Eagles rooting guide for Week 13 games

Sunday afternoon reference material.

Now that the thirteenth Sunday of the 2021 NFL regular season is here, it’s time to run through a Philadelphia Eagles-focused rooting guide for all of the Week 13 games. This exercise will be especially interesting this year since the Birds have more things to care about than usual due to owning picks from the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts in the 2022 NFL Draft.

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

Via ESPN:

2022 NFL DRAFT ORDER

EAGLES GAME

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at NEW YORK JETS: The Eagles’ hopes of winning the NFC East are likely dashed but the Birds are still alive for a wild card spot. Not time to tank just yet. The Birds should be able to take care of a really bad Jets team. Root for the Eagles.

NFC EAST

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM at LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: Big game for the Birds for more than one reason. The first is that a Washington loss helps Philly’s playoff chances considering the Football Team is currently the seventh seed in the NFC playoff picture. The second is that a Raiders win helps keep Las Vegas ahead of Indianapolis in the AFC playoff picture. The Eagles don’t want to see Indy in the postseason since that would mean they’d only get the No. 19 pick at best from the Carson Wentz trade.

DRAFT PICK WATCH

NEW YORK GIANTS at MIAMI DOLPHINS: The Giants winning doesn’t help the Eagles when it comes to vying for a playoff spot. But the G-Men stink; they’re not going anywhere even if they beat Miami. There’s more value for the Eagles in a Dolphins loss since it would improve the first-round pick they owe to the Eagles. A Giants loss/Dolphins win would only serve to knock Miami’s pick out of the top 10. Not ideal. Good luck out there, Mike Glennon. Root for the Giants.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at HOUSTON TEXANS: The Colts are probably going to beat Houston. Root for the upset anyway. Also root for Carson Wentz to play 100% of the snaps in this game so that he crosses over the 75% threshold for Philly to get Indy’s first-round pick. Root for the Texans.

ARIZONA CARDINALS at CHICAGO BEARS: The Giants own Chicago’s 2022 first-round pick. That selection is currently at No. 7 overall, which is just ahead of the Eagles’ two picks at No. 8 and No. 9. The more the Bears win, the worse it is for the Giants. Root for da Bears.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS at CINCINNATI BENGALS: A Bengals win is more helpful to Indy’s playoff chances since it makes the Chargers, who are currently in the seventh spot in the AFC playoff picture, easier to catch. Root for the Chargers.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS at ATLANTA FALCONS: A Falcons loss is better for the Eagles’ playoff chances but Atlanta isn’t actually any good and Philly owns a tiebreaker over them anyway. A Falcons win helps to keep Atlanta behind Miami in the draft order. Root for the Falcons.

BALTIMORE RAVENS at PITTSBURGH STEELERS: A Ravens win is more helpful to Indy’s playoff chances than a Pittsburgh win. The Steelers are competing with the Colts for a wild card spot. Root for the Steelers.

DENVER BRONCOS at KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: A Chiefs win is more helpful to Indy’s playoff chances than a Denver win. The Broncos are competing with the Colts for a wild card spot. Root for the Broncos.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at BUFFALO BILLS: The Colts have a better chance of catching the Bills, whom they currently have a tiebreaker over, than the Pats. Then root for the Pats to beat Indy in Week 15 (following Indy’s Week 14 bye). Root for the Bills.

POSTSEASON FEVER

MINNESOTA VIKINGS at DETROIT LIONS: The Vikings are ahead of the Eagles in the NFC playoff picture. Easy call to root for them to lose. Root for the Lions.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS at LOS ANGELES RAMS: It’s hard to envision the Rams losing to the Jags. Then again, Sean McVay’s team has been struggling lately. And if they do lose to Jacksonville, well, maybe they’ll continue to free-fall out of the playoff picture? Not counting on it but we can still root for it to happen. The upside to an inevitable Jags loss is that it keeps them ahead of NYG in the draft order. Root for the Jaguars.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: The 49ers are ahead of the Eagles when it comes to getting a wild card spot. The Birds would like to see San Fran lose. Root for the Seahawks.