November 03, 2024

Week 9 non-Eagles rooting guide

A look at which NFL teams might help the Eagles this week.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Luke Johnson/Imagn Images

The Commanders used to be the only team Daniel Jones and the Giants could beat.

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, first and foremost the Eagles have to take care of their own business.

NFC East

The NFC East standings:

NFC East	Record	Div record	GB
Commanders	6-2	1-0	-
Eagles	5-2	1-0	0.5
Cowboys	3-4	1-0	2.5
Giants	2-6	0-3	4

• Commanders at Giants: There have only been three intra-division games in the NFC East so far, with each of the Commanders, Eagles, and Cowboys having already played the Giants once. The Giants lost all three of those games, and are 4 games behind the Commanders. They're done.

Since 2017, the Giants are 9-5-1 (0.633) against the Commanders. Against everyone else, they're 30-78-1 (0.280). With the Commanders having found their franchise quarterback and some general overall competency, the Giants can no longer count on winning games against this one team.

A Giants win is obviously more ideal for the Eagles.

• Cowboys at Falcons: Duh. A Cowboys loss is always ideal, but also, the Falcons are a more desirable NFC South winner than the Bucs, so Falcons wins are welcomed.

NFC vs. NFC

First, let's look at the NFC seeding if the season ended today (it doesn't).

Seed	Team	Record	Conf record
1	Lions	6-1	5-1
2	Commanders	6-2	4-1
3	Falcons	5-3	5-1
4	Cardinals	4-4	2-3
5	Packers	6-2	2-2
6	Vikings	5-2	3-2
7	Eagles	5-2	3-2
8	Bears	4-3	2-1
9	Buccaneers	4-4	4-2
10	49ers	4-4	2-3
11	Seahawks	4-4	1-3
12	Rams	3-4	2-4
13	Cowboys	3-4	1-3
14	Saints ☠️	2-6	2-3
15	Giants	2-6	1-4
16	Panthers ☠️	1-7	0-4

• Lions at Packers: The Lions have looked like the best team in the NFL this season. Even in the one game they lost they outgained the Bucs by 247 yards. The rest of the NFC would probably like to see them look mortal.

• Rams at Seahawks: With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back, the Rams are more of a threat than the Seahawks, which would normally mean that it's better if they lose. But it this case, the Rams are the best hope of any team challenging the Niners in the NFC West, and they already have a head-to-head win over the Niners in their pocket.

• Bears at Cardinals: The Bears or Cardinals would be an ideal wildcard opponent for any division winner that doesn't earn a bye, which feels a little bit like a likely scenario for the Eagles. Take your pick on who you'd rather face in the playoffs, and that's who is the more ideal winner of this game. I think it's the Bears..

NFC vs. AFC

• Colts at Vikings: The Vikings are a more ideal NFC North winner than the Lions or Packers.

• Buccaneers at Chiefs: The Bucs have Jalen Hurts' number. It's best if they continue to lose ground to the Falcons, who are not realistic Super Bowl contenders.

No QB for you

I don't see the Giants winning many more games, and they have a very obvious need for a quarterback. The higher they pick, the better the chance they have of finding one. The rest of their season is really all about draft positioning. And so, it's best for the Eagles if the Giants mess up their draft positioning and other bad teams with needs at quarterback pick before them.

• Saints at Panthers: The Saints have the same record as the Giants at 2-6, but I believe that the Giants have a legitimate outside chance at the No. 1 overall pick. It's probably best if the Panthers keep losing.

And then the rest of the matchups include teams that are bad and need quarterbacks. It's best if they lose: