Eagles rooting guide for Week 9 games

The ninth Sunday of the 2020 NFL regular season is here and that means it’s time to run through a Philadelphia Eagles-focused rooting guide for all of the Week 9 games.

NFC EAST GAMES

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: They’re on their bye. They can’t disappoint us this week!

NEW YORK GIANTS at WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM: The feeling here is that Washington is the bigger threat to the Eagles winning the NFC East. The Football Team has one more win than NYG. They rank higher in point differential and DVOA. They also have an easier remaining schedule, as seen in the right column below. The Eagles can beat the Giants next week (not saying it’s guaranteed!) to drop them to 2-8 and ruin any remaining hope for New York. Root for the Giants.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS at DALLAS COWBOYS: The Cowboys don’t stand a chance here but it’d be good to see them win to screw up their draft positioning at this point. Root for the Cowboys.

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE CONSIDERATIONS

The Eagles have a 0.1% chance of winning a wild card spot, according to Football Outsiders. So, instead of focusing on that, we’ll be looking at getting the Eagles the most favorable matchup as their No. 5 seed opponent assuming Philly wins the NFC East.

CHICAGO BEARS at TENNESSEE TITANS: The Bears are probably the most realistic favorable matchup for the Eagles in the wild card round. Maybe Carson Wentz can exorcise the Nick Foles demons haunting him by beating him head-to-head. Chicago is currently set to miss the playoffs as the No. 8 seed so they need to pick up the slack. Root for the Bears.

DETROIT LIONS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS: The Lions sneaking into the playoffs would leave a more threatening team out of the postseason. Also better for the Vikings to keep losing and potentially get ahead of NYG in draft positioning. Root for the Lions.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS at BUFFALO BILLS: Not ideal for the Seahawks to have the No. 1 seed in the NFC considering how the Eagles always struggle in Seattle. Root for the Bills.

MIAMI DOLPHINS at ARIZONA CARDINALS: On one hand, it’d be preferable to see Arizona overtake Seattle in the NFC West. Assuming that’s not going to happen, though, the Eagles need the Cardinals to lose to help the Bears make the postseason. Root for the Dolphins.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: If the season ended today, the Eagles would be hosting the Saints at the Linc in the wild card round. Not as preferable as facing Chicago. Thus, need the Saints to lose. Root for the Buccaneers.

DRAFT POSITIONING

CAROLINA PANTHERS at KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: The Panthers need an upgrade at quarterback and hopefully they can find theirs ahead of NYG in the 2021 NFL Draft. Root for the Chiefs.

HOUSTON TEXANS at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: The Texans already have their quarterback while the Jags do not. Need Jacksonville to stay ahead of NYG in the draft order. Root for the Texans.

DENVER BRONCOS at ATLANTA FALCONS: The Broncos figure to be the likelier team to take a quarterback high in the 2021 NFL Draft with Atlanta financially tied to Matt Ryan. Better to see the Broncos lose and work towards getting ahead of NYG in the draft order. Root for the Falcons.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS at LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: The Raiders can feasibly move on from Derek Carr and draft a quarterback in 2021. Would be good to see them go on a losing streak. Los Angeles already has their long-term quarterback. Root for the Chargers.

NEW YORK JETS at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Need the Jets to clinch that No. 1 seed to make sure that the other New Jersey team doesn’t get it. Root for the Patriots.

WHAT’S LEFT

BALTIMORE RAVENS at INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Doesn’t impact the Eagles but the Frank Reich factor could have you rooting for the Colts. Root for the Colts.