The Eagles ran all over Washington on Tuesday night and once again looked like a team ready to run their way into the playoffs.
Nick Sirianni’s Eagles are now 7-7, putting them into a three-way tie for the seventh-and-final playoff spot in the NFC. While they are currently technically in the 8th spot, they are in prime position to en the year in the postseason.
Let’s take a look at where things stand.
With all of the Week 15 games (finally) finished, here are the current standings:
Current standings:
1 Green Bay Packers (11-3)
2 Dallas Cowboys (10-4)
3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4)
4 Arizona Cardinals (10-4)
5 Los Angeles Rams (10-4)
6 San Francisco 49ers (8-6)
7 Minnesota Vikings (7-7)
8 Eagles (7-7)
9 New Orleans Saints (7-7)
The Eagles own the tiebreaker over the Saints since they beat them earlier in the season, but are currently losing the tiebreaker to the Vikings.
The Eagles playoff chances, however, are now at 36% according to 538, putting them ahead Minnesota (29%) but behind New Orleans (45%). That could change quickly as the Vikings have a matchup with the Los Angeles Rams this weekend, while the Eagles play the New York Giants. If the Eagles win, and the Vikings lose, the Eagles chances go up to 55% while the Vikings would plummet to 9%.
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The simplest way for the Eagles to get into the postseason remains to win out. If they finish 10-7, they would need just one Minnesota loss to get in. With the Vikings playing the Rams and the Green Bay Packers in their final three games, that seems likely. They could also potentially get in if San Francisco were to lose two games, which isn’t impossible with the Titans and Rams on their schedule. With either outcome possible, the Eagles would stand a good chance of getting in if they win their final three games.
If they were to finish 9-8, they could still get in, but would need more help.
To start they would need Washington to lose at least one more game, which they could take care of themselves in two weeks. If they beat Washington, but were to lose to either the Giants or Cowboys, they would need need Minnesota to lose twice — something that is certainly possible. Finally they would need the New Orleans Saints to lose once. The best chance of that happening might be this Monday when they take on the Miami Dolphins.
Anything more than one loss in the final three games and the Eagles’ chances of making the playoffs are slim.
The way this team is playing, however, a trip to the postseason seems likely.
They have dominated in four of their lasts five games, with their lone disappointing performance coming on the road against the Giants. Outside of that they have been playing playoff worthy football for close to two months.
As a result, they are now in prime position to make the postseason, something that would be an outstanding achievement in Sirianni’s first season.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!