NFL playoff picture: 2 reasons Sunday was a good day for the Eagles

On November 25, 2024By Littum

Time for a look at the updated one NFL playoff picture now that all NFC teams are done playing in Week 12.

Sunday was a good day for the Philadelphia Eagles in two big ways.

1) The Eagles beat the Los Angeles Rams.

Winning this game was crucial to Philly’s hopes of catching Detroit Lions for no. 1 seed.

Had the Eagles lost in LA, they probably would have needed to win and have the Lions lose at least three times.

Instead, with a win, the Eagles keep pressure on Detroit to not slip up. And the Lions’ schedule is tougher than the Eagles’ slate.

Eagles’ remaining schedule

Remaining strength of schedule: .463, 10th-easiest in the NFL

Week 13 — at Baltimore Ravens
Week 14 – vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 15 – vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 16 — at Washington’s commanders
Week 17 – vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 18 – vs. New York Giants

Lions remaining schedule

Remaining strength of schedule: .591, 6th hardest in NFL

Week 13 – vs. Chicago Bears
Week 14 – vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 15 – vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 16 — at Chicago Bears
Week 17 — at San Francisco 49ers
Week 18 – vs. Minnesota Vikings

The Lions losing to the Packers would be especially nice for the Eagles’ sake.

#Eagles NFC 1 seed tiebreaker scenarios! All 15-2 & 14-3 scenarios below.

Key takeaways:
1) The only way the Eagles win the tiebreaker 15-2 is if DET’s loss is specific to GB.
2) Eagles win 14-3 tiebreaker if only losses are to BAL or PIT & DET’s losses include GB *or* both are NFC. pic.twitter.com/3dZLtIsGPl

— Deniz Selman (@denizselman33) 25 November 2024

2) The Eagles got more of a cushion atop the NFC East.

We have already outlined how the Eagles got help from the Dallas Cowboys beating the Washington Commanders. As a refresher:

The Commanders’ loss is especially damaging to their chances of contending for the NFC East crown, as it drops them to 2-2 in divisional games, while the Eagles are 3-0. Even if the Commanders win the rest of their divisional games (vs. Eagles, at Cowboys), the Birds just need to beat the Cowboys and Giants (both games in Philly) to secure the division record tiebreaker (5-1 over 4-2).

The Eagles should have their sights set higher than just winning the division. But it is of course an important step.

1) Philadelphia Eagles: 9-2
2) Washington Commanders: 7-5
3) Dallas Cowboys: 4-7
4) New York Giants: 2-9

Here’s the complete NFC playoff picture exiting Week 12.

PROJECTED PLAYOFF TEAMS

DIVISION MANAGERS

1) Detroit Lions: 10-1
2) Philadelphia Eagles: 9-2
3) Seattle Seahawks: 6-5
4) Atlanta Falcons: 6-5

WILD CARD TEAM

5) Minnesota Vikings: 9-2
6) Green Bay Packers: 8-3
7) Washington Commanders: 7-5

…

ON THE EXTENDED LOOKING IN

IN THE HUNT

8) Arizona Cardinals: 6-5
9) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5-6
10) Los Angeles Rams: 5-6
11) San Francisco 49ers: 5-6
12) New Orleans Saints: 4-7 (still alive in weak NFC South)

DEEPLY USELESS TEAM

13) Chicago Bears: 4-7
14) Dallas Cowboys: 4-7
15) Carolina Panthers: 3-8
16) New York Giants: 2-9