Road to Victory: A reason to watch Thursday Night Football
Dec 27, 2022 at 05:22 PM
The Eagles' record moved to 13-2 after a Christmas Eve loss to the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
Despite the unwanted result, the coveted No. 1 seed is still well within reach – Philadelphia needs to win just one of the remaining two regular games to clinch the NFC East, the No. 1 seed, the lone first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The Eagles could even secure the NFC East before ringing in the New Year – they'll clinch if Dallas loses or ties the 7-8 Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. The Cowboys (11-4) still trail the Eagles (13-2) in the race for the top spot in the NFC by two games, with only two left in the regular season.
The Minnesota Vikings are the closest competitor for the No. 1 seed outside of the NFC East with a 12-3 record after defeating the New York Giants 27-24 in Week 16. If the Eagles and the Vikings end the season with the same record, Philadelphia would still obtain the top seed in the conference due to a tiebreaker; they handily beat Minnesota in Week 2.
The San Francisco 49ers are also a threat – they're trailing by two games. If they win out and the Eagles lose out, they'd be tied with Philadelphia. If that comes to be, the 49ers would claim the No. 1 seed because they'd have more conference wins.
If the season ended today ...
• The Eagles would have the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage.
• They would NOT play in the Wild Card Round, which falls January 14th-16th.
• The Eagles would HOST the lowest-remaining seed of the Bucs, Cowboys, Giants, or Commanders in the Divisional Round on either Saturday, January 21st or Sunday, January 22.
Current NFC Standings
1. Eagles (13-2) – NFC East leader, clinched playoff berth
2. Vikings (12-3) – NFC North Champions
3. 49ers (11-4) – NFC West Champions
4. Bucs (6-8) – NFC South leader
5. Cowboys (11-4) – Wild Card, clinched playoff berth
6. Giants (8-6-1) – Wild Card
7. Commanders (7-7-1) – Wild Card
Would-Be Wild Card Round Playoff Matchups
• Commanders vs. Vikings in Minnesota
• Giants vs. 49ers in San Francisco
• Cowboys vs. Buccaneers in Tampa Bay
But, it's not over.
Here's what has to happen for the Eagles to win the NFC East:
The Eagles need to either win or tie one of their two final games, or the Cowboys must lose or tie once.
Here's what has to happen for the Eagles to earn the No. 1 seed:
Finishing with the best record in the conference means earning home-field advantage AND the only first-round bye.
The Eagles secure the No. 1 seed with any one of the following this Sunday against the Saints:
- A win
- A tie AND a Vikings loss or tie
- Cowboys loss or tie AND Vikings loss AND 49ers loss or tie
Eagles Schedule
Week 17: Saints vs. Eagles in Philadelphia – Jan. 1
Week 18: Giants vs. Eagles in Philadelphia – Jan. 8 or Jan. 9 (TBD)
Vikings Schedule
Week 17: Vikings vs. Packers in Green Bay
Week 18: Vikings vs. Bears in Chicago
Cowboys Schedule
Week 17: Cowboys vs. Titans in Tennessee
Week 18: Cowboys vs. Commanders in Washington
49ers Schedule
Week 17: 49ers vs. Raiders in Las Vegas
Week 18: Cardinals vs. 49ers in San Francisco
just woke up/tuned in, hungover AF from last night and first thing I see is josh sweat getting carted off with a neck injury wtf k