Maybe the Philadelphia Eagles aren’t going to choke away their NFC East lead after all?
The Birds certainly have their fair share of concerns after losing two games in a row.
But the Dallas Cowboys aren’t perfect, either.
The Cowboys saw their three-game win streak come to an end on Thursday night by losing to the Detroit Lions.
It was an important result for the Eagles since Philly’s magic number to win the division is now down to three games.
If the Eagles go 3-2 in their final five games, they’ll clinch the NFC East even if the Cowboys go undefeated the rest of the way.
Dallas winning out isn’t impossible; they have the second-easiest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL.
COWBOYS REMAINING SCHEDULE
Week 15 — vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 16 — vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Week 17 — at Washington Commanders
Week 18 — vs. New York Giants
One more Cowboys loss in this stretch would be really nice for the Eagles since it would require Philly to win just two of their final five games to guarantee a home playoff game.
EAGLES REMAINING SCHEDULE
Week 14 — at Los Angeles Chargers
Week 15 — vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Week 16 — at Washington Commanders
Week 17 — at Buffalo Bills
Week 18 — vs. Washington Commanders
But the Eagles should obviously be aspiring to more than merely winning the division since they’re still alive for the No. 1 seed.
Of course, it’d be nice to see them win a game again before talking more about the prospects of a first-round bye. Beat the Chargers on Monday night and then we can talk more about that. And how the magic number to win the division will be down to two at that point.
Getting back to the Cowboys for a second, I think it would be pretty funny if they won out and still missed the playoffs. That’s the ideal outcome in terms of Dallas winding up with the least favorable first-round pick (No. 18 overall) of any non-postseason team.
Here’s the entire NFC playoff picture, with only the Cowboys and Lions having played in Week 14 thus far.
PROJECTED PLAYOFF TEAMS
DIVISION LEADERS
1) Chicago Bears: 9-3
2) Los Angeles Rams: 9-3
3) Philadelphia Eagles: 8-4
4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-5
WILD CARD TEAMS
5) Seattle Seahawks: 9-3
6) Green Bay Packers: 8-3-1
7) San Francisco 49ers: 9-4
…
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
IN THE HUNT
8) Detroit Lions: 8-5
9) Carolina Panthers: 7-6
10) Dallas Cowboys: 6-6-1
UNSERIOUS TEAMS
11) Atlanta Falcons: 4-8
12) Minnesota Vikings: 4-8
14) Washington Commanders: 3-9^
^not a typo – the Commanders are in 14th behind the Cardinals in 13th but still mathematically alive
OFFICIALLY ELIMINATED
13) Arizona Cardinals: 3-9
15) New Orleans Saints: 3-9
16) New York Giants: 2-11
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