Getty Images

The Eagles’ win over the Panthers on Thursday night gave Philadelphia a 5-1 record, the best in the NFC. But their playoff position is even stronger than that.

Philadelphia’s schedule only gets easier the rest of the way, meaning that even if the Eagles don’t play quite as well over their last 10 games as they have over their first six, there are a lot of winnable games left on the schedule. The Eagles only play three games the rest of the season against teams that currently have winning records.

That’s in large part because Philadelphia’s early schedule was heavy on road games. The Eagles are the only team in the NFL that has already played four road games, but they now get a long home stretch: They’re at home against Washington, San Francisco and Denver the next three weeks, and then they have their bye. The Eagles don’t travel again for more than a month; their next road game is at Dallas on November 19.

After that game at Dallas, the Eagles get benefit from their easy schedule again with a home game against the Bears. The Eagles finished last in the NFC East last year and the Bears finished last in the NFC North, so the Eagles get that easy game against the Bears on their schedule. Philadelphia’s NFC East rivals have already suffered from a tougher schedule against the NFC North, as the Cowboys lost to the Packers and the Giants lost to the Lions. (Washington plays Minnesota in Week 10.)

A lot can happen over the course of 10 remaining games, but the Eagles already have a two-game lead in the NFC East, and they have every reason to be optimistic that lead will grow.