Eagles rooting guide for Week 15 games

Sunday afternoon reference material.

The fifteenth Sunday of the 2024 NFL regular season is here! Let’s run through a Philadelphia Eagles-focused rooting guide for all of the Week 15 games.

HUNT FOR THE FIRST-ROUND BYE

PITTSBURGH STEELERS at PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: The Eagles will be the No. 1 seed if they win out, Detroit loses at least two games, and Minnesota loses at least one game. Go Birds.

BUFFALO BILLS at DETROIT LIONS: In order for the Eagles to attain the No. 1 seed, they’re going to need help in the form of the Lions losing at least two of their final four games. The Bills have a realistic shot to beat Detroit. Root for the Bills.

CHICAGO BEARS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS: If Eagles win out, the Lions lose at least two games, and the Vikings win out … Minny will likely be the No. 1 seed based on the strength of victory tiebreaker. And so the Eagles need the Vikings to not win out. Root for the Bears.

TOP-TWO SEED CLINCH

GREEN BAY PACKERS at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: The Eagles will clinch a top two seed in the NFC playoff picture if they win, Washington loses, and Seattle loses. And a Packers win helps prevent Green Bay being slotted in the No. 7 seed, which is the slot the Eagles could be bound to play in the wild card round. Root for the Packers.

NFC EAST CLINCH

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: If the Commanders lose and the Eagles win today, the Birds will officially clinch the NFC East. The Eagles will have the division wrapped up before they play the Commanders at FedEx Field in Week 16. Root for the Saints.

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

Here’s a look at the current NFC Playoff Picture via ESPN:

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS at LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: The Eagles would much prefer Atlanta winning the NFC South over the Bucs. Root for the Chargers.

ATLANTA FALCONS at LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: Two reasons to root for Atlanta. 1) The Eagles would rather see them win the NFC South over the Bucs. 2) The Raiders losing works towards preventing NYG getting the No. 1 overall pick. Root for the Falcons.

DRAFT POSITIONING

The Eagles want to see the Giants and Cowboys pick up some meaningless wins to ruin their draft positioning. They also want to see other teams stay/move ahead of their NFC East rivals in the 2025 NFL Draft order. Speaking of, here’s the current outlook for projected non-playoff teams via Tankathon:

DALLAS COWBOYS at CAROLINA PANTHERS: The Panthers losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. And a Cowboys win only serves to drop Dallas in the draft order. Root for the Cowboys.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS at CLEVELAND BROWNS: The Browns losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants and ensures they stay ahead of the Cowboys. Root for the Chiefs.

MIAMI DOLPHINS at HOUSTON TEXANS: The Dolphins losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Cowboys. Root for the Texans.

NEW YORK JETS at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: The Jags have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL (.269 combined opponent win percentage) while the Jets have a relatively more difficult slate (.509). With a chance of the Jags picking up more wins after this game, best to see them lose here. Root for the Jets.

BALTIMORE RAVENS at NEW YORK GIANTS: The Giants have a snowball’s chance in hell of beating the Ravens but root for it anyway so they blow their chance at the No. 1 overall pick. Root for the Giants.

CINCINNATI BENGALS at TENNESSEE TITANS: The Titans losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. Also, a Bengals win helps to improve the Eagles’ strength of victory tiebreaker. Root for the Bengals.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at ARIZONA CARDINALS: The Patriots losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. A Cardinals win also makes it even harder for San Fran to make the postseason. Root for the Cardinals.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at DENVER BRONCOS: The Colts losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Cowboys. Root for the Broncos.