Can the Eagles Make the NFC Playoffs?

So far, the Eagles have had a pretty rough going, schedule-wise, during their 2-4 start, playing the third toughest schedule in the NFL through the first six weeks of the season.

The Eagles have faced teams that have gone a combined 20-14 so far, including the two teams that faced off in the most recent Super Bowl, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

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But things are about to get easier.

The Eagles now have the easiest schedule the rest of the way, according to ESPN's Football Power Index.

At 2-4, the team sits firmly in the NFC playoff race with the New Orleans Saints (3-2) and Minnesota Vikings (3-3) currently holding down the sixth and seventh wild card seeds.

Also in the mix are the Bears (3-3), Panthers (3-3), 49ers (2-3), Atlanta (2-3), and Washington (2-4). In a tie-breaking scenario, Philadelphia has beaten both Carolina and Atlanta but lost to San Francisco. They don't face Washington until Week 15 and again in Week 17.

They also face the Saints coming up in Week 11.  They do not face Minnesota or Chicago.

So are they in the playoff mix? Sure.  However, they will need to start playing better football, beating teams like Las Vegas, Denver, Los Angles (Chargers), will not be easy, but they have some winnable games coming up like Detroit, the Giants (twice) and the Jets, but they will need to pull off some upsets along the way.

Here are five things that will need to happen to win some of these games:

• With the offensive line getting healthy, start to make more of a commitment to the run.
• With Zach Ertz no longer here, start to use more of Dallas Goedert in the offense.
• Get more pressure with the defense, put more trust in the team's veteran corners
• Make Jalen Hurts more comfortable, by taking some of the offense off his plate, letting him get the ball to the playmakers, and let them make plays.
• Nick Sirianni will need to become a better play-caller and John Gannon will need to become more aggressive.

So can they make the playoffs? Yes.

Will they? Still feels unlikely.