The Eagles are locked in as the NFC’s second seed in this year’s NFL playoffs, regardless of the outcome of their game against the Giants on Sunday.
A two seed used to earn a team a first-round bye. But ever since 2020, when the league expanded to a 14-team playoff format (seven teams in each conference), the second seed in each conference hosts the seventh seed in the first round.
In all likelihood, that means the Birds are in line for a rematch of their Week One game against the Green Bay Packers.
The playoff picture is nearly complete 👀 pic.twitter.com/eEcuk1ATHs
The Washington Commanders are the only other possible first round opponent for the Eagles. But that pairing would necessitate both 1) the Packers beating the Bears (ok, easy enough), and 2) the Cowboys beating the Commanders (not likely).
Implied betting market win probabilities this Sunday:
DAL over WAS : 31%
GB over CHI : 79%
Which means the #Eagles Wild Card opponent odds are…
75.5% : GB
24.5% : WAS
That’s a tough draw for the Birds. Barring a huge upset by the Bears (who are 10.5 point underdogs), the Packers are set to improve to 12-5 this week. Green Bay is talented on both sides of the ball and regarded by oddsmakers as the fourth-best NFC squad.
Odds via FanDuel app on January 2, 2024On one hand, a team with Super Bowl aspirations should be able to beat anyone in their path. On the other hand, it sure would be nice for the Eagles to warm up against a team like, say, the Denver Broncos (who are 9-7 and currently hold the seventh seed in the AFC).
Vegas has already assigned point spreads to likely postseason games, with the Birds favored by three in a hypothetical battle against the Pack. Traditionally, that’s the point spread assigned in the home team’s favor when two teams are evenly matched.
Odds via FanDuel app on January 2, 2024The Eagles would be a bigger favorite over Washington if things break in that direction. Despite the Commanders’ wild comeback win over the Jalen Hurts-less Birds on December 22, we’d expect the Eagles to be favored by at least a touchdown in that scenario.
Again, it’s highly unlikely that the Commanders will travel to the Linc in round one. But it’s not impossible.
Go Cowboys????
Ugh, sorry, we just threw up in our mouths a little bit. Eagles-Packers will be just fine.
