The Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) could punch their ticket to the playoffs on Sunday afternoon after a rough 2-5 start to the regular season. The Eagles are currently holding the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs after defeating the New York Giants 34-10 last week.
Philadelphia’s playoff hopes also increased thanks to losses by the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints. Heading into Week 17, the Eagles have four playoff-clinching scenarios that all involve them defeating the Washington Football Team. These two teams just played a couple of weeks ago, where Philadelphia won 27-17 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Below we’ll take a look at the scenarios and what needs to take place for the Eagles:
Scenario No. 1 – Eagles win + Vikings loss or tie + Saints loss or tie
If the Eagles can handle their business, along with getting some help from both the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, they’ll be postseason bound.
The Packers will be looking to get some revenge on the Vikings, who beat them by three points last month. The bad news for Eagles fans is the game isn’t until 8:20 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the Panthers will be looking to complete the season sweep over the Saints with Sam Darnold under center. New Orleans lost last week to the Miami Dolphins and will look to give Carolina their sixth-straight loss.
Scenario No. 2 – Eagles win + Vikings loss or tie + San Francisco win or tie
As crazy as it may sound, this scenario looks more plausible than the first one. The Niners have a favorable matchup on Sunday against the Houston Texans. The Texans are coming off a big win against the Los Angeles Chargers, which means they could be due for a letdown. San Fran might not have starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo under center due to a hand injury. But they should still get the win with rookie Trey Lance starting.
Scenario No. 3 – Eagles tie + Vikings loss + Saints loss + Falcons loss or tie
This scenario is complicated, but it’s not of the realm of possibility to see if the Falcons lose on Sunday to the Buffalo Bills.
Atlanta has won two out of their last three road games, but they are playing a Buffalo squad, which is still competing for an AFC East title. Also, no one in Philly wants to see this team tie against a struggling WFT team.
Scenario No. 4 – Eagles tie + Vikings loss + Saints tie + Falcons loss or tie + Niners win or tie
If you thought the third scenario was complicated, this one takes the cake. One tied game during an NFL season is unprecedented, let alone two tied games in the same week. We should not expect the Eagles or Saints to have trouble with their opponents.
[Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports]
