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5 questions: Eagles playoff scenarios

Can the Eagles still earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC? What do they have to do to get a bye? Here are five answers to five questions about the Birds' playoff scenarios.

The Birds have the same record as the Bears (10-4) after Chicago's win last night against the Vikings. But the Bears own the tiebreak since they beat the Eagles earlier this season.

That means the Eagles have to pick up a game on Chicago in the final two weeks to earn the two-seed. The Bears host the Jets at 1 p.m. Sunday. If they lose that game, the Eagles would be in a situation where they'd control their own destiny in terms of earning a bye. They'd have to beat the Vikings Sunday night and beat the Cowboys in Week 17.

The Bears travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers in Week 17.

So, to keep it simple, the Eagles need to do one of two things to edge out the Bears:

1. Finish 2-0 and have the Bears finish 1-1 or 0-2.
2. Finish 1-1 and have the Bears finish 0-2.

And we know the Falcons have clinched a playoff berth.

But that's about it.

With the disclaimer that anything can happen on any given Sunday, I'd guess that the following things are very likely:

* The Falcons will earn the No. 1 seed.
* The Eagles will win the NFC East.
* The Saints will earn a wild-card berth and the No. 5 seed.

If those three things happen, what still has to be decided? The Eagles and Bears have to battle for the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. And the Giants, Packers and Bucs have to fight it out for the second wild-card spot (the six-seed).

The Giants are in with a win next week at Green Bay. The Packers are in if they win out in the final two weeks. It's amazing, but both teams control their own destinies.

Oh, and the NFC West still has to be decided. We could very easily see a 7-9 team hosting the 12-4 (and defending Super Bowl champ) Saints in the wild-card round.

There's still quite a bit to be decided in the final two weeks, but that's where things stand right now.

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