NFL Playoff Picture: The Bears are the Eagles’ only hope

With the Seattle Seahawks beating the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles now only have one path to the playoffs.

The Eagles must beat the Washington Redskins in Week 17 ... AND .. the Minnesota Vikings must lose to the Chicago Bears.

That’s it. It’s that simple.

There’s obviously reason to feel good about the Eagles’ chances at FedEx Field. The Eagles are playing good football and Washington is not. Washington could be starting fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson against Philly.

Counting on the Bears could be tricky. Chicago has reason NOT to rest their starters since a Bears win combined with a Rams loss would allow the Bears to clinch a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed. But perhaps Los Angeles gets up big on the 49ers early and the Bears pull their starters. For the Eagles’ sake, hopefully that’s not the case.

If the Bears actually try to beat the Vikings, there’s reason to believe they can win. Minnesota is 0-5 against teams in playoff position and Kirk Cousins is not exactly a big game quarterback:

It would be so sweet to see Cousins choke once again in order to allow the Eagles to make the playoffs.

If/when the Eagles make the postseason, they’ll be doing so as a No. 6 seed. This means they’ll have to win three straight road games just to even make it to the Super Bowl. The Eagles’ first playoff game on wild card weekend would most likely be against the Bears, unless the Rams lose to San Fransisco. Then the Eagles would be scheduled to play in L.A. once again.

We’ll see how it shakes out. All the Eagles can do is worry about beating Washington. If they can get help beyond that, great! If they don’t, that sucks, but it’s out of their control at this point.

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

PLAYOFF TEAMS

1 - New Orleans Saints: 13-2 overall, 10-2 conference

2 - Los Angeles Rams: 12-3 overall, 8-3 conference

3 - Chicago Bears: 11-4 overall, 9-2 conference

4 - Dallas Cowboys: 9-6 overall, 8-3 conference

5 - Seattle Seahawks: 9-6 overall, 7-4 conference

6 - Minnesota Vikings: 8-6-1 overall, 6-4-1 conference

IN THE HUNT

7 - Philadelphia Eagles: 8-7 overall, 5-6 conference

DEAD

8 - Washington Redskins: 7-8 overall, 6-5 conference

9 - Green Bay Packers: 6-8-1 overall, 3-7-1 conference

10 - Atlanta Falcons: 6-9 overall, 6-5 conference

11 - Carolina Panthers: 6-9 overall, 4-6 conference

12 - New York Giants: 5-10 overall, 4-7 conference

13 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5-10 overall, 4-7 conference

14 - Detroit Lions: 5-10 overall, 3-8 conference

15 - San Francisco 49ers: 4-11 overall, 2-9 conference

16 - Arizona Cardinals: 3-12 overall, 3-8 conference

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The downside of the Eagles beating Houston is it allows the Pats to more easily secure a first-round bye.

AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

PLAYOFF TEAMS

1 - Kansas City Chiefs: 11-4 overall, 9-2 conference

2 - New England Patriots: 10-5 overall, 7-4 conference

3 - Houston Texans: 10-5 overall, 8-3 conference

4 - Baltimore Ravens: 9-6 overall, 7-4 conference

5 - Los Angeles Chargers: 11-4 overall, 8-3 conference

6 - Indianapolis Colts: 9-6 overall, 6-5 conference

IN THE HUNT

7 - Tennessee Titans: 9-6 overall, 5-6 conference

8 - Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-5-1 overall, 5-5-1 conference

DEAD

9 - Cleveland Browns: 7-7-1 overall, 5-5-1 conference

10 - Miami Dolphins: 7-8 overall, 6-5 conference

11 - Denver Broncos: 6-8 overall, 4-6 conference

12 - Cincinnati Bengals: 6-9 overall, 4-7 conference

13 - Buffalo Bills: 5-10 overall, 3-8 conference

14 - Jacksonville Jaguars: 5-10 overall, 4-7 conference

15 - New York Jets: 4-11 overall, 3-8 conference

16 - Oakland Raiders: 3-11 overall, 2-8 conference