It was a productive week for the Packers in their quest to play 17 games this year.  The Packers defeated the Bears.  The Eagles beat the Giants pretty solidly on Sunday Night Football and pushed the Eagles into top spot in the division.  Dallas continued its ‘December slip’ as the Chargers beat the Cowboys.   This combination set up the Packers for a possible week 15 clinch.  The Packers’ Magic Number is two, they need to win two games or have the Giants or Cowboys lose two.  The Packers hold the tie breaker over Dallas due to their head-to-head victory and are two games ahead of the Giants.  If the Packers win and either Dallas or the Giants lose, the Packers clinch a playoff berth in week 15.

Let’s look team-by-team:

Eagles (9-4) - The Eagles came up with a huge win on Sunday night against the Giants.  They are now holding the top position in the NFC East.  They will be looking to stay on top of the division and host San Fransisco next week. The last two weeks of the season will be tough for the Eagles; they face the Broncos and Cowboys.

Packers (9-4) - The Packers will have a tough game this week at Pittsburgh and will need to play better to win.  If they lose, it will be disappointing but thankfully they play the much weaker Seahawks the following week. The Packers finish the season playing the Cardinals in what may be a meaningless game for both squads.

Cowboys (8-5) – The Cowboys suffered a tough loss to the San Diego Chargers.  They lost their spot on top of the NFC East and now their playoff hopes are in jeopardy.  Blame either Wade Phillips or their very challenging December schedule but the Cowboys are slipping.  They have their work cut out for them and play the undefeated Saints this week.  Their last two games are against the Redskins and the Eagles.

Giants (7-6) – The Giants’ loss last night was rough on their playoff hopes.  The one thing they have going for them is that they have a weak schedule going into the stretch.  They face the Redskins, Panthers, and the Vikings, who may be  resting key players..  If they lose two more games, its locks in a Packers’ playoff berth.