Eagles rooting guide for Week 13 games

Sunday afternoon reference material.

The thirteenth Sunday of the 2024 NFL regular season is here! Let’s run through a Philadelphia Eagles-focused rooting guide for all of the Week 13 games.

THANKSGIVING GAMES RECAP

CHICAGO BEARS at DETROIT LIONS: The Eagles obviously would’ve preferred a Lions loss; the Birds eventually need Detroit to slip up in order for Philly to control their path to the No. 1 seed. A Lions home loss to Green Bay in Week 14 would be really big for Philly’s chances of getting a first-round bye.

NEW YORK GIANTS at DALLAS COWBOYS: The Eagles would’ve preferred a Giants win that ruins their draft positioning since New York is currently projected to have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. But a Cowboys win that 1) ruins their draft positioning and 2) potentially leads to a Mike McCarthy extension is a decent consolation prize.

MIAMI DOLPHINS at GREEN BAY PACKERS: A non-Detroit team winning the NFC North would be preferable, so, the Packers winning wasn’t a bad outcome for the Eagles. Again, the Eagles really want to see the Packers beat the Lions in Week 14.

HUNT FOR THE FIRST-ROUND BYE

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at BALTIMORE RAVENS: Let’s pretend for a moment that the Eagles definitely losing one of their final six games is a requirement and you can pick which one it would be. If that was the case, you’d pick this one since the Ravens are an out of conference opponent and they’re a really good team. A loss here is hardly the end of the world. Of course, you’d like to see the Eagles play well since it’s a measuring stick kind of game. And the reality is they might not have much margin for error when it comes to catching Detroit. So, a win is obviously preferable. Go Birds (but not the purple ones).

NFC EAST

TENNESSEE TITANS at WASHINGTON COMMANDERS: The Eagles currently have a 97.7% chance of winning their division (per FTN Fantasy’s DVOA projection). But to further ensure the Commanders don’t make an improbable run at the NFC East crown, best to hope they lose again. The consolation prize of a Commanders win is that the Titans losing gives Tennessee a chance to move ahead of the Giants in the draft order. Root for the Titans.

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS at ATLANTA FALCONS: The Eagles don’t want to see Tampa win the NFC South. They’d much prefer the Falcons to win that division instead. Root for the Falcons.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS at CAROLINA PANTHERS: The Eagles don’t want to see Tampa win the NFC South. The consolation prize of a Bucs win is that the Panthers losing gives Carolina a chance to move ahead of the Giants in the draft order. Root for the Panthers.

ARIZONA CARDINALS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS: The Eagles want to see a non-Niners team win the NFC West. The consolation of the Vikings winning is that they’d like to see a non-Detroit team win the NFC North. Root for the Cardinals.

LOS ANGELES RAMS at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: The Eagles want to see a non-Niners team win the NFC West. Also, the Saints losing keeps them ahead of Dallas and gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants in the draft order. Root for the Rams.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS at BUFFALO BILLS: The Eagles want to see a non-Niners team win the NFC West. San Fran currently has a 11.4% chance of making the playoffs and that number will only drop further with a loss. Root for the Bills.

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:

HOUSTON TEXANS at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: Sorry, Doug Pederson, but the Eagles want to see the Jags finish ahead of the G-Men in the draft order. Root for the Texans.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: The Patriots losing keeps them ahead of the Cowboys and gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. Root for the Colts.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS at NEW YORK JETS: The Jets losing keeps them ahead of the Cowboys and gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. Also, the Seahawks winning works towards a non-Niners team winning the NFC West. Root for the Seahawks.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS at CINCINNATI BENGALS: The Bengals losing keeps them ahead of the Cowboys and gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. Root for the Steelers.

CLEVELAND BROWNS at DENVER BRONCOS: The Browns losing keeps them ahead of the Cowboys and gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. Root for the Broncos.