Back From Bye, Eagles in Good Spot for Playoff Push After Helpful Sunday

That was a good bye week for the Eagles. And, all of a sudden, their path to the playoffs is much, much clearer. 

Despite a really disappointing start to 2019, the Eagles still have a good shot at making it into the postseason. 

After taking vacations and spending time with their families last week, the Eagles watched the Cowboys lose 28-24 to the Vikings on Sunday Night Football. And that happened after a few teams vying for an NFC wild-card spot also lost. 

So heading into Week 11, the Eagles and Cowboys, both with 5-4 records, are tied for the NFC East lead.

Sure, the Cowboys technically have the tiebreaker advantage right now, but that doesn't really mean much. This whole season might very well come down to the Week 16 matchup between the Eagles and Cowboys at the Linc. 

With seven games left, the Eagles have four home games, get on a plane just once and have an easier strength of schedule than the Cowboys. 

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After the Eagles face the Patriots and Seahawks, they have four games against teams with losing records (7-31) and one against the Cowboys. 

The Cowboys' remaining opponents have a winning percentage of .516, while the Eagles' remaining opponents have a winning percentage of .415. 

That seems to be reflected in the playoff chances from FiveThirtyEight, which gives the Eagles a 63 percent chance to make the playoffs, compared to the Cowboys' 50 percent chance. 

The Eagles have a 56 percent chance to win the NFC East; the Cowboys have a 44 percent chance. 

Four of the Eagles' seven remaining games are against NFC East opponents. The Eagles need to take care of their three games against Washington/New York, beat the Cowboys and then add one more win to get to 10 wins. That will probably be enough to win the division. 

A reminder of division tie-breakers: 

1. Head-to-head

2. Division record 

3. Common opponents 

4. Conference record 

If there is a tie at the end of the season between the Eagles and Cowboys, it could come down to records against common opponents. That's good news for the Eagles, who have already beaten the Packers and Jets, two teams which beat the Cowboys earlier this season. 

So the Eagles' easiest and most-likely path to the playoffs is still winning the NFC East. If they take care of business down the stretch, they can do it. But the wild card is still a possibility too - there's a 7 percent chance according to FiveThirtyEight. Those odds were helped on Sunday, when the Panthers (5-4) and Rams (5-4) both lost. 

In any case, the Eagles didn't get off to a great start this season, but are now in a really good position to get into the playoffs. Buckle up. It should be a fun seven weeks.

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