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Eagles now have sole possession of first place in the NFC East, and a look at some playoff scenarios

The Cowboys were blown out by the Bears on Monday night. They didn't force a punt, they gave up 475+ yards for the 6th time this season, and there were plenty of shots of Jerry Jones looking sad in the owner's box. If you stayed up to watch the Cowboys' loss to the Bears in its entirety, it's hard to look at the NFC East as anything other than the Eagles' to lose.

For now, the Eagles have a 1 game lead in the NFC East. Soak it in:

A few notes on the playoff race, updated after the Cowboys' loss to the Bears:

• If the season ended today, the Eagles would be the 3 seed. They would face the 49ers in the first round at home.

• The Eagles actually have a shot at the 2 seed (and first round bye), although it's unlikely. If the Eagles win out, they would need the Saints to lose at least 2 of their final 3 games, and the Panthers to lose 1 of their final 3. There are other even more unlikely scenarios in which the Eagles could lose a game, but that would require 3 losses by the Saints, and 2 by the Panthers. The Eagles would beat them both on tie-breakers, on the strength of a better conference record.

• If the Eagles win their next 2 games against the Vikings and Bears, and the Cowboys lose 1 more game over the next 2 weeks against the Packers or Redskins, the Eagles will clinch the division before the Week 17 finale against Dallas. The only way the Eagles can possibly be eliminated from the NFC East race before the Week 17 finale is if the they lose each of their next 2 games, and the Cowboys win the next 2. Sheil Kapadia of Birds 24/7 has a round-up of the 9 possible scenarios in the NFC East.

• The wildcard looks unlikely for the Eagles now. It would almost certainly require a Week 17 loss to the Cowboys, and the 49ers would have to go in the tank.

The Eagles are the hottest team in the NFL right now with a 5 game win streak, and their only competition in the division looks to be a complete mess defensively. As an added bonus, the Cowboys, Redskins, and Giants gave up 127 combined points this week. This was a very, very good week for Eagles fans.