The Eagles can get help from the Cowboys this weekend

It’s not often — or ever, for some — for Philadelphia Eagles fans to be rooting for the Dallas Cowboys to win. But Birds loyalists could find themselves in that exact situation entering Week 14.

With the Eagles resting on their bye, all eyes will be on this week’s big NFC East matchup between the Cowboys and the Washington Football Team. While you might be tempted to root for a meteor to hit the Earth or for a tie, there’s one outcome that is most helpful for the Eagles’ playoff chances. And that involves the Cowboys winning.

A Dallas win drops the Football Team to 6-7 and increases Philly’s playoff odds from 38% to 41%, according to FiveThirtyEight.

A Dallas loss boosts the Football Team to 7-6 and decreases Philly’s playoff odds from 38% to 34%, according to FiveThirtyEight.

I can understand not wanting to see the Cowboys win because 1) who ever actually wants to see that and 2) it’s not fun to accept defeat in the NFC East. But the Birds essentially blew their hopes of making a surprise run at the division crown when they lost to the friggin’ New York Giants. As it currently stands, the Birds have a 5% chance of winning the NFC East. Even with a Cowboys loss, that figure only jumps up to about 8%. Winning a wild card spot is the Birds’ most likely path to the postseason.

Speaking of likelihoods, it’s probably worth mentioning that the Cowboys are significant road favorites in this week’s matchup. Dallas is currently favored by 3.5-points, according to DraftKings Sportbook. This despite Washington winning four straight and Dallas going 2-3 in their last five games.

RJ Ochoa and I talked about more playoff possibilities in the latest episode of The NFC East Mixtape podcast, which airs on both the Bleeding Green Nation and Blogging The Boys podcast feeds. Give it a listen!

More playoff scenarios from good friend Deniz: