Carson Wentz suffered a knee injury that has ripple effects all across the NFC playoff picture.
After turning in an MVP-caliber season, Carson Wentz won’t be playing any more football this season. After suffering a knee injury on Sunday, the Eagles fear that Wentz has a torn ACL which will end his season well short of his first playoff start.
Philadelphia, however, is still going to the playoffs. The Eagles clinched the NFC East but still have work to do to A) clinch home-field advantage and B) make it to the Super Bowl.
No one is happy about the Wentz injury. It’s bad for football as it takes one of the most exciting variables in the playoff picture out of the equation. With a void now opened, there will be teams in the NFC directly affected by the Eagles loss and there will be opportunities to change up the look of the playoff picture before it takes final shape.
All three of these teams could very well meet up with the Eagles in the Divisional Round. Assuming the Eagles still hang onto the No. 1 seed — which looks possible with Minnesota falling a game back — the sixth-seed will be headed to Philly if it survives Wild Card weekend.
Seattle has already beaten Philadelphia and it was with Wentz healthy. That game wasn’t on the road, however, where the Seahawks are just 4-3 on the season.
Carolina has also played Philadelphia this year, but got hammered on Thursday Night Football. The Panthers are unpredictable, which makes them both dangerous and a potential easy out. Philly has already seen Carolina and beat them on the road which makes this a potentially ideal matchup to get them at home even with Nick Foles starting.
Atlanta is the only potential No. 6 seed that hasn’t yet seen the Eagles, and the loss of Wentz makes it a trap game that Dan Quinn could seize. Matt Ryan looked atrocious against the Saints, however, and the Eagles could avoid stressing themselves out in preparation by knowing Matty Ice is hardly the player he was a year ago.