has Jalen Hurts' number, so a Falcons win here is ideal.
NFC West
• Seahawks at 49ers: The 49ers are just kind of hanging around at 5-4, but they're getting healthier and it feels a lot like they are primed for their typical late-season run. It's just best for every other team in the NFC if they somehow miss the playoff altogether.
• Rams at Patriots: The more teams in contention in the NFC West to compete with the Niners, the better.
The Giants need a quarterback and if the season ended today they would pick second in the 2025 NFL Draft. It's best for the Eagles if they win some games and some of the other quarterback needy teams like the Browns, Saints, and Jets lose theirs.
• Ravens at Steelers: The Eagles play the Ravens Week 13, and the Steelers Week 15. They are the two most difficult opponents left on the Eagles' schedule, so it's perhaps just worth keeping an eye on those teams, even if it doesn't matter which one of them wins this matchup.
MORE: 10 awards from Eagles-Commanders
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