October 06, 2024
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. And yes, I'm aware that (a) the Eagles themselves have to get their act together, and (b) most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
• Cowboys at Steelers: This is the Sunday Night Football game. In the 70's a lot of football fans across the country adopted these two franchises as their favorite teams because they combined to win six Super Bowls that decade. They then passed their cowardly choices of favorite franchises down to future generations.
They are both annoying. The Cowboys are always among the most overhyped teams in the NFL, despite their predictable annual choke jobs. Meanwhile, Steelers fans get credit for "traveling so well," which they certainly do to some degree, but in reality their dumb Terrible Towels just stand out so it looks like there are more Steelers fans in attendance at road games than there really are. Anyway, this Bandwagon Fan Bowl will do monster ratings.
(And obviously, any Cowboys loss will be welcomed by the Eagles.)
• Browns at Commanders: This game is relevant to the Eagles in two ways:
If the Commanders win this matchup, which they are favored to do, they will have a 1.5-game lead in the division over the Birds. Have the Commanders passed the Cowboys as the Eagles' biggest threats in the NFC East?
• Giants at Seahawks: At some point it's going to be ideal for the Giants to win games so they wreck their draft position and miss out on whichever quarterbacks separate from the pack. We're not there yet, and it's also more ideal if the Seahawks are able to somehow win the NFC West instead of the 49ers.
• Panthers at Bears: The Bears would be an ideal playoff opponent should the Eagles get there, while all Panthers losses are best in terms of having a higher pick than the Giants.
• Packers at Rams: The Packers are eventually going to be a force in the NFC. The more games they lose while Jordan Love shakes of his knee injury, the better for the rest of the teams in the NFC.
• Jets at Vikings: On the surface, a Vikings loss against an AFC team being more ideal feels obvious given Minnesota's undefeated record, but I'm not so sure about that. A Vikings divisional title in the NFC North is more ideal than if it were to be won by the Lions or Packers, who in my opinion are better teams, and would be more dangerous in the playoffs. So for now, it's probably best for the Vikings to keep putting W's in the standings, and then wait for them to come back to Earth later in the season when opposing offenses start solving Brian Flores' defense.
• Cardinals at 49ers: All 49ers losses are welcomed by every NFC team. Don't hold your breath this week.
• Saints at Chiefs: Ultimately, I don't think the Saints matter. If they get into the playoffs, fine. The Eagles dominated them, despite the close Week 3 score. Better them winning the NFC South than the Bucs, who have the Eagles' number.
The following bolded teams play the Eagles this season, so they're just worth keeping an eye on, but it doesn't really matter who wins these games.
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