Imagine, to the Philadelphia Eagles' delight, that they are sitting up on their reclined chairs, taking a small nap, and suddenly waking up and... boom—first place in the NFC.
It might not have happened exactly like that, but the Eagles did see their Week 9 bye week go about as well as it could have. The biggest concern was securing first place in the NFC, while also maintaining control of the NFC East.
Things started perfectly with the Green Bay Packers getting upset by Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers 16-13 on a last-second field goal. Green Bay ended up dropping to 5-2-1 on the season, while Carolina surprisingly found itself over .500 with a 5-4 record.
Philly's division rival, the New York Giants, took a bit of a beating at home themselves as the San Francisco 49ers flew across the country to win 34-24. The Giants now fall to 2-7 with playoff hopes slipping through their fingers at the midway point of the season.
The Eagles' night closed out perfectly with the Seattle Seahawks taking the belt to...well, fans know the rest, but they got a convincing 38-14 win over the Washington Commanders as they too flew across the country for a blowout win. While there was unfortunate news about Commanders QB Jayden Daniels suffering a horrible arm injury, Washington fell to 3-6 on the season and lost control of their season.
How does the Eagles' NFC East and Conference outlooks look now in Week 9
Looking at the NFC East, no matter the result of the Dallas Cowboys-Arizona Cardinals game, the Eagles will have at least a two-game lead in the division. The Cowboys seem to be the only legit contender at this point, with the Commanders struggling to stay healthy and the Giants still in rebuild mode with a rookie quarterback.
The NFC in general, though, saw some changes in favor of the Eagles. With a Packers loss, the Eagles move into first place in the NFC. There is currently a three-way tie for first with the Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Seahawks at 6-2, but the Eagles own the tiebreaker based on best win percentage in conference games.
Tampa Bay has also had a Week 9 bye week with the Eagles, but will be back in action in Week 10 with a massive showdown with the New England Patriots. Seattle will face their division rivals, the Cardinals, in Week 10 as well.
Read more: Eagles' bye week will expose whether Nick Sirianni can make these tough calls
As for the Eagles, they are in the final game of Week 10 with a primetime showdown with the Packers at Lambeau Field. The winner of that game will have firm control of their NFC top-seed destiny.