NFC Playoff Picture: Eagles will face one of these three opponents in the Wild Card round

One step closer to figuring out who Philadelphia is going to host in the first round of the playoffs.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

The Los Angeles Rams’ surprising Week 17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night had ramifications for the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC playoff picture.

We now know the Birds will host one of these three teams at Lincoln Financial Field in the Wild Card round, listed in order of likelihood:

Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers
Green Bay Packers

Here’s a look at the Eagles’ scenarios entering Week 18:

The dream for the Eagles involves beating the Washington Commanders while resting their starters* … and also getting help with the Detroit Lions beating the Chicago Bears. The No. 2 seed Eagles would then host the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round for the second year in a row. The Eagles obviously beat the Packers earlier this season and that was a healthier version of their roster, which has since lost Micah Parsons to injured reserve. If the Packers can’t beat the Minnesota Vikings this weekend (Minny is listed as 5.5-point home favorites), Green Bay will be entering the postseason on a four-game losing streak.

(*To be clear, the belief here is the Eagles should play their starters to make sure they beat Washington. But I do think it’s possible they might still win without them.)

If the Eagles don’t get help from the Lions, they’ll be hosting either the Rams or San Francisco 49ers. If the 49ers (who are 1.5-point home underdogs) beat the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night, San Fran will get a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If the 49ers lose and the Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals, the Niners will be headed to Philly.

With the 49ers and Seahawks playing on Saturday night, the Rams will get the benefit of seeing how that game plays out before deciding whether to rest starters or not against the Cards. Sean McVay has been willing to eschew seeding in favor of resting players in the past, so, that’s worth noting. Then again, the Rams’ backups might still be able to beat Jonathan Gannon’s awful squad. The Rams are currently listed as 7.5-point home favorites against Arizona, for what it’s worth.

Of the three possible Eagles opponents, the Packers are obviously the most preferable. The more interesting debate is whether it’s preferable for the Eagles to face the Rams or the 49ers.

The Eagles have mostly owned the Rams since McVay became their head coach. But LA nearly had the Birds beat before Jordan Davis blocked their game-winning field goal attempt back in Week 3. And the Rams were the closest team to beating the 2024 Eagles in the playoffs last season.

The 49ers, meanwhile, are pretty banged up and have faced a relatively easy schedule in 2025. But they’ve been hot recently and Brock Purdy is looking good.

Which NFC West team would you rather the Eagles host in the first round, if it comes to that?

The entire NFC playoff picture scenarios for Week 18 via Deniz Selman: