November 26, 2022
Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports
The Eagles will hope Andy Dalton still has a few more losses in him.
The Philadelphia Eagles did not get ideal results in the three NFL games played on Thanksgiving. They'll hope that things shift their way during the afternoon games on Sunday in advance of their Sunday night matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Ideal winners bolded.
Let's first update the NFC East standings:
| NFC East | W | L | GB |
| Eagles | 9 | 1 | - |
| Cowboys | 8 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Giants | 7 | 4 | 2.5 |
| Commanders | 6 | 5 | 3.5 |
The Cowboys beat the Giants on Thanksgiving, thus pulling them to within a game and a half of the Eagles. The Cowboys are the bigger threat to the Eagles in the NFC East, so that was not a good result. It's also worth noting here, by the way, that if the Cowboys are able to split with the Eagles this season by beating them on Christmas Eve, the Eagles are "extremely unlikely" to win a tiebreaker in the NFC East should both teams finish with the same record, per the great Deniz Selman.
Eagles are *extremely* unlikely to win the tiebreaker against Dallas if they lose on Christmas Eve and end up tied in the standings, so basically they currently have no cushion to avoid that game being for the division lead. Have to keep winning. #FlyEaglesFly
— Deniz Selman (@denizselman33) November 25, 2022
Otherwise, the Commanders are the Eagles' only NFC East rival to play on Sunday.
• Falcons at Commanders (1:00 p.m.): In my opinion, the biggest threat in the NFC to the Eagles Super Bowl aspirations are the San Francisco 49ers, who are playing good football right now and could be a difficult matchup. It would be ideal for the Eagles if the Niners don't qualify for the playoffs. Below, you can see what the playoff situation looks like at the moment in the NFC. For the Niners not to make the playoffs, the Seahawks would have to beat them out in the NFC West, and a team like the Commanders or Falcons would also have to catch them in the wildcard hunt.
| Seed | NFC | W | L |
| 1 | Eagles (NFCE) | 9 | 1 |
| 2 | Vikings (NFCN) | 9 | 2 |
| 3 | 49ers (NFCW) | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | Buccaneers (NFCS) | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Cowboys (WC) | 8 | 3 |
| 6 | Giants (WC) | 7 | 4 |
| 7 | Seahawks (WC) | 6 | 4 |
| 8 | Commanders | 6 | 5 |
| 9 | Falcons | 5 | 6 |
| 10 | Lions | 4 | 7 |
| 11 | Packers | 4 | 7 |
| 12 | Cardinals | 4 | 7 |
| 13 | Saints | 4 | 7 |
| 14 | Rams | 3 | 7 |
| 15 | Panthers | 3 | 8 |
| 16 | Bears | 3 | 8 |
The Commanders, at 6-5, are in a better position to catch San Francisco, so they are the more ideal winner.
• Raiders at Seahawks (4:05 p.m.): As noted above, it's better if the Seahawks win the NFC West.
• Saints at 49ers (4:25 p.m.): If the season ended right now (it doesn't), the Saints' first-round pick, owned by the Eagles, would be 10th overall, down from fourth overall a week ago. However, unlike most weeks, it's not a no-brainer to root for the Saints to lose, since, as noted above, it's ideal if the Niners don't make the playoffs.
This is a game in which the Eagles will get good outcome either way whether that's with a Saints loss (thus better draft positioning), or a Niners loss (thus weakening a legitimate Super Bowl contender).
Anyway, as always, let's fire up the mock draft simulator each week just for fun:
• Buccaneers at Browns (1:00 p.m.): The Bucs hold a 1.5-game lead on the Saints in the NFC South. It would be ideal if they extend that cushion, thus helping guarantee at least a top 18 pick.
And then there are some other teams with bad records near the top of the draft order who could be jockeying for position with that Saints pick. It's better if these teams win:
Irrelevant to the Eagles
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