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. And yes, I'm aware that most of the below is obvious. Ideal winners bolded.
NFC East
The Eagles are cruising toward an NFC East title, as they have at least four more wins than the Cowboys and the Washington Commanders. The Commanders are on their bye this week.
NFC East Record Division
Eagles 8-2 2-1
Cowboys 4-5-1 2-1
Commanders 3-8 1-1
Giants 2-9 1-3
Inpredictable.com has the Eagles as 99 percent likely to win the division.
• Giants at Lions: The Giants are going to be picking in the top 10 of the draft... again. The more games they win, the more they mess up their draft position.
But also, the Lions are in danger of missing the playoffs. In my opinion, they're still one of the top 5 teams in the NFC, so if they don't even make it to the tourney that's good for the rest of the teams in the NFC that do.
The biggest threats in the NFC
First, a visual of the NFC standings/seeding:
Seed Team Record
1 Eagles 8-2
2 Rams 8-2
3 Bears 7-3
4 Buccaneers 6-4
5 Seahawks 7-3
6 Packers 6-3-1
7 49ers 7-4
8 Lions 6-4
9 Panthers 6-5
10 Cowboys 4-5-1
11 Vikings ☠️ 4-6
12 Cardinals ☠️ 3-7
13 Falcons ☠️ 3-7
14 Commanders ☠️ 3-8
15 Saints ☠️ 2-8
16 Giants ☠️ 2-9
☠️ = Graveyard
• Buccaneers at Rams: The Bucs and Rams are both contenders, but the Rams are better, in my opinion, and they're the closest team in the conference to the Eagles. Obviously, a Rams loss is ideal.
• Seahawks at Titans: The Seahawks have a very good roster and are legitimate threats in the NFC. They are only one game back in the NFC standings from the Eagles. The more games they lose, the better.
• Vikings at Packers: I'm torn on the the Packers. On the one hand, they're young and inconsistent and head coach Matt Lafleur has had a tough season. On the other hand, they're capable of getting hot, like they did during the 2023 playoffs. It's probably just better for now if they lose games since they're only a game and a half back from the Eagles.
Other NFC fringe playoff contenders
• Steelers at Bears: The Bears have had one of the easiest schedules in the NFL through the first 11 weeks of the season, and they have capitalized, going 7-3, but with a -6 point differential. They'll have one of the hardest schedules over the rest of the season:
Week 12: Steelers
Week 13: At Eagles
Week 14: At Packers
Week 15: Browns
Week 16: Packers
Week 17: At 49ers
Week 18: Lions
Total combined record of those teams: 41-28-2. They only have one game left against a team with a losing record. They're going to lose some games down the stretch.
The Bears would be an ideal playoff opponent. For now, it's best if they win games so they get into the tourney, even if they're only one game behind the Eagles at the moment.
• Panthers at 49ers: The Panthers would serve as little more than a speed bump for whoever their first opponent in the playoff would be, should they somehow get in. They'd be an ideal opponent to get if the Eagles end up as the 2 seed.
Draft considerations
•Bryce Huff sacks.
• Jets at Ravens: The Eagles own the Jets' third-round pick, so the more games they lose, the better that pick will be.
As noted above, the more the Giants mess up their draft positioning, the better it is for the Eagles. Ditto that for the Commanders.
It's best if bottom feeder AFC teams like the Titans, Jets, Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, or Bengals are picking in the top 5 of the 2026 draft. It's also ideal if non-NFC East teams in the NFC like the Saints and Cardinals are picking ahead of the Giants and Commanders.
Therefore, the following bolded winners are ideal:
Patri*ts at Bengals
Jaguars at Cardinals
Falcons at Saints
And then there's also Browns at Raiders, both of whom are 2-8. I don't think it matters much who wins that game.
Irrelevant to the Eagles:
Colts at Chiefs
BYE: Commanders, Dolphins, Chargers, Broncos.
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