Eagles rooting guide for Week 5 games

Now that the fifth Sunday of the 2021 NFL regular season is here, it’s time to run through a Philadelphia Eagles-focused rooting guide for all of the Week 5 games. This exercise will be especially interesting this year since the Birds have more things to care about than usual due to owning picks from the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts in the 2022 NFL Draft.

EAGLES GAME

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at CAROLINA PANTHERS: Big difference between 2-3 and 1-4 when it comes to keeping playoff hopes alive. Not time to tank just yet. Root for the Eagles.

NFC EAST

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS at WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM: The Football Team is currently second in the division standings. The Eagles would like to see them lose. Root for the Saints.

NEW YORK GIANTS at DALLAS COWBOYS: The Cowboys are clearly the bigger threat to win the division. Better to see Dallas lose. A Giants win also serves to damage their draft positioning. Root for the Giants.

DRAFT PICK WATCH

MIAMI DOLPHINS at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: The Eagles own the Dolphins’ first-round pick, which is currently No. 4 in the 2022 NFL Draft order. Let’s see how high it can go! Root for the Buccaneers.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at BALTIMORE RAVENS: For the first time this season, Eagles fans will have an opportunity to watch Carson Wentz in a nationally-televised game. The ideal outcome for this Monday Night Football matchup involves Wentz logging 100% of the Colts’ snaps and playing well in a very close loss to Baltimore. That way the Eagles get closer to Wentz hitting the 75% threshold and Indy isn’t so motivated to bench him. The Colts have the potential to rebound in the near future with games against Houston, Tennessee, NYJ, and Jacksonville coming up. The hope is they stay competitive enough to keep playing Wentz to compete for the AFC South title but ultimately miss out on the postseason. Root for the Ravens.

TENNESSEE TITANS at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: The Titans losing to the Jets and Jags in back-to-back weeks would be concerning when it comes to hoping they’ll win the AFC South. The Eagles don’t want to see Tennessee totally run away with the division since they want Indy incentivized to make a run for the division and not bench Wentz. But a Titans win here is probably the best outcome for Philly. Then again, a Jags win would be good from the standpoint of Miami moving ahead of Jacksonville in the draft order. Root for the Titans.

NEW YORK JETS at ATLANTA FALCONS: The Jets are ahead of Miami in the draft order. For the sake of the Dolphins pick being even higher, hope for an Atlanta loss. Root for the Jets.

DETROIT LIONS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS: The Lions are ahead of Miami in the draft order. For the sake of the Dolphins pick being even higher, hope for a Minnesota loss. Root for the Lions.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at HOUSTON TEXANS: The Texans are a bigger threat to move ahead of Miami/Indy in the draft order. Root for the Texans.

DENVER BRONCOS at PITTSBURGH STEELERS: Better to see the Steelers win as not to threaten for a top pick. Root for the Steelers.

GREEN BAY PACKERS at CINCINNATI BENGALS: Root for the AFC team over the NFC team. More competition in the AFC playoff picture is bad news for the Dolphins/Colts and good news for the Eagles. Root for the Bengals.

CHICAGO BEARS at LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: Root for the AFC team over the NFC team. More competition in the AFC playoff picture is bad news for the Dolphins/Colts and good news for the Eagles. Then again, don’t want to see the Bears struggle too much since NYG owns their first-round pick. Root for the Raiders.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS at ARIZONA CARDINALS: The 49ers are the bigger threat to pick higher from these two teams. Root for the 49ers.

WHAT’S LEFT

CLEVELAND BROWNS at LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: Not really relevant to the Eagles. I’m rooting for the Chargers in the AFC this year so that’s my preference.

BUFFALO BILLS at KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: It’d be fun to see another team than the Chiefs (read: my Chargers) win the AFC West. Go Bills.