NFL Playoff odds: Eagles Loss Helps Bears, Hurts Giants

The Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday night were 14.5 point favorites heading into their game against the Minnesota Vikings. And because the NFL is incredibly unpredictable it's almost predictable that the Vikings turned it around and beat the Eagles by 10 points.

What does this mean for the NFL playoff picture?

First, the Eagles are now locked into the No. 3 seed. They can't move up or down next week which means they're not getting a bye. If they had won, they'd be playing for a first round bye. Now that the bye is officially out of the picture, they can rest their guys in Week 17. So the loss is bad but it's not the worst thing in the world.

Second, the Bears now clinch a first round bye. The Bears will have a first round bye along with the winner of the NFC South, Falcons or Saints.

Third, this may hurt the Giants. The Bears, like the Eagles, now have nothing to play for (except to go from No. 2 to No. 1 seed in the playoffs) in Week 17. The Giants need the Bears to beat the Packers in Week 17 but now the Bears already have their incentive with the first round bye. Will they still play to win? New York hopes so.

The loss hurts the Eagles because, at the very least, it showed they're not invincible as they head into the playoffs. But there are worse scenarios the Eagles could be in right now as they have a free week next week.