Sunday was a significant day for the Philadelphia Eagles’ NFC East title pursuit and postseason outlook.
The Eagles entered the day with a 92% chance to win the division, according to The Athletic’s model. And when the day was over, those projections sat at greater than 99%.
But the only figure that matters? One. That’s the Eagles’ magic number to win the NFC East.
In the early window, the Eagles bulldozed the Las Vegas Raiders, 31-0, and improved to 9-5 overall. That lowered the magic number to two.
Then on “Sunday Night Football,” the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Minnesota Vikings, 34-26. Dallas dropped to 6-7-1 overall, and the magic number dropped to one.
Now, all it will take for Philly to win the division is one win by the Birds in their final three games or one loss by the Cowboys down the stretch.
That means the Eagles can clinch the division as early as Saturday with a win over the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. If they lose, a Cowboys loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday would do the trick, too.
If the Eagles win the division, they’ll become the first team to win consecutive NFC East titles since the Eagles rattled off four in a row from 2001-04 under Andy Reid.
Looking more broadly at the NFC playoff picture, the Eagles’ long shot to secure the No. 1 seed got longer on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Rams (11-3), Seattle Seahawks (11-3) and San Francisco 49ers (10-4) winning all but ensures the road to the Super Bowl will go through the NFC West.
If the season ended today, the Eagles would be the No. 3 seed in the NFC, behind only the No. 1 seed Rams and No. 2 seed Chicago Bears.
The Bears (10-4) hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Eagles. But Chicago plays the Green Bay Packers, 49ers and Detroit Lions to close the season. So it’s possible for the Eagles to overtake them and secure the No. 2 seed.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers are 7-7, so the winner of the NFC South will likely be the No. 4 seed.
We’ll see where things stand for the Eagles after Week 16.