The Philadelphia Eagles limped into the NFL playoffs with five losses in their final six regular-season games. However, their 10-1 start ensured they remained in the playoff picture as the No. 5 seed in the NFC. That earned them a trip to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers, but what could their path look like with a victory on Wild Card Weekend?
With the assistance of the free PFN NFL Playoff Predictor, let’s examine the Eagles’ playoff scenarios and opponents for potential Divisional Round and AFC Championship Game matchups.
What Are the Philadelphia Eagles’ Playoff Scenarios If They Win This Week?
The Eagles’ playoff scenario for the Divisional Round is already set, with a trip to Detroit to face the Lions awaiting them if they beat the Buccaneers. The victory for the Green Bay Packers over the Dallas Cowboys ensured that the Eagles could avoid a Divisional Round trip to San Francisco to face the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The reason for that is that the NFL playoff bracket works by setting up so that the No. 1 seed in the conference hosts the lowest-remaining seed after Wild Card Weekend. Meanwhile, the two middle remaining seeds face off, with the higher of the two seeds hosting the game.
With the No. 7 seed having won on Sunday, that locks in the shape of the playoffs. The Packers go to San Francisco, while the winner of the Eagles vs. Buccaneers matchup will face the Lions in Ford Field.
Green Bay’s victory in Dallas also means that the Eagles could host the NFC Championship Game. If they can go on the road and beat the Buccaneers and Lions, the Eagles would then host the Packers in the NFC Championship Game if Green Bay beats San Francisco.
In terms of their potential Divisional Round opponents, the Eagles have an intriguing history with the Lions. The two teams first faced off back in 1933, when the Lions were known as the Portsmouth Spartans. The Lions won their first four meetings without the Eagles scoring a single point, including a 25-0 win for Detroit in that first meeting.
Despite a history dating back 90 years, the two teams have only met on 37 occasions and just once in the NFL postseason — a 58-37 win for the Eagles in 1995. Philadelphia holds the all-time advantage with a 19-16-2 record. The Eagles have also won the two most recent meetings, with the last one being on the opening weekend of the 2022 NFL season.
MORE: NFL Playoff Bracket
These two head coaches faced off in 2021 and 2022. That first meeting saw the Eagles beat the Lions comprehensively, with a final scoreline of 44-6. However, less than a year later, the Lions pushed the Eagles all the way to the line in a 38-35 win for Philadelphia. The difference in those two results underlines the transformation we have seen in Dan Campbell’s Lions team.
The Eagles will likely try to take some form of psychological edge from those two results and what it means, but this Lions team is a different animal this season. The Eagles will know they need to be at their best if they want to go into Ford Field and potentially clinch an NFC Championship Game berth this postseason.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
