Philadelphia Eagles: A checklist to make a playoff run

Take advantage of a blessed schedule

The NFL gave the Eagles an odd schedule this season. Philly closes the season with four straight division games. Two of those games are against a Giants squad who has a long shot for a playoff berth.

Clearly, a successful path to the NFC East crown involves winning your own division games.

If the Eagles and Cowboys were to tie at the top of the NFC East, the first tiebreaker would be head-to-head matchups.

The Cowboys bludgeoned the Eagles 37-10 in week 7, putting them ahead 1-0 in the season series. Even if the Eagles beat the Cowboys in their second and final matchup, the Eagles cannot mathematically own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Dallas.

The second tiebreaker is division record. Dallas sits at a formidable 4-0 in NFC East games this season, while Philadelphia is 1-1. The Eagles have to stack division wins fast to have any shot of owning this tiebreaker over the Cowboys.

Not only are the Eagles gifted division games in succession, but the Eagles have a light travel schedule to end the year.

Of the seven games remaining for Philly, four games are at home.

Among the three games that are on the road, two are within a train ride from Philadelphia (at Washington and at the New York Giants). The lone plane ride the Eagles will make is a trip south to face the Miami Dolphins on December 1st.