The Philadelphia Eagles need some help to move up from the number three seed to the number two seed in the NFC playoffs, but it is not looking good for them.
Philly did their part in Week 16 as they won the NFC East title by beating the Washington Commanders 29-18. They were hoping to get some help from the Green Bay Packers to beat the Chicago Bears, but Chicago came back from being down 10 points late in the fourth quarter to win in overtime.
The Eagles are sitting at a 10-5 record as division champs, which guarantees a playoff home game, but they need some help to move up from some friends. How Week 17 has gone so far, it's not looking great in that department.
Eagles are moving closer to being stuck at the third spot in the NFC
In the NFC so far this weekend, the Dallas Cowboys took down the Washington Commanders, but both teams are already out of the playoff hunt. The Detroit Lions found themselves officially eliminated from the playoffs after their loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Green Bay made life easy on the Bears as they fell to the Baltimore Ravens 41-24, as Chicago won the NFC North, and the Packers are locked into the seventh seed in the playoffs.
Here is the latest look at the NFC playoff picture after the Packers game in Week 17:
1. Seattle Seahawks (12-3)
2. Chicago Bears (11-4)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (10-5)
4. Carolina Panthers (8-7)
5. San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
6. Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
7. Green Bay Packers (9-6-1)
All the Bears need to do is beat the 49ers, and they will lock in the number two seed at least in the NFC playoffs. Since Chicago beat Philadelphia, the Bears would own any tiebreaker against the Eagles.
If anything, the Eagles could use a win in Week 17 against the Buffalo Bills to gain some momentum going into the playoffs. Beating one of the Super Bowl contenders in the AFC would go a long way toward convincing people that Philly can repeat as champions.
Read more: Eagles' Howie Roseman should have AFC West team on speed dial after latest news
The Eagles have battled through one of the NFL's most demanding schedules and seem ready for the postseason, but they want to see if they can move up to play the Packers again, as that would be the preferred opening-round matchup over one of the tough NFC West teams.