The fourth weekend of the 2026 NFL season brings a simple Eagles priority list: take care of business against the Rams, and hope a few rivals stumble along the way.
The biggest game on the board is the one in Philadelphia. The Rams coming to town gives the Eagles a chance to do more than just avoid a 2-2 start.
A win would also hand Philly a valuable head-to-head tiebreaker over Los Angeles, and dropping the Rams into a 1-3 hole would be a bonus. Of course, that means the Eagles will need to pull off an upset.
Go Birds.
Around the NFC East, there’s plenty for Eagles fans to keep an eye on. The Commanders enter Week 4 at 1-2 after Marcus Mariota led them to an upset win over the other Washington football team last week, and the goal here is to keep them from stacking more momentum before Jayden Daniels returns from injury. That makes the Colts the preferred pick.
The Giants are another team worth watching closely. They’re 2-1 now, and a win would push them to 3-1 with a stretch of more winnable games ahead.
Better for Philly if that belief doesn’t start building, especially with the idea of the Giants winning games without Jaxson Dart. So the Cardinals are the rooting choice there.
Then there’s Dallas. The Cowboys remain the biggest threat to the Eagles’ threepeating as division champs, which makes Houston the easy answer.
If the Eagles beat the Rams and those division rivals all lose, the NFC East picture gets a lot friendlier.
In the NFC playoff race, there’s one more game that matters to Philly: Jets at Bears. Ben Johnson seems to be Vic Fangio’s kryptonite, and the Eagles do not want to see Chicago in the postseason. So it’s New York all the way.
There’s also a little future draft-pick math in play. The Eagles own the more favorable of two 2027 fifth-round picks, either from the Patriots or the Bears, so it makes sense to root against New England when it visits Buffalo.
And in Jacksonville at Cincinnati, the Eagles have a Week 5 opponent to consider. Since Philly is hoping to beat the Jaguars next weekend, the better Jacksonville’s record is, the better it helps the Eagles’ strength of victory tiebreaker. That means rooting for the Jaguars.
In Other News...
Lane Johnson Update Leaves Eagles Fans With A Bigger Concern
Lane Johnson will sit out the upcoming game against the Los Angeles Rams because of a personal matter, leaving the Eagles without one of their most important and most reliable pieces on the offensive line. For a team that leans so heavily on stability up front, any absence from Johnson carries weight, especially given how central he has been to Philadelphias run in recent seasons.
Johnsons status also comes with a larger long-term backdrop after he announced plans to retire following the 2026 NFL season. He already dealt with a Lisfranc injury that cost him part of last season, so even a short-term update like this tends to invite bigger questions about what comes next for an aging cornerstone in the middle of another demanding year. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Just Sent A Troubling Message About Their Backup Quarterback Spot
The Eagles are making a change behind Jalen Hurts, with Tanner McKee set to replace Andy Dalton as the backup quarterback for the game against the Los Angeles Rams, according to NFL Networks Mike Garafolo. The move comes after Dalton threw an interception in a recent game and after coaches offered mixed signals about how they feel about the depth of the quarterback room.
McKee, a sixth-round pick in 2023, has already shown enough in limited action to stay in the conversation. He has started two career games and owns a 99.5 passer rating, which gives Philadelphia a different look at a spot that suddenly feels worth watching a lot more closely. [Read more 🡒]
Saquon Barkleys Latest Injury Leaves Eagles Facing A Bigger Concern
Saquon Barkleys latest setback arrived during the game against the Los Angeles Rams, when a hamstring injury forced the Eagles to take him out for the rest of the afternoon. Philadelphia had already been managing his workload after he missed most of Week 2 with a stinger, and the timing only adds to the concern around a backfield that was built to lean on him early and often.
Tank Bigsby stepped in after Barkley exited, with Will Shipley also picking up snaps as the Eagles tried to piece together the running game on the fly. Barkley has still produced 174 rushing yards through the first four weeks, but the bigger worry now is whether this is becoming a pattern rather than a one-off, and how long Philadelphia can keep its ground game on track if he keeps getting dinged up. [Read more 🡒]