Prediction Machine: Eagles To Beat Vikings In Wild-Card Round
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Eagles are headed into year three under Chip Kelly the head coach (year one under Kelly the GM), and Eagles fans are demanding expecting results. Results, in the form of at least one playoff win.
Well, according to Paul Bessire's Prediction Machine, Kelly's Birds are in fact expected to defeat the Minnesota Vikings in NFC Wild-Card round, before losing in the Divisional round to the Green Bay Packers.
The Predictalator has already played the 2015 NFL season 50,000 times before it's actually played. The machine produces the Green Bay Packers, who have lost WR Jordy Nelson for the season, as the Super Bowl 50 Champion the most often (17.1-percent of the time).
Here is the full predicted playoff bracket:
AFC
Wild Card Round
#6 Pittsburgh 23 @ #3 Denver 30
#5 Miami 23 @ #4 Baltimore 24
Divisional Round
#3 Denver 25 @ #2 New England 26
#4 Baltimore 23 @ #1 Indianpolis 28
AFC Championship
#2 New England 28 @ #1 Indianapolis 31
NFC
Wild Card Round
#6 Dallas 23 @ #3 Carolina 26
#5 Minnesota 24 @ #4 Philadelphia 27
Divisional Round
#4 Philadelphia 26 @ #1 Green Bay 33
#3 Carolina 17 @ #2 Seattle 23
NFC Championship
#2 Seattle 23 @ #1 Green Bay 26
Super Bowl
Green Bay 31 over Indianapolis 28
Other Info:
Teams that should surprise (good): Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders
Teams that should surprise (bad): Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints
Most Important Player (AFC): Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos
Most Important Player (NFC): Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
Most Important Rookie (AFC): Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
Most Important Rookie (NFC): Vic Beasley, LB, Atlanta Falcons
Furthermore, the Prediction machine predicts the Eagles to win 9.2 games, just under their 9.5 Vegas number. However, the Eagles have an above-50 percent chance to win 12 out of their 16 regular season games.
Here are the Eagles game-by-game projections:
Philadelphia Eagles
| Week | Opponent | Philadelphia Eagles Score | Opponent Score | Win % |
| 1 | @ Falcons | 30.0 | 27.0 | 56.7 |
| 2 | Cowboys | 29.9 | 27.6 | 55.0 |
| 3 | @ Jets | 26.1 | 22.0 | 59.8 |
| 4 | @ Redskins | 29.7 | 27.1 | 55.6 |
| 5 | Saints | 35.7 | 25.9 | 72.3 |
| 6 | Giants | 32.3 | 27.0 | 61.5 |
| 7 | @ Panthers | 23.6 | 24.6 | 47.7 |
| 8 | Bye | |||
| 9 | @ Cowboys | 28.1 | 30.5 | 44.6 |
| 10 | Dolphins | 26.5 | 24.2 | 55.6 |
| 11 | Buccaneers | 32.0 | 20.1 | 77.7 |
| 12 | @ Lions | 25.3 | 24.3 | 52.4 |
| 13 | @ Patriots | 25.4 | 31.1 | 37.3 |
| 14 | Bills | 24.2 | 19.8 | 60.9 |
| 15 | Cardinals | 29.7 | 21.9 | 68.3 |
| 16 | Redskins | 31.6 | 23.2 | 69.9 |
| 17 | @ Giants | 28.4 | 28.9 | 48.8 |
| Philadelphia Eagles Pts/Game | Opponent Pts/Game | Total Wins | ||
| 28.7 | 25.3 | 9.2 | ||
In 2014, the Prediction Machine had the Eagles winning 8.8 games and losing in the first-round of the playoffs to the New York Giants. The Eagles, of course, finished 10-6 and missed the playoffs, while the Giants were just 6-10.
The machine predicted the Broncos to beat the Seahawks 24-23 in last year's Super Bowl.
