The Eagles decimated the New York Giants on Sunday, taking care of business after another sloppy start to ensure that they move to a record of 8-7. It’s the first time the team have been above .500 all season and with two games remaining, they control their own destiny when it comes to the playoffs. But what else happened around the league that will impact them?
The picks
The Eagles went into the weekend holding picks 10, 14, and 23. They come out of it holding picks 14, 19, and 23.
What’s really interesting here is that Philadelphia’s pick was actually leapfrogged by Miami’s after the Eagles defeated New York.. Philly’s selection has slipped down the teens in recent weeks and Miami will face the Saints later today but have now won six consecutive matchups, the second longest current streak in the NFL.
A win against the Saints would help the Eagles in terms of pushing New Orleans one step back in the playoff race, but would mean that the 14th pick would likely fall to the 18-22 range. There’s a real possibility that the Eagles end up with three late-round firsts and that’s not the end of the world, but a lot less exciting than the idea of three top-10 selections.
Carson Wentz balled out against the Cardinals to push them to 9-6, now only one win away from the Tennessee Titans who have struggled in each of their last two weeks. Indy will smell blood in the water, and the Dolphins are one of the two final opponents looking to thwart Tennessee’s divisional hopes. What a bitter twist of fate a Miami win would be. It would push their pick further back, as well as Indy’s providing that Frank Reich can guide his men past the Raiders and Jags.
The playoffs
Good news! The Eagles are currently a playoff team.
They own the 7th seeded playoff spot as things stand thanks to their win against the Giants and the fact that the Vikings fell short against the Los Angeles Rams despite putting up a late fight. They still have to face the Packers and Bears and if Nick Foles is quarterbacking Chicago…could you imagine how golden a win against Minnesota would be for so many reasons?
The Niners, who own the top-seeded wildcard spot, took a heartbreaking loss to the Titans just before Christmas, knocking the wind out of their sails. This is huge for Philadelphia as they essentially picked up a two-game swing this week. They’re now tied with the Niners on record and one more swing could see them push up to secure themselves a better seeding.
San Francisco will face the Texans and Rams. The Eagles face WFT and the Cowboys. Both teams could end up going 1-1, which would give the tiebreaker to San Francisco as they defeated Philly earlier in the season.
Here’s how the playoff picture looks for the Eagles:
San Francisco 8-7 (L)
New Orleans 8-7 (W)
————————————
New Orleans 7-7 (TONIGHT VS MIA)
Minnesota 7-8 (L)
Minesota 6-7 (MON)
Atlanta 7-8 (W)
Washington 6-8 (L)
All in all, things couldn’t have worked out much better for the Eagles.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
