Eagles Playoff Chances Skyrocket

PHILADLEPHIA, PA — At halftime of the Eagles battle against their division rival New York Giants on Sunday afternoon, the score was knotted at 3-3, and the outlook wasn't brilliant. Not just for the game, but for the season: the team's playoff odds stood at 48 percent entering the game, and would surely crater if they dropped to 7-8 on the year.

Numerous dropped passes, a missed field goal, and several failures to convert touchdowns in the red zone seemed ample evidence that the Eagles were suffering from playing on very short rest. Last week's game against Washington was postponed to Tuesday due to Washington's COVID-19 issues, and the Birds were in danger of falling back below .500.

The team that came out in the second half, however, looked entirely different. The Eagles found another on both sides of the ball and outscored the Giants 31-7 in the second half en route to a convincing win.

Playoff forecasting models noticed.

One of the most widely respected ones at FiveThirtyEight now has the Birds at a 60 percent chance of making the playoffs, a 12 percent gain over last week.

The model uses Elo ratings, based on team statistics and results in head to head matchups, to rank all teams in the NFL. The Birds come in at 13th overall with a rating of 1523. It's good enough to place them as the third and final Wild Card team at the moment, although they share the same 8-7 record as the 6th seed, the San Francisco 49ers.

The model also gives the Birds a 0.6 percent chance of winning the Super Bowl. So they're saying there's a chance.

FiveThirtyEight calls the Kansas City Chiefs the favorites, with a rating of 1691 and a 26 percent shot at winning it all. They are followed by the Green Bay Packers at 23 percent and the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8 percent.

The Eagles even being in striking range of the playoffs this late in the year was not predicted by many experts at the start of the season. The young team, with a second year quarterback, a rookie head coach, and a roster that has dramatically turned over in recent months, has just two games left to play to secure a postseason spot. They head down to Washington on Jan. 2, then will face the division champion Dallas Cowboys at home on Jan. 9.