NFL playoff picture: Eagles in surprisingly good shape, five teams could be eliminated

Yes, the vibes are bad, but the Eagles (8-4) enter Week 14 in surprisingly good shape, as far as the playoffs are concerned.

Despite losing two straight, the Birds can tighten their grip on the NFC East and improve their chances of earning the No. 1 seed with a win Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4).

Send some thank you notes to Detroit (8-5). The Lions’ 44-30 beatdown of the Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1) Thursday night gave the Eagles a much-needed playoff boost. But they’ll need more help to move back into the NFC’s top spot.

Former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, now the embattled head coach of the Arizona Cardinals (3-9), could help. The Birds could end the week in the No. 2 spot with a win against the Chargers paired with a Cardinals upset of the Los Angeles Rams (9-3).

Regardless what happens, the Eagles won’t be able to move up into the No. 1 spot this week, with the Chicago Bears (9-3) facing the Green Bay Packers (8-3-1) Sunday. The winner of that game will lead the NFC North an have a better record than the Eagles.

The good news is the Eagles hold tiebreakers against the Rams, Packers, Lions, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5), and just two of the Birds’ final five games are against opponents with a winning record.

To win the NFC East and clinch their fifth-straight playoff berth, the Eagles’ magic number — combined Birds’ wins and/or Cowboys’ losses — is now three. That will drop to two with a win Monday night against the Chargers.

Barring a 2023-level collapse, the Birds will become the first team in 21 seasons to win the NFC East in back-to-back years. That would mean hosting at least one playoff game at the Linc.

As for the Cowboys, may the odds forever be in their favor. With four games left on their schedule, Dallas has just a 9% chance of making the playoffs, according to the New York Times. That would drop to 6% with an Eagles win Monday night.

Even if the Cowboys win their four remaining games — at home against the Chargers and Minnesota Vikings (4-8), on the road against the Washington Commanders (3-9) and New York Giants (2-11) — Dallas would still need the Eagles to lose two of their final five games to take the division.

With nine teams bunched together atop the NFC, there are no playoff clinching scenarios in Week 14.

But a couple can be eliminated.

The Commanders — still mathematically alive thanks to two remaining games against the Eagles — will be eliminated with a loss Sunday against the Vikings or a Birds win Monday night.

Meanwhile, the Vikings will be eliminated if they lose to the Commanders Sunday.

Then there’s the Atlanta Falcons (4-8), who last appeared in the playoffs in 2017, tied with the Carolina Panthers (7-6) for the second-longest streak in the NFL. A loss Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks (9-3) will increase that playoff drought to eight seasons.

Meanwhile, the Panthers are still in the hunt, thanks to their upset win against the Los Angeles Rams last week. Carolina has a bye this week and face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) twice in the final four weeks of the season.

As with the NFC, there are no clinching scenarios in the AFC this week, but a couple of teams can be eliminated.

The Cleveland Browns (3-9) will officially be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose to the Tennessee Titans (1-11) Sunday afternoon.

The New York Jets (3-9) will be eliminated from the playoffs with a loss to the Miami Dolphins (5-7), who have won three straight games and are trying to remain in the hunt for a wild card.

The Jets could also be eliminated with wins by the Buffalo Bills (8-4) and either the Houston Texans (7-5) or Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4). There are also some unlikely scenarios involving ties, but barring some odds-defying turnaround, this will be the 15th straight season the Jets miss the playoffs, the longest current streak in the NFL.

As for important games this weekend, look no further than the Denver Broncos (10-2) taking on the lowly Las Vegas Raiders (2-10).

A win would move the Broncos back into the AFC’s No. 1 seed over the New England Patriots (11-2), because Denver would have a better conference record (7-2 vs. 6-2). It would also guarantee the Broncos would have a better record among common opponents (the Patriots lost to the Raiders back in Week 1), the next tiebreaker if Denver ends the season with the same record as the Patriots.

There’s also the Indianapolis Colts (8-4) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4), with both teams currently tied for the lead in the AFC South. With everyone in the AFC bunched at the top, the winner of the division might be the only team from the AFC South that advances to the playoffs.

Then there’s Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (6-6), who need a win on Sunday Night Football against the Houston Texans (7-5) to keep their playoff hopes alive. A loss to Houston would increase the Chiefs’ chances of missing the playoffs to 88%, according to the New York Times simulator.

We’re still more than a month away from the first playoff game, which 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.

It will be the third time the Bay Area hosts a Super Bowl, and the second played at Levi’s Stadium. The first was Super Bowl 50 in 2016, with the Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers in a defensive battle best remembered as Peyton Manning’s final game.

Here are the sites announced for future Super Bowls. Maybe Philly will be added to this list over the next decade, if Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie builds the dome he wants: