November 23, 2023
Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports
Ron Rivera and Mike McCarthy embrace, both wondering how the other hasn't been fired yet.
Each week during the NFL season we lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the schedule. And yes, I'm aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
The standings:
| NFC East | Record | Division | GB |
| Eagles | 9-1 | 3-0 | - |
| Cowboys | 7-3 | 2-1 | 2 |
| Commanders | 4-7 | 0-4 | 5.5 |
| Giants | 3-8 | 2-2 | 6.5 |
The NFC East is a two-team race between the Eagles and Cowboys, as usual. As a reminder, the tiebreakers for the division are as follows:
The Eagles have a 2-game lead in the NFC East with a head-to-head win over the Cowboys under their belt. They also have a 3-0 record in the division, and have already played three of their four most difficult divisional games. They also have a favorable outlook on common opponents so far, should the tiebreaking process get that far:
| Common Opponent | PHI | DAL | WAS | NYG |
| 49ers | Loss | Loss | ||
| Cardinals | Loss | Win | Win | |
| Rams | Win | Win | ||
| Seahawks | Loss | Loss | ||
| Bills | Loss | Loss | ||
| Dolphins | Win | Loss | ||
| Jets | Loss | Win | Loss | |
| Patriots | Win | Win | Win | |
• Commanders at Cowboys: This is the final game of the super easy part of the Cowboys' schedule, as they played the 3-8 Giants Week 10 and 1-9 Panthers Week 11. Their schedule gets a lot harder beginning Week 13:
Week 13: Seahawks (6-4)
Week 14: Eagles (9-1)
Week 15: At Bills (6-5)
Week 16: At Dolphins (7-3)
Week 17: Lions (8-2)
This is a must win game for the Cowboys on Thanksgiving if they want to keep any hope of winning the NFC East alive.
Update: The Cowboys ran up the score on the Commanders, 45-10.
• Patriots at Giants: The Giants are done, obviously, and have been for a while. This time last week they were in line for the No. 2 overall pick in 2024, but after beating the Commanders Week 11 they're down to No. 5 in the order. If they beat the Patriots they'll fall even further. The later they pick, the more likely it is that they run it back with Daniel Jones again. 😂
The NFC standings:
| Seed | NFC standings | Record | Conf record |
| 1 | Eagles | 9-1 | 6-0 |
| 2 | Lions | 8-2 | 5-1 |
| 3 | 49ers | 7-3 | 5-1 |
| 4 | Saints | 5-5 | 2-3 |
| 5 | Cowboys | 7-3 | 4-3 |
| 6 | Seahawks | 6-4 | 5-2 |
| 7 | Vikings | 6-5 | 6-2 |
| 8 | Packers | 4-6 | 3-3 |
| 9 | Rams | 4-6 | 3-4 |
| 10 | Falcons | 4-6 | 3-4 |
| 11 | Buccaneers | 4-6 | 3-4 |
| 12 | Commanders | 4-7 | 2-4 |
| 13 | Giants | 3-8 | 3-4 |
| 14 | Bears | 3-8 | 2-5 |
| 15 | Cardinals | 2-9 | 2-5 |
| 16 | Panthers | 1-9 | 0-7 |
As you can see, the Lions and 49ers are the Eagles' biggest threats for the 1 seed in the NFC.
• Packers at Lions: The Lions nearly lost to a very bad Bears team Week 11, but escaped with a win, staying just one game behind the Eagles in the chase for the 1 seed. Obviously, a Packers win on Thanksgiving would give the Eagles a little extra room for error.
The first three tiebreakers for the 1 seed would go as follows:
The Eagles' and Lions' common opponents:
| Common opponent | PHI | DET |
| Chiefs | Win | Win |
| Seahawks | Loss | |
| Buccaneers | Win | Win |
| Vikings | Win | |
| Cowboys | Win | |
| Vikings | N/A | |
| Cowboys | N/A |
So, again, the Eagles are in good position on the tiebreaker front.
Update: Upset! The Lions lost on Thanksgiving, severely compromising their chances of earning the 1 seed.
• 49ers at Seahawks: The 49ers took care of business Week 11 against the Buccaneers and remain 2 games behind the Eagles. There's no need to show the Eagles' and 49ers' common opponents since they play each other this season. We'll only need to think about common opponents if they tie.
Update: The Seahawks were barely a a speed bump for the Niners.
• Bears at Vikings: The better the teams that fill up the the wildcard spots, the better chance they have of knocking off one of the top tier teams (the 49ers, for example) in the wildcard round of the playoffs. The Vikings would be the 7 seed if the season ended today, and I believe that they are better than all the teams behind them.
• Saints at Falcons: The Eagles own the Saints' second-round pick. If the Falcons win this game, they'll bump the Saints out of first place in the NFC South. Let's fire up the PFF mock draft simulator!
• Round 1: Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
• Round 2 (from Saints): Patrick Paul, OT, Houston
• Round 2: Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
• Round 3: Tykee Smith, S, Georgia
• Round 4: Cade Stover, TE, Ohio State
• Round 5: Jordan Travis, QB, Florida State
• Round 5: Cole Bishop, S, Utah
• Round 5: Frank Gore, Jr., RB, Southern Mississippi
• Buccaneers at Colts: The Bucs would also be a more acceptable NFC South champ than the Saints.
It doesn't really matter who wins these games, but we'll bold the Eagles' future opponents:
The Eagles play the Cardinals Week 17.
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