Eagles upcoming schedule could save their season

The Eagles fought hard to get to 4-4 and have been given a gift by the football gods.

Thanks to a bevy of costly injuries in Dallas and ferociously inconsistent play in New York (and Washington being, well, Washington), Philadelphia stands just a half game out of first place with half the season remaining.

With Sam Bradford seemingly on the upswing, the run game gaining steam and a defense leading the NFL in takeaways, the Eagles are the favorites to win their second NFC East title under Chip Kelly.

Why? Just take a look at their schedule.

Over the next three weeks Philly will face Miami and Tampa (both 3-5) at home and Detroit (1-7) on the road on Thanksgiving day.

During this same stretch, the Giants face the Patriots (8-0)before their bye week, followed by the Redskins (3-5) on the road.

According to the folks at FiveThirtyEight.com, the Eagles have a 73 percent (vs. the Fins)83 percent (vs. the Bucs) and 63 percent (at the Lions) chance of being the victor in those three games.

If everything goes according to the odds, the Eagles will finish 10-6 (as they are favored in six of their final eight games).

The Birds are forecast with a 59 percent chance of winning the East and 51 percent chance of making the playoffs. All of this as they trail New York (which has a 39 percent chance of winning the division) in the standings.

The Cowboys and Redskins have less than a 6 percent chance apiece of making the playoffs, so it looks to be a two-man race for the NFC East.

After November ends, the Eagles have two more games against teams with winning records (Cardinals and Patriots) while the Giants have three (Jets, Panthers, Vikings).

If the Eagles don’t pull away, they’ll have one last crack at the Giants on January 3, a game that could settle the division crown.

But the Eagles need to, as Kelly and company continue to say, take it one week at a time. And Miami, under new head coach Dan Campbell is next.

“The four games that they’ve had [with Campbell] have been really lopsided,” Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. “They’ve whipped two teams and they’ve been on the other end of that a couple times.”