Week 18 is complete in the NFC.
The Eagles are the #7 seed and will travel to Tampa to open the playoffs:
The NFC playoff picture, with all Week 18 results final save for SNF:
(1) Packers – BYE
(2) Buccaneers vs. (7) Eagles
(3) Cowboys vs. (6) 49ers
(4) Rams vs. (5) Cardinals— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) January 10, 2022
This was the most likely outcome based on data that was compiled last week. The Birds could have ended up playing Dallas, LA, or Arizona, but the largest number of possible matchups pointed to Philadelphia traveling to Tampa in the Wild Card round.
It is, of course, a rematch from earlier this season, when the Bucs beat the Birds 28-22 at Lincoln Financial Field. Tom Brady and company were up 28-7 midway through the third quarter and the Eagles made a late push to get the final box score into “respectable” territory. This was long before they figured out they were a running team, and fell to 2-4 with that loss, so if you’re banking on the Eagles to pull the upset here, you’re hoping they’ve come far enough to challenge Brady on his home turf in the playoffs. It’s not gonna be easy.
