Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Which five NFL teams can make it to the NFC Championship game in 2020?
Every year, two NFL teams play for the George Halas Trophy in the NFC Championship game.
While the AFC had been dominated by the New England Patriots and whatever team Peyton Manning was on, the NFC has been the more wide-open conference for the last decade plus. The last team to play in consecutive NFC Championship games was the Seattle Seahawks, as they made back-to-back trips to the Super Bowl in 2013 and 2014, winning it all the first time around.
Last year saw the San Francisco 49ers clobber the Green Bay Packers in the 2019 NFC Championship game at Levi’s Stadium. That was the 49ers’ first NFC title bout since falling to the Seahawks in 2013 and their first trip to the Super Bowl since 2012. After winning the Super Bowl in 2010, the Packers have lost their last three NFC title bouts in 2014, 2016 and now 2019.
While we could see the 49ers or the Packers get back to the NFC Championship game, recent history suggests otherwise. Two of the 14 other teams in the conference might be playing for the George Halas Trophy and the right to go to Super Bowl 55 down in Tampa. For the last several years, there’s usually a surprise team to play for it all in the NFC, and 2020 may be no different.
Who outside of their respective fan bases saw the 2015 Arizona Cardinals, the 2015 Carolina Panthers, the 2016 Atlanta Falcons, the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles and the 2019 49ers reach the conference title bout? Surely, there will be an out-of-nowhere team that gets there this winter, but let’s look at the five teams most likely to be playing for the George Halas Trophy this January.
Any of these five NFL teams can reach the 2020 NFC Championship game.
5
Philadelphia Eagles
NFC East
Can the best team in a weak division take advantage of the situation?
There are some who are higher on the Philadelphia Eagles than others. Those who really like the Birds this year believe in the organization top-down, as a strong organizational structure should have the Eagles contending for another division title. Others may question quarterback Carson Wentz‘s ability to stay healthy, as well as the receiving corps around him. It’s not all that great.
Perhaps the biggest thing the Eagles have going for them is they play in one of the weakest divisions in football. Only the arch rival Dallas Cowboys are any semblance of a threat, as the New York Giants are rebuilding and the Washington Football Team have a whole mess of problems no other organization is dealing with at the moment. Simply put, the Eagles don’t beat themselves.
Being that they’re the only team in the division who doesn’t have a first-year head coach, this will do wonders for Doug Pederson‘s team’s chances to win 10 or 12 games. Surely, one of their three rivals in Dallas, New York and Washington will be respectable, but continuity is key here and will serve the Eagles in what will be the strangest NFL season of our lifetimes.
As for the Eagles’ viability to get to the NFC Championship game, it all comes down to seeding and matchups. If the Eagles garner the top seed, they stand a great chance to play in the conference title bout. Should the Eagles have to play on Wild Card Weekend, it’ll be easier if they get to play more games at home, preferably in the Wild Card Round and the Divisional Round. It’s possible.