The Philadelphia Eagles became the first team in the NFC to clinch a division with their win over the Commanders on Saturday, and in doing so, also the first NFC East team to become repeat winners in 20 years. But what does their playoff path look like?
As things stand, the NFC seeding looks like this:
1: Seattle Seahawks
2: Chicago Bears
3: Philadelphia Eagles
5: San Francisco 49ers
6: LA Rams
The Buccaneers and Panthers are still duelling it out for the NFC South crown (#4), but the rest of the conference is taking shape.
The Eagles have a clash with the Bills on deck, who now absolutely need a win if they have any chance of retaining the AFC East. This is a high stakes matchup for both Super Bowl-worthy teams, so a win is anything but guaranteed.
After that, the Eagles will face the Commanders one more time to round out the year. While they can't claim the No. 1 seed, it's still important to finish strong. Let's not forget, they won the Super Bowl as the No. 2 seed last year.
However, the Seahawks still have to face San Francisco and Carolina, while Chicago has to face Carolina and Detroit, setting us up with a thrilling end to the season.
While the No. 1 seed is out of reach, it's very much still all to play for. The Eagles are essentially all but guaranteed to enter the playoffs as at least the No. 3 seed barring a bizarre run of results, but in this season, anything could happen.
They can still clinch the No. 2 spot if they win-out from here, and the Bears lose both of their final games. According to Inpredictable (via Philly Voice) the Eagles could still slip to the No. 4 spot, but with an 86% chance to stay at No. 3, and 13% to snatch the No. 2 spot, it's very unlikely and involves not only a loss to the Bills, but a Panthers win, and a weekend of chaos in the NFC.
At the very minimum, the Eagles have guaranteed themself a playoff spot, and a gigantic chance of retaining the No. 3 seed, regardless of what else happens around the conference, with a chance to spring a surprise and steal the No. 2 seed over the final two weeks.
If the season did come to a halt today, the Eagles would face the LA Rams and MVP candidate Matt Stafford. The veteran QB has eclipsed 4,000 yards for the first time since 2017, throwing a career-high 40 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions.
Jalen Hurts did out-duel Stafford earlier in the year, and the Birds have won each of their last 4 encounters against the Rams, which would reinforce fan confidence if that was the confirmed matchup.
The entire NFC hinges on the next two weeks. The Eagles need to win-out in an ideal world, but with the playoffs already clinched, it's certainly not the end of the world if they stumble against Buffalo and instead opt to rest starters in the season finale.
For now, we get to look forward to one of the most exciting festive football slates in recent memory, knowing playoffs are already secured, and the rest is simply a bonus.
