NFC playoff odds: 49ers now massive favorites for conference's top seed following Eagles' upset loss to Seahawks
Entering Week 13 of this NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles had the NFL's best record at 10-1 and a clear path to earning the top seed in the NFC playoff bracket for a second straight season. However, Jalen Hurts & Co. were upset Monday night in Seattle for a third straight loss. Certainly the Seahawks were big winners, keeping their wild card hopes very much alive, but the San Francisco 49ers may have been the happiest. They are now given a 93% chance to earn that top seed, per the SportsLine Projection Model, with Philly down to 6.0%.
The Eagles' three-game skid started with a 42-19 home beatdown by the 49ers, who enter Week 16 on a six-game winning streak (each by double digits) to claim the NFC's best record at 11-3. Both Philadelphia and Dallas are 10-4. San Francisco, which has already won the NFC West, is a -175 favorite to finish with the NFL's best overall record and is currently tied with Baltimore (+225). They meet in a possible Super Bowl 58 preview on Monday night at Levi's Stadium.
The 49ers not only hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Eagles, but also the Cowboys thanks to a 42-10 home win over Dallas in Week 5. San Francisco is the +200 Super Bowl favorite and -110 NFC leader.
The Cowboys currently win the NFC East tiebreaker with the Eagles, but if Philly would take the division if it wins out. DraftKings prices the Eagles at -285 to win the East and the Cowboys at +225. The Eagles are -10.5 at home on Christmas vs. the Giants and then finishes vs. the Cardinals and at the Giants. They have a pretty good chance of sweeping those games. If the Eagles lose to the Giants this Sunday, they would join the 1986 Jets as the only teams since the merger to enter with at least 10 wins and drop four games in a row.
Dallas is a short underdog on Sunday in Miami, which is playing for its own division title and the potential No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Cowboys are -330 favorites at DK to claim a wild card spot with the Seahawks now -200, even though they sit eighth in the NFC with the Eagles (+225 for WC spot) fifth, the Vikings (+100) sixth and the Rams (+110) seventh.
Both the Vikings and Rams are 7-7 like the Seahawks but currently hold tiebreakers. Los Angeles swept the season series from Seattle, which doesn't play Minnesota or New Orleans. The Saints, also 7-7, are ninth in the NFC.
Among those .500 clubs, the SportsLine Projection Model gives Minnesota the highest chance of making the playoffs at 59.5%, with Seattle next at 55.5%, then New Orleans at 45.8% (can also win the NFC South) and Los Angeles at 41.1%. The Saints visit the Rams on Thursday night, so that will provide some clarity. Â
NFC WC contender              | DK odds to make playoffs    | DK odds to miss playoffs |
Buccaneers (T1st NFC South) | -290 | +230 |
Seahawks | -170 | +140 |
Rams | -125 | +100 |
Vikings | +100 | -125 |
Saints (T1st NFC South) | +125 | -150 |
Packers | +260 | -340 |
Falcons | +600 | -900 |
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