Playoffs still possible, but Eagles need help

December 16th, 2014 by Sam Shipley | Filed under Eagles, General, NFL.

Dez Bryant catches one of three touchdowns over Bradley Fletcher in Cowboys 38-27 win over Eagles.

Coming into week 15 the Philadelphia Eagles controlled their own destiny in terms of winning the NFC East and making the playoffs. An Eagles win on Sunday night would have meant the Eagles would have needed just one more victory, or one more Cowboys loss to clinch the NFC East crown. However, after a disappointing 38-27 loss to the Dallas Cowboys the Eagles can still make the playoffs, but no longer control their own destiny. In order to make the playoffs, the Eagles first off have to win their final two games. If they do that, they will need a little luck.

Ironically, the Cowboys will face the Indianapolis Colts this weekend and face one of the best quarterbacks in football named Andrew Luck. The Colts (10-4) clinched the AFC South division yesterday with a 17-10 win over the Houston Texans, but are still in the hunt for a top two seed in the AFC playoff picture.

With the Eagles trailing the Cowboys by a single game in the division, they will need to win out and hope for the Cowboys to lose at least one of their final two games this season. The second game the Cowboys have is at Washington, which is a much easier game for the Cowboys, so the division title could very well be in the balance this weekend when the Colts roll into Dallas.

The Eagles have some hope with this contest as Dallas is ironically much better on the road (7-0) then they are at home (3-4) this season. The Colts hold a 4-2 road record and are one of the best teams in football, especially offensively which is bad news for the Cowboys who have a below-average defense in the league. Third in the league in scoring, the Colts come into to this game averaging a whopping 33.3 points per game on the road this year.

On the other side of the field however, the Cowboys may be with out their top offensive weapon this season. According to multiple reports, DeMarco Murray had surgery to repair a broken bone in his left hand today, and his status for Sunday is completely up in the air. Unless the Cowboys defense can somehow contain the Colts high powered offense it will be even tougher to stay in a shootout without the leagues leading rusher on the field.

With all of that being said let’s look at the realistic remaining scenarios that would get the Eagles into the playoffs:

Winning the NFC East

Scenario #1

  • Eagles win final two games (@WSH,@NYG)
  • Cowboys lose one of final two games (vs. IND, @WSH)

Scenario #2

  • Eagles win final two games
  • Cowboys lose final two games

Finishing as a Wild Card

Scenario #1

  • Eagles win final two games
  • Detroit Lions lose final two games (@CHI, @GB)

Scenario #2 (much less likely)

  • Eagles win final two games
  • Seattle lose final two games (@ARI, vs. STL)

 

The opportunity for the Eagles to get into the playoffs is certainly not over, but their chances certainly took a very big hit on Sunday night when they lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

 

Follow Sam Shipley on Twitter: @samshipley5

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