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In Week 18, the Philadelphia Eagles will be resting starters while simultaneously hoping to win their game against the Washington Commanders with backups. Otherwise, there are a lot of matchups around the NFC that will determine playoff seeding. Here we’ll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league.
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If the NFL season ended today (it doesn’t), the Philadelphia Eagles would be the 1 seed in the NFC at 8-2. They’ll face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in a game that would pretty much put the NFC East on lock should the Birds win. The only other 8-2 team in the conference is the Los Angeles Rams, who the Eagles beat Week 3. Here we’ll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league.
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One of the best NFL viewing experiences is when your favorite team has already won their game that week, and you get to watch a full slate on Sunday games, stress-free. Eagles fans will not get to enjoy that experience this weekend after watching the Birds get stomped by a bad Giants team that was missing their best player on offense. Instead, the Week 6 slate of Sunday games will be more of a “misery loves company” situation.
Here we’ll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league. And yes, I’m aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
First, the NFC East standings:
| NFC East | Record | Division | GB |
| Eagles | 4-2 | 1-1 | – |
| Commanders | 3-2 | 1-0 | 0.5 |
| Cowboys | 2-2-1 | 1-1 | 1.5 |
| Giants | 2-4 | 1-2 | 2 |
Inpredictable.com has the Eagles as 56 percent likely to win the division.
• Cowboys at Panthers: While not legitimate contenders, the Cowboys have been better this season than I expected, and they’re a bigger threat to the Eagles at the moment given the Eagles’ struggles. It’s best if they drop a few games.
• Bears at Commanders: The Commanders got a game closer to the Eagles in the standings Week 5 with their win over the Chargers and the Eagles’ loss to the Broncos. They can take the divisional lead with a win over the Bears, on the strength of a better divisional record.
• Rams at Ravens: The Rams are the biggest threat in the NFC West. It’s better for the Eagles if any other team wins that division.
• Bengals at Packers: While the Packers are a more ideal NFC North winner than the Lions, they are also a threat for playoff seeding, so a loss here is ideal.
• Lions at Chiefs: The Lions look like the best team in the NFL right now. As noted in my Week 6 picks, I’m unsure why they’re underdogs to this Chiefs team that is not as good as we’ve become accustomed to seeing.
• 49ers at Buccaneers: The Eagles got to face the Bucs when the Bucs were very banged up, and they kind of just survived in their win. I still believe that they are a team the Eagles do not want to have to face in the playoffs.
• Seahawks at Jaguars: The Seahawks are a more ideal NFC West winner than the Rams or 49ers.
• Cardinals at Colts: The Cardinals are the most ideal NFC West winner, but they’re looking like deep longshots at the moment.
• Bills at Falcons: It’s more ideal if the Falcons win the NFC South instead of the Buccaneers.
• Broncos at Jets: The Eagles own the Jets’ third-round pick. If the season ended today, that would be the 65th overall pick, since the Jets are the NFL’s only winless team. The more games they lose, the better, but it’s already almost certain to be a high pick in the third round.
Also, the more games the NFL’s bottom dwellers lose, the more likely it is that they will finish higher in the draft order than the Giants. It’s best if teams like the Saints and Browns lose a lot of games.
The following bolded teams play the Eagles this season, so they’re just worth keeping an eye on:
The Eagles won’t face the Chargers and Raiders until December.
BYE: Vikings, Texans
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The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. That matchup aside, here we’ll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league. And yes, I’m aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
• Raiders at Commanders: The Commanders will be without Jayden Daniels against the Raiders, and Marcus Mariota will get the start. On the one hand, Mariota appeared in three games for the Commanders last season, and had great numbers. He was 34 of 44 for 364 yards, four TDs, and no INTs. On the other hand, when he played for the Eagles in 2023, Mariota was one of the worst QB2s I’ve ever watched in training camp practices in my time covering the team. So I guess we’ll see which version shows up on Sunday. But obviously, a Commanders loss here is best for the Eagles.
Eagles fans will have to hope that the weirdo quarterback gurus who love Geno Smith for some strange reason are right about him for one week.
• Cowboys at Bears: The Cowboys’ offense has looked better than anticipated through the first two games of the season. Again, a loss to the Bears is obviously a better outcome for the Eagles.
• Chiefs at Giants: It’s incredible to me that Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen kept their jobs this offseason, and ideally from the Eagles’ perspective, they will remain employed further. At some point they’re going to have to win some games in order to keep their jobs in 2026 and beyond. This team is not a threat at all in the NFC East to the Eagles, in my opinion, so an upset win at home over the Chiefs is more ideal.
• Packers at Browns: After acquiring Micah Parsons and looking impressive the first two weeks of the season, the Packers are now the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl at most sportsbooks.
• Jets at Buccaneers: The Eagles own the Jets’ third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but a Bucs loss here is more important in the NFC seeding race than third-round draft positioning.
• Lions at Ravens: The Lions bounced back in a big way Week 2 after a bad Week 1 loss. They’re still a threat, and a road win over the Ravens would do wonders for their confidence.
If I were to pick the most ideal / semi-realistic division winners in the NFC North, NFC South, and NFC West, I’d go with:
• NFC North: Vikings. J.J. McCarthy is more or less a rookie after missing his entire actual rookie season with an injury. Quarterbacks starting their first ever playoff games don’t typically fare well. And if comes to pass that he’s not better than backup Carson Wentz, well then they just don’t have a chance anyway.
• NFC South: Falcons. Again, Michael Penix would be a first-time playoff starter. Also, this team is much less threatening than the Buccaneers.
• NFC West: Seahawks or Cardinals. The NFC West is kind of wide open, but the Rams are the best team, in my opinion, and the 49ers have a higher ceiling than the Seahawks or Cardinals.
As such, the following bolded teams are ideal winners this week:
The following bolded teams play the Eagles this season, so they’re just worth keeping an eye on:
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Whenever your favorite team has already won their game during an NFL week, it is especially fun to watch the rest of the action around the NFL, stress free. Here we’ll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league. And yes, I’m aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
• Giants at Commanders: The Commanders had an objectively strange offseason, loading up on an absurd number of old players, but they are still the Eagles’ biggest threats in the NFC East, mainly because they have a good young quarterback who has a chance to be elite. A Week 1 loss to the Giants would signal that they are in for a significant dropoff in win total in 2025.
The Giants’ roster got better this season, particularly on defense, but they’re still a very long way away from contention. A Giants win is ideal.
• Lions at Packers: Now that they have traded for Micah Parsons, the Packers are suddenly a popular pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Parsons will make Green Bay better, but in my opinion the gap between the Lions and Packers was greater than just one defensive player, even if he’s an elite one. Though certainly, that gap has narrowed.
In my opinion, a Lions loss — especially if they look unorganized as a result of losing both coordinators this offseason — is more ideal.
• Buccaneers at Falcons: Todd Bowles and the Bucs seem to have a knack for frustrating Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense, so it’s more ideal if some other team wins the NFC South and keeps the Bucs out of the tourney.
• 49ers at Seahawks: Getting to play Sam Darnold in the playoffs would be a gift. Also, while I don’t believe the 49ers will be good this season, there are scenarios in which Christian McCaffrey looks like the 2023 version of himself, and the Niners are rejuvenated. (I don’t see that, but they’ll be more dangerous than teams like Seattle or Arizona if that scenario plays out.)
On a side note here, the Eagles traded Bryce Huff to the Niners for a fifth-round pick that can become a fourth-round pick if certain conditions are met. Those conditions are not yet known, but if Huff plays a lot of snaps and gets some sacks, that’s probably good for the Eagles.
• Cardinals at Saints: It’s better if the Saints land the No. 1 overall pick than, saaayyy, the Cowboys, Giants, or Rams (with their pick from the Falcons).
• Vikings at Bears: The Vikings are being slept on a bit to begin this season. They were 14-3 last season, and have their share of great players. They can be a threat for playoff seeding, like they were a year ago. It’s better if the Bears win.
• Texans at Rams: The Rams can contend in the NFC if Matthew Stafford’s injury concerns never materialize. Obviously, a Texans win is more ideal.
• Panthers at Jaguars: Again, it’s ideal if any team other than the Bucs wins the NFC South, even if I don’t love the Panthers’ chances.
The following bolded teams play the Eagles this season, so they’re just worth keeping an eye on:
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Each week we’ll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league.
• Lions at Cowboys: If the Eagles were 4-0 or 3-1, there’d maybe be an argument that the Cowboys would be a more ideal winner in this game, not the Lions. The Lions are a bigger threat in the NFC than the Cowboys, and having a first-round bye in the playoffs is kind of a big deal. However, the Eagles don’t look like they’re among the cream of the crop in the NFC at the moment, and winning the division feels like a much more reasonable achievement on the wish list than the 1 seed. And so, with where the Eagles are right now, a Cowboys loss is more ideal.
• Commanders at Ravens: If this Commanders team is able to beat the tried-and-true Ravens on the road, the NFL world is going to have to start taking them seriously as a Super Bowl contender.
• Bengals at Giants: The Giants aren’t a good team, but they have a couple of road wins and appear to at least be better than the NFL’s trash (the Panthers, Browns, Patriots, etc.). They’ll win some more games this year, and likely won’t be in contention for a top 5 pick that could be used on a franchise quarterback, so you can probably feel OK about rooting for them to lose.
• Buccaneers at Saints: Todd Bowles and the Bucs have consistently proven that they have answers for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offense, so it’s more ideal if the Saints or Falcons win that division.
• Falcons at Panthers: See above.
• Cardinals at Packers: As long as we’re on the NFC West here with the Cardinals, let’s quickly note that the 49ers beat the Seahawks on Thursday night. That division now looks like this:
| NFC West | Record | Div record |
| 49ers | 3-3 | 1-2 |
| Seahawks | 3-3 | 0-1 |
| Cardinals | 2-3 | 2-0 |
| Rams | 1-4 | 1-1 |
So after the Niners’ terrible vibes all offseason, a bunch of injuries to their best players, and a few bad losses to start the 2024 season, they’re still currently in first place in the NFC West.
The Cardinals aren’t really a threat to win that division, but it’s ideal if they beat the Packers, who in my opinion look like Super Bowl contenders after staying alive despite missing Jordan Love for two games.
• Jaguars at Bears: Should the Eagles win the NFC East and have to play a wildcard team in the first round of the playoffs, the Bears would be an ideal opponent.
The following bolded teams play the Eagles this season, so they’re just worth keeping an eye on, but it doesn’t really matter who wins these games.
The Eagles play the Steelers Week 15.
BYE: Vikings, Chiefs, Rams, Dolphins.
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Each week we’ll lay out a rooting guide for non-Eagles games on the NFL schedule for those of you on the fence while watching the other action around the league. And yes, I’m aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
The Cowboys beat the Giants on Thursday night. A Giants win in that matchup would have been more ideal, however, the Cowboys looked like a very flawed team, as they did Weeks 2 and 3, when they were easily handled at home by the Saints and Ravens.
• Commanders at Cardinals: The Commanders’ defense is a mess, but it’s pretty clear already that Jayden Daniels can play a little bit, and Commanders fans have something to be excited about at quarterback for the first time since Robert Griffin III’s rookie season. They’re 2-1, with an exciting road win in Cincinnati last week. With a second consecutive road win in Arizona they’d have to be taken seriously as a contender in the NFC East. Eagles fans should hope that they are merely a team on the rise, as opposed to another team that can challenge them for the division.
• Vikings at Packers: There are a couple of interesting divisional rivalry games this weekend, thus making for good discussion on who the ideal division winners would be. In my opinion, the Packers are more dangerous with a healthy Jordan Love than the Vikings. They showed last season during the playoffs that when they get hot, they can beat any team in the league.
I’d be more worried about them in January than the Vikings, who have started the season red hot, mainly due to strong play from Sam Darnold on offense and Brian Flores’ scheme on defense. I’m not sure how sustainable the Vikings’ success will be, while I’m already sold on the Packers’ potential. So, the Vikings are the ideal winner here, in my opinion, even if a win would get them to 4-0.
• Saints at Falcons: This is the other interesting divisional matchup. I don’t buy the Falcons at all as contenders. They’re strong at positions like RB, S, and RG. However, they do not have a pass rush, their OL is shaky, and their rickety 36-year-old QB has one career playoff win. I just don’t see it. The Saints, meanwhile, are dangerous in that when they’re on, they can blow teams out. They were 7th in point differential last year (+75), and they’re second so far in 2024 (+59).
The Falcons would be a welcomed playoff opponent, while the Saints pose more challenges offensively and defensively.
• Rams at Bears: At some point the Rams are going to get all their star skill players and injured offensive linemen back, so it’s best if they rack up a bunch of losses in the interim. The Bears, meanwhile, would be as ideal a playoff opponent as a team could ask for.
• Seahawks at Lions: The Lions are obviously Super Bowl contenders. The Seahawks are a tier or two below them, even with a 3-0 start. The Seahawks also have an early two-game edge on the 49ers in the NFC West, and it would be more ideal if they could maintain or grow that lead.
• Patriots at 49ers: The Niners are the big bad in the NFC. All losses are welcomed.
The following bolded teams play the Eagles this season, so they’re just worth keeping an eye on, but it doesn’t really matter who wins these games, except for the Panthers, who are contenders the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft. Better them than the Giants.
The Eagles play the Browns Week 6, the Jaguars Week 9, the Ravens Week 13, the Panthers Week 14, and the Steelers Week 15.
On a side note, the Eagles’ remaining opponents have a combined record of 19-27 (0.413):
| Week | Opponent | Record |
| 4 | Buccaneers | 2-1 |
| 6 | Browns | 1-2 |
| 7 | Giants | 1-3 |
| 8 | Bengals | 0-3 |
| 9 | Jaguars | 0-3 |
| 10 | Cowboys | 2-2 |
| 11 | Commanders | 2-1 |
| 12 | Rams | 1-2 |
| 13 | Ravens | 1-2 |
| 14 | Panthers | 1-2 |
| 15 | Steelers | 3-0 |
| 16 | Commanders | 2-1 |
| 17 | Cowboys | 2-2 |
| 18 | Giants | 1-3 |
A number of the teams above — like the Cowboys, Bengals, Jaguars, and Ravens — have not looked as good a preseason projections.
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