Philadelphia Eagles Will Visit New Orleans Saints If Team Beats Chicago Bears In 2019 Wild-Card Game

The Philadelphia Eagles snuck into the NFL playoffs on the final day of the 2018 season, setting up a first-round matchup with the Chicago Bears. After securing the NFC’s No.6 seed, the defending champions are one of only a few teams that know what team they would face in a potential divisional playoff game.

If Philadelphia manages to pull off the upset in Chicago on Wild-Card Weekend, they’ll head on the road for a second-round matchup with the New Orleans Saints. The Eagles are the biggest underdogs in the first round before their Sunday afternoon contest at Soldier Field.

New Orleans is the NFC’s No.1 seed with home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. They’ll host the lowest-seeded team remaining in the Divisional Playoffs. Philadelphia would become that team with a victory, no matter what happens in the NFC wild-card game between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks.

The Saints have already hosted the Eagles, defeating Philadelphia in a 48-7 blowout in Week 11. Carson Wentz was intercepted three times in that game, but it would be a different quarterback under center for the Eagles in the rematch. Nick Foles will start Sunday after going 3-0 in the last three weeks in place of the injured Wentz.

The odds suggest that Philadelphia won’t make it to New Orleans since Chicago is favored by six points at home, per OddsShark. The Bears won three more regular-season games than the Eagles to go along with the NFC North title and the No.3 seed.

Foles and Philadelphia certainly know something about proving people wrong in the playoffs. The Eagles were underdogs in all three of their postseason games last year as Foles went on to become the Super Bowl MVP.

The Eagles didn’t have to play a road playoff game en route to winning a championship last season. Chicago went 7-1 at home during the 2018 regular season, and the Saints were 6-1 in New Orleans before losing their meaningless season finale when Drew Brees didn’t play.

Two of Philadelphia’s last three wins came on the road. Foles won in L.A. against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15 when he made his first start in 12 games.

A run to the 2019 NFC Championship Game might very well bring Foles and the Eagles back to Los Angeles.