A Rooting Interest Guide for Eagles Fans On The Bye Week
By Kevin McGuire
Dedicated Eagles fans know there is never a bye week for rooting interests. Philadelphia enters their bye week sitting in second place in the NFC East with a 3-3 record. Back-to-back losses in frustrating fashion led to a coaching staff change and the pressure is starting to rise, but the Eagles may still sit in a decent position for a potential run to the playoffs.
Here is a look at some of the key game son the schedule that could be of interest to Eagles fans this weekend.
Washington Redskins at New York Giants
One of the key games as far as the idle Eagles are concerned will take place right inside their own division. The New York Giants, whom the Eagles have already defeated, hold a one game lead in the NFC East race. The Eagles still have time to attempt to take care of the Washington Redskins, but only one division game with New York remains so the Eagles could benefit from seeing Robert Griffin III and company return home with a win.
Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers
The Cowboys may be sitting on the bottom of the NFC East standings at thins point, but another loss would dig a deeper hole to climb out of for Dallas and that would be good news for the Eagles.
Green Bay Packers at St. Louis Rams
The Eagles have the same record as the Packers and Rams, which makes this a game to keep an eye on. St. Louis has been a nice surprise early on this season but of the two teams it would seem Green Bay has a better chance to make a playoff push later in the season. In this game, it would probably benefit the Eagles more if Green Bay would take a hit in the loss column.
Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings
The Cardinals handed the Eagles their first loss of the season a few weeks ago, so a head-to-head tiebreaker goes against the Eagles. The Vikings are not on the schedule for the Eagles this season, which makes it a little more difficult to determine which team Philadelphia fans should be rooting for. In this instance fans will want to pull for the Vikings, who are in the mix for the NFC North lead. Any NFC loss Arizona can pick up would be good for the Eagles.
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
On Monday nigh the Lions will hope to even their record with a win at division rival Chicago. The Lions sent the Eagles into the bye week hanging their heads with a come-from-behind and overtime victory. But the Lions are still trailing the Eagles in the NFC standings. The Bears are on top of the NFC North so Eagles fans should make a decision on which team to root for. This week, root for the Bears, because the Eagles will be better off not having teams with head-to-head victories in the hunt down the line, while the Bears are probably likely to win the NFC North anyway.
For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Eagles news, see CBS Sports Philadelphia.
Kevin McGuire covers college football for Examiner.com and is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and National Football Foundation. Follow him on Twitter (@KevinOnCFB). His work can be found on Examiner.com.
