Philadelphia Eagles Playoff Scenarios: How Can Philly Make Postseason Field?

Almost unbelievably, the once written-off Philadelphia Eagles (6-8) are still very alive in the NFC playoff picture. 

There is one sure-fire way for the Eagles to get into the playoffs, and it isn't as inconceivable as you might think.

Let's run down what needs to happen:

• No. 1: The Eagles must win their final two games at Dallas (8-6) and vs. Washington (5-9).
• No. 2: The Cowboys need to lose their final two games vs. Philadelphia and at New York Giants (7-7) 
• No. 3: The Giants would need to lose to the New York Jets (8-6) in Week 16, then beat the Cowboys in Week 17. 
• If No. 1-3 happens: With all three teams tied at 8-8, the Eagles win the tiebreaker by virtue of divisional record. The Eagles would finish 5-1 in the division, with the Cowboys at 2-4 and Giants 3-3.

(No other scenario exists for the Eagles to get into the playoffs. They were eliminated from wild-card contention when the Detroit Lions beat the Oakland Raiders.) 

For a team that was buried and forgotten about a few weeks ago at 4-8, that's about as reasonable a scenario as you could ask for. With how inconsistent the Giants and Cowboy have been down the stretch, you could make an argument that it's bordering on likely that the Eagles are playoff bound.

Why?

For starters, the Eagles hammered the Cowboys in their Week 8 matchup, 34-7, and Philadelphia has won its last two games against Dallas with Michael Vick under center. They should be favorites at home.

The Jets and Giants are two teams that are unpredictable from week to week, but we've seen enough of the "bad Giants" this season to have doubts about their ability to beat their city rivals. If the Giants then followed script, would it surprise anyone if they took it Dallas in Week 17 after losing to the Jets?

If that all played out, the Eagles would need to beat the Redskins to go to the playoffs.

A lot of things obviously need to happen for Philadelphia to get back to the postseason, but could this team really ask for a more favorable scenario in Week 16 after what they've gone through this season?

Buckle your safety belts, NFC East. This could get interesting.