One Eagles game could still be moved as NFL season wraps up

With just three weeks left in the NFL season, the Eagles schedule could still end up changing a bit.

The NFL announced its Week 17 schedule earlier this week, flexing Atlanta Falcons vs. Washington Commanders into Sunday Night Football and keeping a lackluster Eagles game against the Dallas Cowboys in Fox’s national 4:25 p.m. window on Dec. 29 at the Linc, with Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady on the call.

But it might not stay there.

The NFL is still considering moving Eagles-Cowboys back to 1 p.m., according to league sources. In its place the NFL would move up an NFC North matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers that looks much better on paper, but doesn’t have the national ratings appeal of an NFC East matchup between Philly and Dallas.

So why hasn’t the NFL made an announcement yet? It’s waiting to see what happens this Sunday. If the Cowboys defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football and the Eagles top the Commanders, Dallas would remain mathematically alive in the hunt for the NFC’s final wild card spot heading into Week 17.

“Maybe Dallas is on a five-game winning streak, and we keep that game right where it is, and it goes to 100% of the country,” Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, told the Inquirer earlier this month.

For the Packers, a win against the New Orleans Saints in Week 16 would not only secure a playoff spot, it would keep them in the hunt to overtake the Vikings and even possibly the Detroit Lions in the NFC North if both teams lose Sunday. The Vikings face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16, while the Lions play the Chicago Bears.

There’s also the race for the NFC’s top playoff seed, with the Eagles, Lions, and Vikings all tied at 12-2 heading into Week 16. The Eagles need the Lions and Vikings to lose at least one of their final three games to have a realistic shot at landing the No. 1 seed, which would mean a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Packers don’t play until Monday night, so a schedule announcement could come late into Monday Night Football or early Tuesday morning on Christmas Eve.

If the NFL does make the switch, it would be the third time the Eagles lose out on playing in front of a national audience. The Birds were demoted out of CBS' 4:25 p.m. window in Week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals (4-8). They were also off Sunday Night Football the following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10).

As for Week 18, unless something unlikely happens, Birds fans can probably count on the Eagles playing the New York Giants at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5. By then the Eagles will likely have locked up both the NFC East and the No. 2 seed and could treat the game as a bye week heading into the playoffs.

There’s at least one scenario where the Eagles could be scheduled for Saturday in Week 18 — they’ve locked up the NFC East and have a shot at landing the No. 1 seed if the Vikings defeat the Lions. For that to happen, the Eagles would need to win out and the Vikings would need to lose a game heading into their Week 18 matchup against Detroit.