Eagles rooting guide for Week 1 games

Sunday afternoon reference material.

Can you believe that the first Sunday of the 2023 NFL regular season is actually here?!

Let’s run through a Philadelphia Eagles-focused rooting guide for all of the Week 1 games.

EAGLES GAME

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: It’s especially important for the Birds to get off to a strong start and bank wins early in the season before their schedule gets tougher later in the year. Go Birds.

NFC EAST

ARIZONA CARDINALS at WASHINGTON COMMANDERS: Tough to root for Jonathan Gannon but it’s preferable to see the Commanders lose here. Best not to allow them hope that things can truly be different under new ownership. Root for the Cardinals.

DALLAS COWBOYS at NEW YORK GIANTS: The idea of rooting for a tie is dumb. First of all, it’s just not likely. Second, there’s always going to be a team that ultimately poses a bigger threat and it’s best that they’re the loser. The Cowboys project to be more troublesome for the Eagles so it’d be nice if they lost. Root for the Giants.

DRAFT PICK WATCH

TENNESSEE TITANS at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: The Eagles own the Saints’ second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Birds will be hoping that selection is as early as it can realistically be. The silver lining to a Saints win is that it helps towards improving the sixth-round pick that the Titans owe to Philly. Root for the Titans.

CAROLINA PANTHERS at ATLANTA FALCONS: The Eagles will be rooting for the Saints to not win the NFC South. So, take your pick of which team here that you think has the best chance to win the division. It could be Atlanta since they have the NFL’s easiest schedule based on projected win totals. Root for the Falcons.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS: The Eagles own a fifth-round pick from both of these teams in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Bucs have a better chance of finishing with a higher overall selection so might as well root for that outcome. Root for the Vikings.

HOUSTON TEXANS at BALTIMORE RAVENS: Until the Texans prove they’re not really bad, one can only assume they’re not very good. They might be picking high in the draft order again. It’d be preferable for them to be lower so that the incoming picks that the Eagles own have a chance to be higher. It also screws with Jonathan Gannon’s Cards since Arizona owns Houston’s first-round pick next year. Root for the Texans.

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS at PITTSBURGH STEELERS: Easy call to root for the AFC team to beat the NFC team. Plus it’d be satisfying to see the Whiners lose. Root for the Steelers.

GREEN BAY PACKERS at CHICAGO BEARS: Gotta root for the bigger threat to lose. Some may disagree but the Packers’ potential is scarier to me since Justin Fields is quite possibly worse than Jordan Love. Root for the Bears.

LOS ANGELES RAMS at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: The Rams have the potential to be not very good while the Seahawks will potentially be battling the Eagles for playoff positioning. Root for the Rams.

WHAT’S LEFT

CINCINNATI BENGALS at CLEVELAND BROWNS: Joe Burrow is one of the most terrifying quarterbacks in the NFL. Best to keep him away from the most favorable path to the Super Bowl. Root for the Browns.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS at INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Doug Pederson vs. Shane Steichen. When it comes to draft order considerations, it’s better for the Colts to win this one. They’re probably going to be pretty bad this season. But I’m not going to advocate rooting against Dougie P. Root for the Jaguars.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS at DENVER BRONCOS: Can’t say it would be upsetting to see Sean Payton lose his Broncos debut. Root for the Raiders.

MIAMI DOLPHINS at LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: The Dolphins are the more threatening team to the Eagles if one of these two teams got to the Super Bowl against them. The Bolts would be destined to blow it. Root for the Chargers.

BUFFALO BILLS at NEW YORK JETS: The Jets losing this game puts more pressure on them to beat Dallas in Week 2 to avoid dropping to 0-2. Root for the Bills.