I Got Bupkis

Inasmuch as the win over the Cardinals was a dominating performance against a (theoretically) strong opponent, I really enjoyed watching it.

Inasmuch as the win was a desperately needed gust of wind to blow away the toxic residue of the previous month's performances, I appreciated it.

Inasmuch as the win changes anything about the team or the situation it faces ... well, I just don't see that.

It's easy to be duped by the NFL standings.  If you take a quick look at them, you see that 6-5-1 really isn't that bad a record.  Only eight teams in the NFC have better records, and three of those are 7-5. 

The problem for the Eagles is when you go ahead and sort those standings by conference, rather than division.  Then you see the problem.  Two of those 7-5 teams are basically uncatchable, since they're both going to win their divisions (or be replaced by someone in the division).  That leaves four teams ahead of the Eagles for the wild card. 

Our guys can make their own luck with two of those teams, the 8-4 Cowboys and the 7-5 Redskins.  The tie-breakers there aren't unfavorable if the Eagles make a good run.

But they also face the challenge of catching the 9-3 Panthers and the 8-4 Falcons.  If Carolina wins two of fours against TB, DEN, NYG and NO, they're in.  Atlanta needs to win three of four from NO, TB, MIN and STL to stay out of reach. 

Of course, all of this assumes the Eagles win out, which let's be honest is hardly where the money would go right now.  FO hasn't updated its playoff odds yet, but after the Ravens game, they had the Eagles at about a one-in-nine shot.  Even with the win, the lack of help from Dallas and Carolina this weekend means that's not going to bump much.

All of which means we're rooting for a team that probably won't make the playoffs, but also isn't throwing in the towel with the youngsters to see what they have for the future.  Which strips away pretty much the entirety of the big picture of our fandom, and leaves us with nothing more than the enjoyment (or not) of each week's game in a vaccuum. 

Which is a somewhat unusual and unsettling position to be in.