Do you want the Eagles to play the Packers or Commanders in the Wild Card round?

Entering the final week of the season, we know two things about the Philadelphia Eagles and their playoff positioning.

By virtue of clinching the NFC East after destroying Dallas on Sunday, the 13-3 Eagles are locked in as the No. 2 seed. Up until last season, that would have meant a first-round bye, but with the advent of a seven-playoff team-per-conference set-up last year, the No. 2 seed now much play in the wild card round with all the other scrubs.

We also know it will be a home game against the No. 7 seed, the lowest-ranked team in the conference. It is a game the Eagles should win no matter who it is, and we know heading into Week 18, the No. 7 seed will be either the Washington Commanders (currently the No. 6 seed) or the Green Bay Packers (currently No. 7).

Both teams have winnable games and, by the time their game with the Giants is over, they should know which team it will be. The Packers host the moribund Bears while Washington travels to Big D to take on a going nowhere Cowboys team. As of Tuesday morning, Green Bay is a 9-point favorite over Chicago, while the Commanders are a 4-point road favorite.

Should both teams win their games, as expected, the Eagles would host the Packers in the wild card round, and Washington would travel to L.A. to take on the Rams.

The Birds have faced both teams this season, defeating Jordan Love and Green Bay in the opening week of the season, way back in September, in Brazil, 34-29. They came back to beat the Commanders at the Linc in Week 11, 26-18, and then fell to Jayden Daniels and in Week 16 in rather fluky fashion, 36-33.

The Packers have been a difficult team to figure out this season. After advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs last year, Love and the Pack are having another strong season, 11-5 heading into the final week. But their play has been uneven. They’re 8th in the NFL in points-per-game (27.3), one spot behind the Eagles, 12th in passing yards and 5th in rushing. Love is 13th in passer rating (97.3), 19th in passing yards, with 25 TDs and 11 INTs. Green Bay excels at spreading the ball around, with Josh Jacobs 5th in rushing (1,285 yards) and a cadre of receivers between 360 and 800 yards receiving.

Surprisingly, Washington’s offense behind Daniels has been more dynamic and productive. They are 5th in points-per-game (28.8), 16th in passing yards and 3rd in rushing, behind only the Eagles and Ravens. Daniels is obviously going to be the offensive rookie of the year and, honestly, should be at least in the conversation of NFL MVP. His 864 rushing yards are 20th in the NFL, pretty dang good for a QB, he’s thrown for 3,530 yards (more than Love or Hurts), has a 25/9 TD/INT ratio and has become a master of the late-4th quarter comebacks.

Jayden Daniels is the 1st QB in NFL history with 8+ pass TD and 200+ rush yds in a 2-game span

He did so while leading back-to-back double-digit comeback wins capped with GW pass TD to lead his team to the playoffs.

Unbelievable stretch to 1 of the best rookie years ever!

— Doug Clawson (@doug_clawson) December 30, 2024

And yet, the Eagles really should have beaten him both times. He had his worst game of the season against Vic Fangio’s defense in Week 11 and threw what should have been a game-sealing interception late in the 4th quarter of their win in Week 16. Fangio’s defense did a great job limiting Love in Week 1, holding him to 185 yards passing and just one touchdown.

Defensively, the Packers gave up the 6th-fewest points in the NFL this season (19.6). Washington ranked 19th (23.2). Washington did have the 3rd-best pass defense in terms of yards allowed, the Packers were 17th, however, Green Bay had the 6th-best run defense in the league, while Washington was 28th.

With Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts running the ball, the better defense to face might just be Washington’s, who allowed 228 and 211 yards in their two match-ups. Green Bay gave up 144 yards on the ground to the Eagles in Week 1.

Both teams bring their own set of match-up issues with the Eagles, but Philadelphia has a better roster than both. Green Bay’s playoff experience from a year ago could be helpful, but Washington is riding a red-hot quarterback and are playing with house money. The Eagles are more familiar with Washington, and the Green Bay game was so long ago, and the circumstances surrounding that match-up were so unusual, it’s hard to take away much concrete from that game.

So, who would you rather see come to Lincoln Financial Field in two weeks?

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Who would you rather see the Eagles play in the wild card round?

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