Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) talks with head coach Nick Sirianni during a timeout in the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season is officially in the books, and the Philadelphia Eagles' NFC Wild Card picture has gotten clearer.
The Eagles have just three remaining potential Wild Card opponents, but only one of them won in Week 17. The Green Bay Packers locked themselves into the No. 7 seed with a loss Saturday night, the Chicago Bears lost to the San Francisco 49ers in a Sunday night thriller, and in a stunning Monday night upset, the Los Angeles Rams lost to the Atlanta Falcons.
With all those results in mind, Week 18 is essential for seeding purposes. There are multiple scenarios that lead to each possible Eagles matchup.
Option No. 1: No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles
At the moment, the 9-6-1 Packers are reeling. The Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens (just Derrick Henry, really) beat up on the Packers on Saturday night, marking Green Bay's third straight loss. Five Packers left the game due to injury, worsening Green Bay's season-long injury woes.
As the No. 7 seed, the Packers will play whoever locks down the No. 2 seed. Given their struggles down the stretch, Green Bay would undoubtedly be the ideal Wild Card opponent for the Eagles, but the Birds need some outside help from the Detroit Lions to make that happen. Even though the Eagles and the Bears have matching 11-5 records, the Bears hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Eagles, which currently puts Chicago in the No. 2 seed and Philadelphia in the No. 3 seed.
There is a way for the Eagles to leapfrog the Bears and claim that No. 2 seed, though. Here's the Week 18 scenario that results in an Eagles-Packers Wild Card matchup:
If Lions beat Bears, and Eagles beat Commanders
Essentially, Chicago must lose to Detroit, and Philly must beat Washington. If that scenario happens, none of the other Week 18 games matter, and the Eagles claim the most favorable Wild Card opponent along with the No. 2 seed.
Option No. 2: No. 6 San Francisco 49ers at No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles
The 12-4 Niners came out on top of the aforementioned Week 17 Santa Clara Sunday night thriller. Brock Purdy steamrolled Chicago's defense to the tune of 303 yards and five total touchdowns. The victory put them one game ahead of the Rams and kept them in the drivers seat for the No. 5 seed.
However, it all comes down to Week 18 for the 49ers: the 13-3 Seattle Seahawks will come to town in a showdown for the NFC West title, and for the NFC's No. 1 seed. There are two scenarios where San Francisco loses that game and other outside results drop them down to the No. 6 seed, sending them to Lincoln Financial Field:
If Seahawks beat 49ers, Rams beat Cardinals, and Bears beat Lions
If Seahawks beat 49ers, Rams beat Cardinals, and Commanders beat Eagles
The Niners, winners of their last six games, are hot. In fact, they're the hottest team the Eagles could face, because their third and final option has been going through it in the past few weeks.
Option No. 3: No. 6 Los Angeles Rams at No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles
This is the Eagles' most likely opponent. The 11-5 Rams already sit in the No. 6 seed, so if the season ended after Week 17 (like it did before 2021), they would face the No. 3-seeded Eagles.
Week 17 did not go well for the Rams. MVP favorite Matthew Stafford threw three picks en route to a puzzling, bizarre loss to the 7-9 Atlanta Falcons, who have been dead in the water since early December. After the loss, head coach Sean McVay stated that he will play his starters in Week 18 against the Arizona Cardinals. Los Angeles might care more about seeding than about getting – or staying – healthy. The Rams do not want to play the Eagles again, not when this is how it ended in Week 3:
BALL GAME‼️ pic.twitter.com/lfwWi1mI2g
Of the possible NFC playoff scenarios, the Rams come to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in most of them, including all the scenarios where the 49ers beat the Seahawks:
If 49ers beat Seahawks, and Bears beat Lions
If 49ers beat Seahawks, and Commanders beat Eagles
If Seahawks beat 49ers, Cardinals beat Rams, and Bears beat Lions
If Seahawks beat 49ers, Cardinals beat Rams, and Commanders beat Eagles
Regardless of the matchup, the Eagles can rest easy in Week 18 knowing that they're in the playoffs and they have a guaranteed home game. The three aforementioned teams don't have that luxury.
