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Every Potential Eagles Playoff Opponent Ranked from Easiest to Hardest Matchup

The Eagles' first round playoff opponent isn't set yet, but we know every possible opponent they could face in the postseason.

By Jason Schandl

Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) walks off the field after a victory against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) walks off the field after a victory against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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The Philadelphia Eagles are officially locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC with the playoffs just one week away. They can't overtake the Detroit Lions or Minnesota to earn a first-round bye, but they also can't fall down to the No. 3 seed.

This guarantees a couple of things for the first round of the playoffs: the Eagles will be playing on Wild Card Weekend, they will be playing a home game, and they will be facing off against the lowest seed in the NFC. It also guarantees that they can't play the No. 1 seed until the NFC Championship round.

Eagles First Round Opponent

With the playoff race still up in the air in some spots, Philly's first-round opponent is not set. And the possibilities of who they play in the Divisional Round and (hopefully) NFC Championship are even more wide open. And then, of course, there are all the options from the AFC that they could play in the Super Bowl.

But for this first round, things are pretty simple. The Eagles have two possible opponents: the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers. None of the drama in the NFC South impacts Philly.

Of course, Eagles fans are expecting this team to go well beyond the first round, so let's power rank all of the potential opponents Philly can face en route to the Super Bowl. For simplicity's sake (and because, while it's technically possible, we all know the Eagles won't be playing the Dolphins in the Super Bowl), let's stick to NFC opponents. I'll add some thoughts on the AFC competition at the end.

Eagles Potential Playoff Opponents Ranked

7. Atlanta Falcons (+15000 to win the NFC on FanDuel Sportsbook)

Atlanta is a huge longshot to even make the playoffs, needing a win (not a tall task against the Carolina Panthers) but also needing a loss from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs are 13.5-point favorites over the Saints. Philly would love to get the easy matchup against Atlanta, but that would also require the Falcons winning their first-round matchup, and we all know that's not happening even if they do make it.

6. Washington Commanders (+1500 to win the NFC)

The Commanders could be the Eagles' first-round opponent, as the Eagles will play the lowest-seeded Wild Card team. At the moment, Washington is ahead of the Packers on a tiebreaker, but that could change in Week 18. The Packers are huge favorites over the Bears, while the Commanders are only 3.5-point favorites over the Dallas Cowboys. Washington may have beat the Eagles in Week 16, but that was an "everything that can go wrong did go wrong" type game, and you won't find many Philly fans afraid of this matchup.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+1300 to win the NFC)

Baker Mayfield and the explosive Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is a threat to keep up with any offense in a shootout on a good day, but they're so inconsistent. How much can you fear a team that gave up 26 points to the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys in Week 16? Sure, Tampa beat Philly in Week 4, but this Eagles team has completely transformed since their bye in Week 5. The Bucs will likely be the lowest seeded division winner, meaning they'll draw a tough matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round.

4. Los Angeles Rams (+1000 to win the NFC)

The Los Angeles Rams are certainly peaking at the right time, but that doesn't make them an especially formidable opponent. PFF's grades have them as just the no. 12 ranked team in the NFL. Their Week 14 win over the Bills was incredible, but this six-game win streak feels a little underwhelming when you consider that it includes gimmes against the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals. Their defense is humming, with just 24 points allowed over the last three games, but they're not good enough to shut down the Eagles. And an offense that scored 44 points in that same three-game stretch isn't going to keep up with Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley.

3. Green Bay Packers (+750 to win the NFC)

The Eagles' other potential first-round opponent highlights just how much Philly would rather be playing the Commanders in the first round. Green Bay is the weakest NFC North team in the playoffs, but that's not necessarily a knock on them. Jordan Love is coming into his own with another late-season surge, and Green Bay will be looking to avenge that close season-opening loss in Brazil. Fortunately, the Eagles seem to have made a lot more improvements than the Packers have since then.

2. Minnesota Vikings (+380)

An Eagles-Vikings or Eagles-Lions Divisional Round matchup is something Philly might get to dodge with a technicality. The winer of the NFC North will get to play the lowest remaining seed in the Divisional Round, but that doesn't mean they get to play the worst team. If the Rams or the NFC champions win their first-round matchup, the Eagles would play one of them. The lower-seeded NFC North team would travel to the division winner. Is that a fair fate for a Wild Card team with 14 wins? Not really, but you won't find Eagles fans complaining about it.

1. Detroit Lions (+200)

The Lions are the only team with better odds to win the NFC than the Eagles, and their +460 odds to win the Super Bowl trail only the Kansas City Chiefs. They have been absurdly good, especially on offense, despite the fact that they're riddled with injuries. The one major concern they have is that defense. It's playing better than you'd think considering the injuries, but Detroit keeps getting into high-scoring shootouts, having allowed 30-plus points in three of their last four. Philly wouldn't play Detroit until the NFC Championship, so Jalen Hurts would be back at full strength by then, and a healthy Eagles offense has a chance in a shootout against anyone.

The AFC Competition

The AFC is absurdly top-heavy. There's always a chance that someone surprises us in the NFL playoffs, but it's almost impossible to see anyone except the Chiefs, Bills or Ravens representing them in the Super Bowl. That's also probably the order of quality of those three opponents. The Chiefs are +370 favorites to win the Super Bowl, the Bills are third at +550, the Ravens are fourth at +700, then the Eagles are fifth at +750. If Philly played any other AFC team in the Super Bowl, the Eagles would be huge favorites and would have likely already beat one or two teams better than their final opponent. That would be a dream scenario.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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