Philadelphia Eagles News

If Eagles take care of business, an NFC West rival awaits in Wild Card round

Dec 24, 2019 at 07:39 AM

Chris McPherson

First things first, the Eagles must handle their business this Sunday on the road against the New York Giants. Not an easy task against a team that has won two straight since taking the Eagles to overtime on Monday Night Football in Week 14. Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones returned from a two-game absence due to an ankle injury and threw for 352 yards and five touchdowns in an overtime win over Washington. Running back Saquon Barkley has rushed for 301 yards and three touchdowns in the past two games. He also accounted for 90 receiving yards and another score against Washington.

With a win over the Giants (remember the NFL flexed the game to 4:25 p.m.), the Eagles will claim their second NFC East title in three seasons and extend the streak of years without a repeat champion to 15 -- the Eagles were the last to do so when they owned the division from 2001-04.

If the Eagles win the NFC East, they will be the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs and host a game Wild Card Weekend (January 4-5). By virtue of Green Bay's 23-10 victory on Monday night over Minnesota, the Packers are the NFC North Champions and the Vikings are locked in as the No. 6 seed. The New Orleans Saints staked claim to the NFC South title weeks ago.

Both the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks are in the playoffs. One team will be the NFC West Champion and the other will be the top Wild Card team and hit the road to face the NFC East Champions. The Seahawks host the 49ers in the final game of the regular season on Sunday Night Football, so Eagles fans will be very interested in that matchup should things go well against the Giants. The 49ers-Seahawks winner takes the division, and the loser heads east.

Dallas can still win the NFC East if the Cowboys beat Washington and the Eagles stumble against the Giants.

In terms of the top three seeds, they are still up for grabs. If San Francisco beats Seattle, the 49ers are the No. 1 seed throughout the playoffs. If Green Bay beats Detroit in Week 17 and the 49ers lose, the Packers claim the top seed. New Orleans and Seattle can also earn the top seed and home-field advantage, but need to win and then have multiple teams lose.

But as an Eagles fan, focus on the Giants first then scout the de facto NFC West championship game.