Eagles' Best and Worst Potential NFL Playoff Matchups

There's no doubt 16 weeks into the NFL season that the Philadelphia Eagles deserve to be one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl.

The Eagles have been the leaue's most consistent team and are a win over the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Eve away from locking up the No. 1 seed two weeks before the season is over. At 13-1, the Eagles have already guaranteed a spot in the postseason.

Now they are one win away from the only bye week in the NFC playoffs.

The road to the Super Bowl is lined with potholes, though. Once we get into the postseason, matchups really matter. You have to go back to 2018 to find the last time two No. 1 seeds met in the championship game.

So even a team like Philadelphia has to have preferences when it comes to who they will see in the playoffs.

Based on their current level of play and how they matchup with the Eagles on offense and/or defense, these are the best and worst matchups for the Birds once the second season begins.

We know this would be a great matchup for the Eagles because we've seen it play out on the field once already. It wasn't pretty for the G-Men. Philadelphia rode their offensive line, Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders to 253 yards on the ground.

The Giants had no answer for the Eagles running game, and they were efficient through the air, too. Hurts had 217 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in the 48-22 beatdown.

The Giants had few answers for the Eagles' defense, either. Tyrod Taylor and Daniel Jones had 66 yards on six rushes, so they broke a few runs with their quarterbacks. Every other run averaged 3.2 yards.

New York's offensive line wasn't able to hold up against the Eagles' pass rush. Brandon Graham had three sacks, and they took down Jones and Taylor seven times total.

The Giants have been a nice story. Brian Daboll has done a great job of getting his team into the playoff hunt in his first season as the head coach.

But there shouldn't be a whole lot of fear seeing Daniel Jones and this inexperienced Giants team in the postseason. Their matchup in the season finale is bound to look like their first game, and a playoff game would look similar as well.

Yes, this is the team that ruined the Eagles' bid for an undefeated season. But the method by which the Commanders won the game isn't easily replicable.

The Eagles turned the ball over four times, including three fumbles. The Eagles averaged 5.6 yards per play to the Commanders' 4.1, and A.J. Brown was held to just one catch for seven yards.

Despite all that, the Eagles still had a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter.

In other words, the Commanders played about as well as could be expected, were fortunate to recover some fumbles and the Eagles still nearly won the game.

The 24-8 win the Eagles scored over Washington in Week 3 is probably a better reflection of how these two teams match up.

The Commanders are coming off back-to-back games against the Giants in which they went 0-1-1. Taylor Heinicke has been named the starter for now.

These aren't facts that are going to strike fear in the heart of any opponent. The Eagles should be more than happy to take out their frustrations of their only loss so far this season if given a third crack at Washington.

To be fair, the 49ers are the worst matchup for just about everyone. They are riding a seven-game winning streak, the longest in the NFL, and they are doing it while starting Brock Purdy at quarterback.

The former seventh-round pick has been called upon to start after Jimmy Garoppolo injured his foot. Garoppolo could return during the playoffs, but it kind of doesn't matter. The 49ers are the most quarterback-friendly team in the league.

With Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and a strong offensive line, the Niners just need a quarterback who can get those players the ball in space.

Defensively, only one team plays more zone coverage than San Francisco. According to The 33rd Team, the Niners are second in zone rate and first in EPA allowed when playing zone.

Their zone-heavy approach has a chance to slow down the Eagles. It allows the secondary to keep an eye on Hurts and gives a better chance of making sure that A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith don't burn their man deep.

The Niners' recipe of running the football well, getting the ball to their playmakers and playing zone coverage behind a defensive line with elite athleticism is one that could give the Eagles troubles.

It's a matchup they should be hoping they can put off for as long as possible.