The Eagles Chance to Secure the NFC East Title
Heading into Week 12, the Eagles have started the season 3-0 against their NFC East rivals.
Winning the following games:
Being able to beat Dallas after the Commanders blew a 10-point lead to the Steelers was just the start of taking over the division that the Eagles had trailed since their 2-2 start.
And following that week, beating the Commanders just 4 days later gave the Eagles a 2.5-game lead in the division.
With just seven weeks left in the regular season, the NFC East will have a different winner after all, continuing a streak that has lasted 21 years.
Rivals Throwing In The Towel
While it might only be week 12, and the Eagles won’t play their final 3 division games until weeks 16-18. Even then, their rivals are already starting to throw in the towel.
Through 12 Weeks, here is how the NFC East looks in the standings
- Eagles 8-2 (2nd NFC)
- Commanders 7-4 (7th NFC)
- Cowboys 3-7
- Giants 2-8
We are barely two years removed from the Giants making the playoffs. Daniel Jones has now been benched in favor of the sensational Italian talent Tommy DeVito. With a disgruntled Drew Lock hoping to see playing time, the Giants continue to blunder almost every important decision a franchise has to make, like giving the likely OPoY, Saquon Barkley, a contract extension. Maybe another top-five pick will help them turn the ship around.
PHOTO: Alex Gallardo/Imagn Images
As for Dallas, without Dak, things would look even grimmer. Getting blown out once again at home is not a good look for Jerry Jones in what will probably be Mike McCarthy’s last season in Big D. But with a top-10 pick looming, at what point will the Cowboys give up and hope for that pick to get closer to the top 5? After all, they still have 4 division games to finish the season, including a Kelly Green week 17 appearance at the Linc.
The “Tough” Stretch
There’s no real gauntlet for the Eagles to make you want to pull your hair out against a bunch of juggernauts across the league.
The next few weeks will be the Eagles’ biggest test before the playoffs. Including last week’s match against the Commanders:
- vs. Washington Commanders (TNF)
- @ Los Angeles Rams (SNF)
- @ Baltimore Ravens
- vs. Carolina Panthers
- vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Now, you might be saying, “The. Panthers?!” BUT
The Eagles almost blew a 22-point lead to the Jaguars just a few weeks ago because they couldn’t help themselves from going for 2 every possible chance. Coming out of 2 road matchups against explosive offenses to host the Panthers the following week might be the Eagles’ biggest trap game of the year. And a potential loss that could destroy playoff seeding in the coming weeks.
Already with a win against the Commanders to start this stretch, the Eagles can make the best of this with another visit to SoFi stadium to take on Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford. The last time the Eagles visited was Week 5 of 2023; with a 23-14 win, they moved on to 5-0 to start the year.
Stacking these wins quickly in this stretch will put the Eagles in a better position come Weeks 17 and 18.
PHOTO: Alex Gallardo/Imagn Images
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