Eagles' Playoff Berth Not Automatic with Difficult Schedule Ahead

With a 5-1 record and coming off of a shutout victory over an NFC East rival, the Philadelphia Eagles are flying high exiting the bye week. If they merely go .500 over the remaining 10 games, there is an excellent chance the Birds will be participating in postseason football come January.

Yet while they have built a sizeable head start on the road to the playoffs, and expectations are on the rise accordingly, the Eagles’ schedule doesn’t get any easier from here. To the contrary, the biggest obstacles are still to come from a schedule that appears to get significantly more difficult the rest of the way.

WK	DATE	OPPONENT	RECORD
8	10/26	@ Arizona Cardinals	5-1
9	11/2	@ Houston Texans	3-3
10	11/10	vs. Carolina Panthers	3-3-1
11	11/16	@ Green Bay Packers	5-2
12	11/23	vs. Tennessee Titans	2-5
13	11/27	@ Dallas Cowboys	6-1
14	12/7	vs. Seattle Seahawks	3-3
15	12/14	vs. Dallas Cowboys	6-1
16	12/20	@ Washington	2-5
17	12/28	@ New York Giants	3-4

Better opponents. More division tilts. Short weeks. More road games. Philadelphia’s schedule intensifies in just about every way imaginable over the second half of the season—including a date with the reigning Super Bowl champions.

The Seahawks may seem vulnerable right now given their 3-3 start, but a collision with Seattle in December sure sounds daunting to me.

Of course, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Business picks up right out of the bye as the Eagles head to Arizona to battle the Cardinals, one of three other one-loss teams remaining in the NFL. The Redbirds have won 12 of their last 15 games and are 9-2 at home dating back to 2013.

The Cardinals game kicks off a road-heavy slate for Philadelphia. Three of the club’s next four contests are away, all four opponents currently sporting no worse than a .500 record.

The Houston Texans have already eclipsed last season’s win total, with an opportunity to move a game above .500 on Monday night. The Eagles return home the following week to meet the Carolina Panthers, owners of an unremarkable 3-3-1 record but only a season removed from winning 12 and earning a first-round playoff bye.

The Eagles finish that tough stretch in Green Bay against a Packers squad that’s heating up. Victorious in four straight, the Packers—one of 10 teams with at least five wins—are riding the brilliant play of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who leads the NFL in passer rating and shows no signs of slowing down.

The Panthers game is on Monday night as well, which means the Eagles will have a short week to prepare for their trip to Lambeau Field.

YEAR	SUB .500	.500 OR BETTER	PLAYOFF OPPONENTS
2013	6-2	4-5	1-4
2014	4-0	1-1	???

The fact that so many of these games are on the road, by the way, is especially notable given how well Philadelphia has been playing in front of the home crowd. The Eagles have won eight of their last nine within the friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field, their lone loss to the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs.

Such success doesn’t appear to be any coincidence. Even head coach Chip Kelly made a special note of how home-field advantage played a pivotal role in his squad’s recent victory over the New York Giants during the postgame press conference transcribed by PhiladelphiaEagles.com.

Michael Perez/Associated Press

“I thought the crowd was awesome being at home. We had great energy, you could tell it right from the jump.”

The Birds receive a slight reprieve when they return home before what is perhaps the most brutal portion of the docket. After a clash with the 2-5 Tennessee Titans, Philly goes head-to-head with the Dallas Cowboys twice in three weeks, with Seattle sandwiched in between.

The Cowboys, of course, look like a very legit 6-1, which also happens to be the standard in the NFC East for the time being, not to mention the rest of the NFL. Furthermore, their first encounter is on Thanksgiving, giving the Eagles four days to prepare and travel coming off of the Titans.

The regular season wraps up with road games against fellow division rivals Washington—on Saturday, another short week—and the New York Giants. The Eagles have already recorded wins over both opponents but victories seldom come easy in the NFC East.

That’s six away games, five division games, seven games against opponents with .500 or better records and three games on short weeks. That’s 10 games in 64 days altogether.

	FIRST 6 WKS	LAST 10 GMS
Win-Loss	19-25	38-28-1
%	.432	.567
.500 or Better	2	7

Meanwhile, the Eagles haven’t exactly faced the best of the best so far in 2014. Philadelphia is 1-1 this season against teams with a winning record. The other four share a combined 8-19 record for a .296 winning percentage.

And to think, all but one of their five wins came down to the wire.

None of which is to say the Eagles aren’t up to the task, but clearly the task is changing. While head coach Chip Kelly’s squad has been taking care of business, and there’s something to be said for that, it’s clear the difficultly level is on the rise.

That means even at 5-1, the playoffs are not automatic. While 10 wins is usually enough to earn a berth, even that isn’t a given—just ask the Cardinals last year—and if the Cowboys continue at their current pace, it certainly isn’t enough for a division title and a home game.

Clearly, the Eagles still have their work cut out for them. Good thing they got that head start, because they might wind up needing it.