Coming into the season, there was a lot of optimism surrounding the potential of this Eagles team. General Howie Roseman had plugged up a lot of the holes on the team, and internal improvements from younger players looked to push them farther than their 9-8 record in 2021. When the regular season ended this January, that optimism proved to be justified.
Both the offense and defense took monumental steps forwards in a record-breaking season that has the Eagles primed for a deep playoff run. With still 6 days before their first playoff game, I wanted to look back at some of the most impressive records that were broken during one of the best regular season campaigns in Philadelphia history.
Most Regular Season Wins: 14
Before 2022, the Eagles’ record for most regular season wins was 13, accomplished twice in 2004 and 2017. The new record of 14 does have a little asterisk next to it because this is a 17-game season as compared to a 16-game schedule. Still, that should not discount what the Eagles did this year, they rarely have this level of regular-season dominance.
Most Total Points Scored in a Season: 447
The Eagles have had a lot of good offenses over the years, but they’ve never had one quite as good as this year. Again, this record comes with a qualifier because of the extra game, but that doesn’t take away from how dynamic the offense was. The previous record was set in 2014 by Chip Kelly and his no-huddle scheme, but this offense seems to be built on a more stable foundation. Hurts set the tone with his arm and his legs, guiding the team efficiently down the field as one of the best dual-threat players in football.
Most Receiving Yards in a Season: 1,496 by AJ Brown
The Eagles’ single-season receiving record was set by Mike Quick, with 1,409 yards in 1983. After standing for almost 40 years, it was finally broken by Brown this season. Eagles fans hoped for the second coming of Terrell Owens and were surprised with an even better season than T.O. ever had. Brown has been the game-changing wide receiver that the Eagles and Jalen Hurts needed and it’s possible he could break this record again in the near future.
Most Catches by a Wide-Receiver in a Season: 95 by DeVonta Smith
Wide receiver has long been a position the Eagles have struggled to find talent at. After years of being stuck with Todd Pinkston, Jordan Matthews, and Jalen Reagor, the team finally struck gold when they drafted DeVonta Smith from Alabama. Last season, Smith broke the Eagles’ rookie receiving yards record, and this season, he continued his record-breaking ways by getting more receptions than any other wide receiver in Eagles’ history.
While Zach Ertz holds the record for most receptions in a single season, no wide receiver has grabbed more catches than Smith before. Brown was close behind with 88 receptions, but Smith was able to pull ahead, even after not getting a single catch in week 1.
Most Sacks in a Season: 70
As an organization, the Eagles put a lot of value into their defensive line. Historically, that has been a strength of theirs dating back to the Gang Green units of the 1980s. This season, they not only broke their team record for sacks in a season, but they also destroyed it and fell 3 sacks shy of setting an all-time NFL record.
Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham both had big bounce-back years, Josh Sweat and Javon Hargrave elevated their game to new levels and Haason Reddick was the defensive version of A.J. Brown. Their defensive front is deep and was the cause of nightmares for opposing quarterbacks all season.
Most Total Touchdowns in a Season: 35 with Jalen Hurts
Before this season, Donovan McNabb held the record for most total touchdowns in a season, which he set in 2004 with 34. He did most of his damage through the air, with 31 passes and only 3 runs. Jalen was more evenly balanced, with 22 passes compared to 13 runs. He had an MVP-caliber season and may have only lost the award due to getting injured. Much like AJ Brown, I could see this record being broken by Hurts again in the future.
The team also set a lot of firsts this year as. I don’t consider them records because they’ve never happened before but they still deserve to be recognized.
First time Eagles
This season, Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders became the first pair of Eagles teammates to have 10 or more rushing touchdowns. They both set new career highs in rushing touchdowns, with 13 and 11 respectively.
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith also set a franchise first, becoming the only pair of receivers in Eagles history to gain over 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. The Eagles have two Ferraris at wide receiver and have set themselves up to have a top core now and in the future.
AP Photo/Derik Hamilton
