Eagles rooting guide for Week 11 games

Now that the eleventh Sunday of the 2021 NFL regular season is here, it’s time to run through a Philadelphia Eagles-focused rooting guide for all of the Week 11 games. This exercise will be especially interesting this year since the Birds have more things to care about than usual due to owning picks from the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts in the 2022 NFL Draft.

2022 NFL DRAFT ORDER

Via Tankathon:

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

Via ESPN:

EAGLES GAME

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS at PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: If the Birds are serious about making a playoff push, they need to beat an under-manned Saints team in Philly. With a win, the Eagles can close the gap on a wild card spot and earn a valuable tiebreaker over New Orleans. Gotta get it done.

NFC EAST

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM at CAROLINA PANTHERS: The Panthers are the bigger threat when it comes to getting a wild card spot. And Washington winning likely only serves to damage their draft positioning. Root for the Football Team.

DALLAS COWBOYS at KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: The Eagles probably can’t win the NFC East, no, but they can hope for the Cowboys to get the lowest possible division winner playoff entry at the No. 4 seed. Would be nice to see Big Red help his former team out in this one. Root for the Chiefs.

NEW YORK GIANTS at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: The Giants winning helps the Eagles from a draft order perspective but the Bucs winning is preferable from a playoff perspective. Tampa is currently in the No. 4 seed slot and the Eagles should want to see Dallas there instead. Root for the Buccaneers.

WILD CARD FEVER

GREEN BAY PACKERS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS: The Vikings are one of the Eagles’ biggest threats to earning a wild card spot. Better to see them lose. Green Bay winning is also not preferable for Dallas. Root for the Packers.

DRAFT PICK WATCH

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at BUFFALO BILLS: The conditional 2022 pick the Eagles received in exchange for Carson Wentz is on track to become a first-round selection in Week 13. Wentz isn’t in any danger of being benched before that point. It’s an easy call to root for the Colts to lose so the pick they’re sending to Philly is as favorable as possible. Need to keep Indy away from a wild card spot. Root for the Bills.

MIAMI DOLPHINS at NEW YORK JETS: Joe Flacco is starting this game for the Jets, which is arguably good news for the Eagles. The Birds stand to benefit from him playing well. A Jets win combined with a Miami loss really helps Philly when it comes to the draft order. Root for the J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS , JETS!

DETROIT LIONS at CLEVELAND BROWNS: Ideally, the Lions will win this game and then a few more to fall behind Miami in the draft order. Realistically, that’s just not going to happen. With the acceptance that Detroit is truly terrible, it’s best for the Browns to win this game. Cleveland winning is bad news for Indy’s wild card chances. Root for the Browns.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: The Jags winning this game helps the Eagles in two ways. 1) It damages the 49ers’ wild card chances. 2) It helps towards moving the Miami pick higher up in the draft order. Root for the Jaguars.

HOUSTON TEXANS at TENNESSEE TITANS: Rooting for the Texans feels pointless but it would be nice to see them get a couple more wins to have a chance at finishing lower than Miami in the draft order. The Titans have enough of a cushion in the AFC South — not to mention the NFL’s easiest remaining schedule — that they can afford to drop this game. Root for the Texans.

BALTIMORE RAVENS at CHICAGO BEARS: The Bears are theoretically a threat to earn a wild card spot but, eh, they’re not very good. It would be preferable to see them win as to prevent the 2022 first-round pick they owe to NYG from getting higher. That selection is currently at No. 8 overall. Root for da Bears.

CINCINNATI BENGALS at LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: The Raiders are in a slightly stronger position than Cincy to make a wild card spot in the AFC. Thus, Las Vegas winning is less preferable for Indy. Root for the Raiders.

ARIZONA CARDINALS at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: If you’re worried about Russell Wilson getting healthy and the Seahawks making a run for a wild card spot, well, you’ll be rooting against them in this spot. But it’s currently not so easy to envision such a turnaround for them. Could be better to see Seattle win this game to ensure they stay ahead of Miami in the draft order. Root for the Seahawks.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS at LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: As it currently stands, the Colts have a better chance of catching the Chargers than the Steelers. So a Bolts win would be preferable to keep Indy away from a wild card spot. Root for the Chargers.