Vikings' loss opens window for Eagles

After today's win over the 49ers, Donovan McNabb talked about the Eagles' goal being to win the NFC East and get a first-round bye in the postseason.

At the time, I thought he was crazy - about the second part that is.

But that was before Matt Freakin' Moore lit up the Vikings for 299 yards and three touchdowns.

I'll admit I saw very little of the Panthers' 26-7 win over Minnesota, but as I got home from the Linc for the fouth quarter, I immediately began to wonder what it would take for the Eagles to sneak in to that No. 2 seed.

Let's just say the Eagles' window to earn a first-round bye opened a bit around 11:20 p.m.

Reader Andrew sent along this terrific playoff scenario generator from Yahoo. It's tremendous, and is a great way to waste time at work or in class Monday morning (as if you need another distraction).

Anyway, if the Eagles win out and finish 12-4, and the Vikings lose one of their final two games (at the Bears or home against the Giants), the Birds win the tiebreak and get the No. 2 seed.

The Cardinals and Cowboys each already have five losses so they are irrelevant in the above scenario.

It might seem unlikely, but think about how the final Sunday of the regular season turned out last year.

As crazy as it may seem, you could easily be rooting for the New York Giants in Week 17. Imagine if I would have told you that a month ago? The Giants cannot win the division anymore, and a win over the Vikings in Week 17 could mean the Birds getting a first-round bye and hosting a playoff game in the divisional round.

This season is just starting to get fun, huh?

Earlier we posted some Eagles-49ers observations and also some initial thoughts on Brian Dawkins' return.