Thanks to a five-game surge the Eagles are now in control of their own playoff destiny.
Thanks to the Eagles win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday their five-game winning streak makes them not only the hottest team in the NFC, but Chip Kelly's team now controls it's own playoff destiny.
At 8-5 the Eagles lead the NFC East division race by a full game over the Dallas Cowboys who were blown out at Soldier Field on Monday night at the hands of the Chicago Bears 45-28.
Of course the Eagles travel to Arlington, Texas on December 29th for the season finale against the Cowboys, but can actually clinch the division before that game.
If the Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday and follow it up with a victory at home against the Chicago Bears combined with a Green Bay Packers victory over Dallas this Sunday, then they will wrap up the division title before taking on the Cowboys in week 17, which will make that game effectively meaningless.
Because of Detroit's loss to the Eagles on Sunday, the Packers are now just one half game behind the Bears and Lions for the division lead, which makes it even more likely that they will suit up quarterback Aaron Rodgers Sunday against the Cowboys.
Conversely, if Dallas beats both Green Bay and Washington in the next two weeks combined with the Eagles losing to both Minnesota and Chicago then the Cowboys would lock up the division title in week 16, one full week before hosting the Eagles in the finale.
If both the Eagles and Cowboys win their next two games, then the Eagles would enter the season finale with a half-game lead, which would mean they would need to beat Dallas in order to win the division as the Cowboys own the first tiebreaker which is head-to-head record. Dallas would have won both games against the Birds if they win the finale.
Put simply, if the Eagles enter that game with a one-game lead then they still must win the game. Same thing goes if they enter the game tied. The only way the Eagles can lock up the division before December 29th is if they have a two-game advantage over Dallas prior to meeting.
As far as the wild card goes, both the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers have matching 9-4 records, which puts them one-game ahead of the Eagles in that race.
The Eagles hold the conference record tiebreaker over the 49ers with a 7-2 record to the Niners current 6-3 mark but San Francisco is currently 9-4 overall, while Carolina has a better overall record they also are 7-3 a half-game behind the Eagles in terms of conference record.
When it comes to strength of schedule and strength of victory the Eagles trail both the 49ers and Panthers.
It appears that while the wildcard is still within reach for the Eagles, the surest path to the postseason remains winning the division.
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
