NFL playoff picture: Eagles scenarios, two more teams clinch

Despite Google jumping the gun, the Eagles (10-5) clinched the NFC East and a playoffs spot thanks to their 29-18 win against the Washington Commanders (4-10) Saturday night.

That means the Birds will host at least one playoff game at the Linc, where the Eagles haven’t lost a postseason game since the 2019 playoffs.

It’s the first time a team has won the NFC East in back-to-back seasons since the Birds won four straight division titles from 2001 to 2004. It will also be the fifth straight postseason appearance under Birds head coach Nick Sirianni.

Another fun fact: Since being named the Birds’ starting quarterback in 2021, Jalen Hurts has never taken a snap in a game where the Eagles have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. He did start four games after replacing Carson Wentz at the end of the dreadful 2020 season, where the Eagles finished 4-11-1.

Now that the Birds locked up the division, the focus shifts to playoff seeding. The Eagles are currently the NFC’s No. 3 seed, and odds are good that’s where they’ll end the season. That would mean hosting a wild-card game against the No. 6 team, currently the San Francisco 49ers (10-4).

The Eagles missed out on a chance to clinch No. 3 seed or better because the Carolina Panthers (8-7) defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) Sunday.

If the Eagles and Panthers both end the season with a 10-7 record, Carolina would win the tiebreaker with a better record among common opponents. That would force the Birds down to the No. 4 seed.

The good news is a win next week against the Buffalo Bills (11-4) or just one more Panthers loss will lock the Eagles into the No. 3 seed or better heading into the playoffs.

Here’s a look at the current playoff picture for the Eagles and the rest of the NFL:

The Eagles’ win officially eliminated the Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1) from the playoffs, since winning the NFC East was their only remaining path to the postseason.

It’s the second-straight season Dak Prescott and company have failed to advance to the postseason. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took responsibility for the failed season earlier this week on Dallas sports talk radio.

“I take it real serious,” Jones said, according to The Athletic. “I’ve got to live with when we’re out of money and we want to sign a player and we don’t have any money left under the [salary] cap. I have to live with that.”

Both the Commanders and New York Giants (2-13) have been eliminated from the playoffs for weeks.

The Seattle Seahawks (12-3) clinched a playoff spot and moved into the No. 1 seed Thursday night, thanks to their thrilling overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams (11-4), who dropped down to No. 5.

The Seahawks now control their own playoff destiny. If they win out, they’ll end the season with the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The same goes for the 49ers, who clinched a playoff spot Sunday thanks to the Detroit Lions (8-7) wild loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Despite being one game back, San Francisco and Seattle face off in Week 18. The 49ers defeated the Vikings way back in Week 1, so a win in Week 18 would clinch a tiebreaker and send the NFC playoffs through Santa Clara, where this year’s Super Bowl is being held.

The Lions loss also benefited the Chicago Bears (11-4), who clinched their first playoff spot since the 2020 season.

Then there’s the NFC South, where the Panthers took over sole possession of first place thanks to their 23-20 win against the Buccaneers. Both teams will play again in Week 18 in Tampa Bay.

Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos (12-3) had a chance to clinch the AFC West, but lost to the surprising Jaguars (11-4), who have a decent chance of ending the season as the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

The New England Patriots (12-3) clinched a playoff spot Sunday night, defeating the Baltimore Ravens (7-8) and decreasing their already-slim playoff hopes.

Three teams will clinch a playoff spot if the Colts lose to the 49ers Monday night — the Jaguars, Chargers, and Bills.

Yes, but you’d have better odds buying a Powerball ticket.

The Eagles have less than a 1% chance of ending the season with the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, according to the New York Times, but weird things have happened before.

In 2018, the Eagles needed a host of things to happen to secure a wild-card spot down the stretch, and they all did, pushing the Birds to the postseason.

Same thing happened in 2008, with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing to give the Eagles a shot at the playoffs if they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the final game of the season, which they did in a 44-6 blowout.

So while it is highly unlikely the Eagles get all the help they need to move up to the top playoff seed, here what would need to happen, according to Wharton professor Deniz Selman:

If all that happens, the Eagles would finish the season with a 12-5 record and would win a three-way tiebreaker with the Bears and Seahawks.

The path to the No. 2 seed is more realistic. If the Eagles win out, all they would need is for the Bears to lose their final two games to move up to the No. 2 seed. In that case, they’d host a wild card game against the No. 7 seed, currently the Green Bay Packers.

The first playoff game will take place on wild-card weekend, beginning Jan. 10.

Six games will take place in the first round of the playoffs, airing across Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN/ABC. Amazon will also exclusively stream a wild-card game on Prime Video for the second straight season.

Super Bowl LX (or 60, for those who don’t like Roman numerals) is being held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., home of the San Francisco 49ers. NBC will broadcast this year’s Super Bowl.

Here are the sites announced for future Super Bowls: