Though unlikely to happen, Philadelphia still has a shot at the No. 1 seed.
The seventeenth weekend of the 2024 NFL regular season is here! Let’s run through a Philadelphia Eagles-focused rooting guide for all of the Week 17 games.
THE FIRST-ROUND BYE PIPE DREAM
Let’s first acknowledge that the Eagles are not likely to get the No. 1 seed. And some will argue it’s best for the Eagles’ unrealistic pursuit of the No. 1 seed to be done with so they can locked in to the No. 2 seed and treat Week 18 like a bye as much as possible as opposed to going all out to win that game and then still not getting the No. 1 spot anyway. But, yes, I am saying there is a chance. According to DVOA playoff odds, the number is 7.4%.
DALLAS COWBOYS at PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Here’s the Eagles’ path to a first-round bye: 1) the Eagles win out (vs. DAL, vs. NYG) … 2) the Lions lose out (vs. SF, vs. MIN) … 3) the Vikings lose this weekend (vs. GB) before winning (at DET) in Week 18. In that scenario, the Eagles would be 14-3, the Vikings would be 14-3, and the Lions would be 13-4. The Eagles would hold the common games tiebreaker over Minny. Even if you don’t believe in the No. 1 seed dream, you’ll at least appreciate an Eagles win over the Cowboys clinching no worse than the No. 2 seed and the NFC East division crown. Go Birds.
GREEN BAY PACKERS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Two reasons for the Eagles to root for the Packers. 1) The Vikings losing keeps the dream of the Eagles as the No. 1 seed alive. 2) The Packers winning moves them closer to clinching the No. 6 seed and thus preventing the Eagles from having to face Green Bay in the wild card round. With a Packers win and a Washington loss this weekend, GB clinches the No. 6 spot. Root for the Packers.
DETROIT LIONS at SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: Eagles fans don’t typically enjoy rooting for the 49ers but San Francisco is already eliminated from playoff contention. Winning only serves to worsen their draft position and help the Eagles potentially get the No. 1 seed. Root for the 49ers.
NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE
Here’s a look at the current NFC Playoff Picture via ESPN:
ARIZONA CARDINALS at LOS ANGELES RAMS: The Rams are much more threatening than the Seattle Seahawks. Best not to see LA win the NFC West. Root for the Cardinals.
CAROLINA PANTHERS at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: The Bucs are much more threatening than Atlanta. Best not to see Tampa win the NFC South or wind up as the No. 7 seed. With a Bucs loss here and an Atlanta win over Washington, Tampa is eliminated from playoff contention. Root for the Panthers.
ATLANTA FALCONS at WASHINGTON COMMANDERS: In the event that the Kenny Pickett-led Eagles are unable to beat the Cowboys, the Eagles can still clinch the No. 2 seed and the NFC East with a Commanders loss to Atlanta. The Falcons winning is also valuable in terms of 1) preventing the Bucs from winning the NFC South, 2) preventing the Packers from dropping to the No. 7 seed, and 3) the possibility that the Commanders fall out of the playoff picture altogether, which would be funny. Root for the Falcons.
DRAFT POSITIONING
The Eagles want to see the Giants pick up some meaningless wins to ruin their draft positioning. They also want to see other teams stay/move ahead of their NFC East rivals in the 2025 NFL Draft order. Speaking of, here’s the current outlook for projected non-playoff teams via Tankathon:
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at NEW YORK GIANTS: The Giants having such a miserable season and still not getting the No. 1 overall pick would be pretty funny, if you ask me. With a win, they could potentially fall out of the top five picks! Root for the Giants.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: The Patriots losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. Root for the Chargers.
NEW YORK JETS at BUFFALO BILLS: If the Jets lose out and the Giants win out (Eagles potentially resting starters in Week 18), NYJ could move ahead of NYG in the draft order. Root for the Bills.
TENNESSEE TITANS at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: The question here is: which team is more likely to win in Week 18? That’s the team you want to root for in this one so that the losing side loses out and has a chance to move ahead of the Giants in the draft order. With Houston already locked into the No. 4 seed and potentially resting starters against the Titans in Week 18, gotta go with hoping the Jags lose here and then again to Indy in Week 18. Root for the Titans.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: The Raiders losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. Root for the Saints.
MIAMI DOLPHINS at CLEVELAND BROWNS: The Browns losing gives them a chance to move ahead of the Giants. Root for the Dolphins.
WHAT’S LEFT
DENVER BRONCOS at CINCINNATI BENGALS: Only two quarterbacks have ever eliminated Patrick Mahomes from the playoffs: Tom Brady and Joe Burrow. If you’re of the mind that you want to see the Kansas City Chiefs get knocked out, maybe the Bengals have a chance to do so? Just gotta make it there first.