Future Not Set For Philadelphia Eagles
By Matt Giraldi
If it seems like the Philadelphia Eagles have not won a home game against the Seattle Seahawks in a long time, you’re not too far off base. In fact, the last time the Eagles defeated the Seahawks in Philadelphia, Randall Cunningham threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns and led the Eagles over Dave Krieg 31-7. While it might seem bleak for the Eagles to defeat the defending Super Bowl champions this Sunday, it’s encouraging to know that regardless the outcome Sunday, the Eagles control their own destiny for the playoffs.
The NFC Playoffs Go Through Philadelphia
It’s possible, but the Eagles are going to need a ton of help. First and foremost, the Seattle Seahawks are going to determine whether the Eagles are the number one seed. The Eagles need a victory Sunday, and they likely need the Seahawks to win the NFC West. Because the Cardinals and the Packers have beaten the Eagles, if there is a three-way tie for the best record in the conference, the Eagles would automatically be relegated to the three seed among those three teams. However, because the Seahawks beat the Packers Week 1, a three-way tie among the Packers, Eagles, and Seahawks would move to the conference record.
If the Eagles, Seahawks (losing this week), and Packers all won out, they would be tied with a 9-3 NFC record. A record against common opponents for the Packers and Eagles would be simple. They’d be 1-1 (Green Bay lost to Seattle and defeated Carolina). This is where it would help the Eagles. The next tie-breaker is strength of victory. Simply put, the Packers feasted on the NFC South, which will hurt them in this category. So keep cheering against the NFC South Eagles fans! While that sounds nice from that perspective, the Seattle Seahawks will hold a higher winning percentage against common opponents regardless of what happens for the rest of the season. (Seattle is currently 6-1 against common opponents).
Confused yet? Yeah…I thought so. Basically, Eagles fans want to cheer for the Packers’ next four opponents (Atlanta, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and Detroit). Don’t worry, I just sighed in agony as well.
A Philadelphia Eagles Bye Week
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Simply put, the Eagles must win against the Seahawks this Sunday for any realistic chance at a bye week in the NFC. Due to the Eagles losing to the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and the Green Bay Packers, if the Eagles lose to the Seahawks it would essentially limit the Eagles to only the division title as they would no longer have the head-to-head tie breaker against the (likely) winners of the NFC North and NFC West divisions.
And despite the possibility of a 12-4 record even if they lose this weekend, a loss would drop the Eagles conference record to a paltry 5-4.
Currently in the NFC, the only teams with a winning record that have four or more losses in conference play are the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.
NFC East Champions: The Philadelphia Eagles
Winning the division is a relatively easy task for the Philadelphia Eagles at this point. If the Eagles defeat the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday night, all they have to do is just win one more game this season. So before you get down on yourself and the team after this weekend (should they lose), just know that the Eagles still have a stranglehold on the division. As it stands right now, Dallas needs a lot of help in order to win the division. Since the Cowboys have already lost two games in divisional play, they not only have to defeat the Eagles, but they also have to hope the Eagles lose to either the Redskins or the Giants.
The next tie-breaker after divisional record is record against common opponents. The Eagles’ three losses thus far are to the San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, and the Green Bay Packers. Even if the Eagles lost to the Seahawks, the Dallas Cowboys lost to both the 49ers and Cardinals, as well as losing to the Redskins. The Cowboys still have to play the Indianapolis Colts as well, a team that the Eagles defeated. So in essence, Dallas is really against the wall for the division and would need the Eagles to have a massive collapse the rest of the way in order to overcome the divisional tie-breakers.
The Philadelphia Eagles as a Wild Card
It is feasible that the Eagles could be a wild card team, but not very likely. Pretty much the only way that this could happen is if the Eagles defeat the Seahawks Sunday. Because of the head-to-head tiebreakers, the Eagles could not top the 49ers, Seahawks, or Cardinals for a wild-card spot. Additionally, the Detroit Lions have a 6-2 record in the NFC, but have a 2-2 record against common opponents. If the Lions were to defeat the Packers in Week 17, they would have a common opponent tie-breaker against the Eagles (3-2).