Eagles fans rooting guide for Week 14 games

The fourteenth Sunday of the 2019 NFL season is here. Here’s a Philadelphia Eagles focused rooting guide for all of the Week 14 games.

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

Here’s what the postseason race currently looks like.

1 - New Orleans Saints (10-2)
2 - Seattle Seahawks (10-2)
3 - Green Bay Packers (9-3)
4 - Dallas Cowboys (6-7)
5 - San Francisco 49ers (10-2)
6 - Minnesota Vikings (8-4)
...
7 - Los Angeles Rams (7-5)
8 - Chicago Bears (7-6)
9 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7)
10 - Philadelphia Eagles (5-7)
11 - Carolina Panthers (5-7)
12 - Detroit Lions (3-8-1)
13 - Arizona Cardinals (3-8-1)
14 - Atlanta Falcons (3-9)
15 - Washington (3-9)
16 - New York Giants (2-10)

The Eagles’ playoffs hopes come down to winning the NFC East (31.5% chance per Football Outsiders) as opposed to relying on a wild card berth (0.0%).

EAGLES GAME

NEW YORK GIANTS at PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: The Eagles essentially need to run the table to make the playoffs so this is a must-win game. The other bonuses to the Eagles beating the Giants include 1) dropping Eli Manning to a below .500 career starting record and 2) Philly taking a lead for the first time ever in the all-time series between these two teams. The silver lining to an Eagles loss is that the Birds are currently 12th in the 2020 NFL Draft order and that position could improve. The Giants winning would also serve to damage New York’s draft positioning. Root for the Eagles.

NFC EAST

WASHINGTON at GREEN BAY PACKERS: Believe it or not, Washington can actually still make the playoffs since the NFC East is so pathetic. Washington will be eliminated if they lose in Green Bay. It’d be preferable for the Eagles to play a Washington team that has nothing to play for next weekend as opposed to one that’s still trying to make an unlikely playoff run. The silver lining to a Washington win is that it hurts their draft positioning. Root for the Packers.

The Dallas Cowboys already lost to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.

NFC GAMES

Since the wild card isn’t really an option for the Eagles, I’ll be focusing on draft positioning for some of these NFC games. Current draft order via Tankathon:

CAROLINA PANTHERS at ATLANTA FALCONS: The Eagles are ahead of the Panthers in the draft order. If the Eagles want to catch the Falcons, they’ll need Atlanta to win. The upside to a Falcons loss is that it makes the 2020 sixth-round pick that they owe to Philly even better. Root for the Falcons.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: The Eagles are ahead of both the Bucs and Colts in the draft order. Tampa is only one spot behind Philly, though. Root for the Buccaneers.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Seeing the Saints get the No. 1 seed isn’t great but the 49ers might be the most ideal wild card round matchup for the Eagles if they do end up winning the NFC East. I’d say it’s preferable to facing Seattle at the Linc again. Root against the Saints.

DETROIT LIONS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS: The Vikings have been a bad matchup for the Eagles since Kirk Cousins arrived in Minnesota. It would be nice to see Minnesota choke their way out of a playoff spot for the second year in a row. Not to mention a Lions win helps the Eagles from the draft order perspective. Root for the Lions.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS at ARIZONA CARDINALS: The Cards probably aren’t going to fall behind the Eagles in the draft order so it could be worth rooting against them so Arizona moves ahead of New York and/or Washington. Root for the Steelers.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS at LOS ANGELES RAMS: I think the Eagles should want Seattle to win the division so they don’t have to face the Seahawks at the Linc again. But a Rams win does give LA more motivation to keep pushing for a wild card spot. And that matters because the Rams play the Cowboys in Dallas next week. Root for the Rams.

DRAFT PICK WATCH

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: The Eagles own the Patriots’ fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft due to the Michael Bennett trade. Might as well root for it to be as high as it can possibly be even though it’ll be a low fifth anyway. Plus it’s always easy to root against the Pats. Root for the Chiefs.

WHAT’S LEFT

MIAMI DOLPHINS at NEW YORK JETS: The Eagles could have a better chance of passing the Jets (No. 9) than the Dolphins (No. 4) in the draft order. Plus, Miami losing would make it easier for the Giants and/or Washington to fall behind them. Root for the Jets.

DENVER BRONCOS at HOUSTON TEXANS: Denver is currently just one spot ahead of Philadelphia in the draft order. An Eagles loss combined with a Broncos win will move the Birds ahead. Root for the Broncos.

BALTIMORE RAVENS at BUFFALO BILLS: Preferable to see Baltimore keep that No. 1 seed over New England in the AFC playoff picture. The silver lining to a Ravens loss is that it gives the Bills a better chance to win the AFC East. Root for the Ravens.

CINCINNATI BENGALS at CLEVELAND BROWNS: The Eagles should want to see Cincy stay ahead of the Giants and Washington in the draft order. Root for the Browns.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: The Bolts have a tougher schedule so it could be better for them to get a win here while they can. Root for the Chargers.

TENNESSEE TITANS at OAKLAND RAIDERS: The Raiders are closing to jumping the Eagles in the draft order than the Titans are. Root for the Raiders.