Can the Eagles still win the NFC East? [UPDATE]

Not impossible!

UPDATE: The Cowboys lost to the Raiders on Thursday evening. The Eagles are indeed still alive in the NFC East.

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.

For much of this season, the Dallas Cowboys winning the NFC East has felt like a foregone conclusion. And despite the fact they’ve lost two out of their last three games, they’re still strong favorites to win the division. They have a 86% chance to clinch the crown, according to Football Outsiders’ playoff odds.

But, hey, what if the Cowboys’ recent struggles are a sign of more trouble to come? Can the surging Philadelphia Eagles actually catch up to them and steal the NFC East?!

Again, it’s not a likely development. But if the Cowboys lose to the Las Vegas Raiders today on Thanksgiving … well, it’ll definitely be worth having that conversation.

For the sake of all that is good in the world, let’s assume the Cowboys do lose and the Eagles beat the New York Giants. That would have Dallas at 7-4 and Philly at 6-6 with the following remaining schedules.

EAGLES

at New York Jets (2-8)
BYE
vs. Washington Football Team (4-6)
vs. New York Giants (3-7)
at Washington Football Team (4-6)
vs. Dallas Cowboys (7-4)

COWBOYS

at New Orleans Saints (5-5)
at Washington Football Team (4-6)
at New York Giants (3-7)
vs. Football Team (4-6)
vs Arizona Cardinals (9-2)
at Philadelphia Eagles (6-6)

Given how the Eagles have consistently clobbered bad teams all year long, there’s reason to believe the Birds are going to stay hot down the stretch. It’s possible they win all of their games prior to Week 18, though they could be in jeopardy of dropping at least one to Washington. The Football Team is playing better in recent weeks with two straight wins.

If the Eagles take care of business, they can get to 10-6. The Cowboys could also potentially lose at least two more games from their final six weeks. Such a scenario would set up an NFC East championship game in Philly in Week 18. That’d be wild.

Admittedly, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. But it’s fun to think about.

RJ Ochoa and I talked about more NFC East playoff possibilities in the latest episode of The NFC East Mixtape podcast, which airs on both the Bleeding Green Nation and Blogging The Boys podcast feeds. Give it a listen!