phillyvoice.com

Week 7 non-Eagles rooting guide

After losing in embarrassing fashion Week 6 on Thursday Night Football to the lowly Giants, the Eagles were poised to lose ground in the NFC East and the NFC. However, the carnage wasn't as bad as it could have been, as the Commanders, Cowboys, and Lions all lost during the Sunday slate of games. The Eagles will hope to right the ship Week 7 in Minnesota against the Vikings.

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.

NFC East

First, the NFC East standings:

NFC East Record Division GB

Eagles 4-2 1-1 -

Commanders 3-3 1-0 1

Cowboys 2-3-1 1-1 1.5

Giants 2-4 1-2 2

Inpredictable.com has the Eagles as 59 percent likely to win the division.

• Commanders at Cowboys: The Commanders lost at home to the Bears Week 6, while the Cowboys lost in Carolina. Those were both bad losses. One of these teams is going to get a ton of heat with another loss Week 7.

I guess the question to ask here is, "Which team is better?" The consensus view is that the Commanders are better, since they went to the NFC Championship Game last season. I agree, for now, but I also think it's closer than most perceive. Neither defense is good. And really, the Cowboys' defense has been downright abysmal. However, the Cowboys' offense has been explosive so far, even when playing without CeeDee Lamb. If their defense can go from "atrocious" to just "regular bad" then they could be dangerous.

But ultimately, the Commanders are a half-game better in the standings than the Cowboys, and thus closer to the Eagles, so a Cowboys win is more ideal.

• Giants at Broncos: It's probably best if the Broncos extinguish the Giants' newfound swagger on Sunday in advance of the second Eagles-Giants matchup Week 8.

The biggest threats in the NFC

• Rams at Jaguars: This game is in London, and will be televised early Sunday morning. The Rams are the biggest threat in the NFC West, in my opinion, so a loss to the Jaguars is ideal.

• Packers at Cardinals: The Cardinals are in a free-fall, and while it would be fun for some Eagles fans to watch Jonathan Gannon's job status twist in the wind, a Packers loss is more ideal.

• Buccaneers at Lions: It's debatable which of these two teams is more dangerous. I kind of feel like it's the Bucs, though I imagine I'd get plenty of disagreement on that. That debate aside, a Lions win here would be ideal since the Bucs have the best record in the NFC at 5-1.

Other NFC playoff contenders

• Falcons at 49ers: The 49ers are down Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for the season. They're 4-2, but they're not serious threats in the NFC at this point. If they can somehow win the NFC West, that's an ideal scenario for the rest of the NFC's playoff teams.

• Texans at Seahawks: Should we be bumping the Seahawks up into the "biggest threats in the NFC" category? For now, I believe they're less of a threat than the Rams, but that could be subject to change. For now, a Seattle loss is more ideal since they have the same record as the Eagles at 4-2.

• Saints at Bears: The Bears have an very easy stretch upcoming, as their next four opponents have a combined record of 9-17. They are the worst team in the NFC North, in my opinion, so if they somehow snuck into the playoffs instead of one of those NFC North teams, that's a good outcome.

Draft considerations

• Panthers at Jets: The Eagles own the Jets' third-round pick, which is currently the top pick in the third round since the Jets are the NFL's only winless team. The Eagles would like to see it stay that way. Also, should the Panthers somehow win enough games to eke their way into the playoffs as a 7 seed, they'd be an ideal first round opponent.

• Bryce Huff sacks.

For future reference

The following bolded teams play the Eagles this season, so they're just worth keeping an eye on:

Raiders at Chiefs

Colts at Chargers

The Eagles won't face the Chargers and Raiders until December.

Trade deadline watch

Dolphins at Browns

Patriots at Titans

The Titans should already be firmly in the "sellers" bucket, and whoever loses the Dolphins-Browns matchup will clearly be in sell mode, if they're not already there.