Philadelphia Eagles: Does MNF Loss to Bears End Eagles' Playoff Hopes?

On Monday Night Football, in front of their home fans and in front of a national TV audience, the Philadelphia Eagles blew yet another fourth-quarter lead, this time losing to the Chicago Bears 30-24.

But did this loss, which dropped the Eagles to 3-5, effectively end their playoff hopes?

The short answer is no. Philly is not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and can't be until at least Week 13.

The long answer, as always, is a bit more complicated.

With the New York Giants at 6-2 and coming off a huge win against the New England Patriots, it's becoming more and more unlikely that they will be caught in the NFC East.

However, New York just started a brutal stretch in their schedule in which they face San Francisco, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Green Bay all in a row. Then they travel to Dallas and finally get a break with the Redskins in Week 15.

If the Giants get out of that with two or fewer losses, it will be considered a great achievement, and it's one that they could pull off. But it doesn't take much imagination to see them losing most if not all of those games. A 6-2 team becomes a 6-6 team, and all of a sudden, the NFC East door is wide open.

Philly fans shouldn't count on an NFC East title as their way into the playoffs, even with the potential of a collapse from New York. The Dallas Cowboys are still a contending team and shouldn't be taken lightly even after last week's 34-7 Eagle domination.

Instead, Philadelphia should look toward the wild card.

The Detroit Lions are currently 6-2 and are considered by many to be a playoff lock the way they've been playing lately. Unless Matthew Stafford goes down with a season-ending injury, it's safe to say that Detroit will secure one of the two wild-card spots.

The second spot, however, is still up for grabs.

Chicago and Atlanta are each riding three-game winning streaks, and at 5-3, are tied for second in the overall Wild-Card standings. However, both teams play in extremely competitive divisions and likely will see their winning streaks end soon. With Philadelphia sitting only two games behind them, the deficit is far from insurmountable.

All of this is just talk though if the Eagles don't start winning every week. From here on out, every game is a must-win game. Philadelphia could probably afford to lose once more and finish the season at 10-6, but with head-to-head losses to Atlanta and Chicago, there is a very real possibility that 10 wins won't be enough.

Philly has had the players to win all along. They have shown the potential to be great numerous times this year. It's just a matter of putting it together and keeping it together. And if they can do that, expect to see Philadelphia in the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.