The 2023 Philadelphia Eagles schedule dropped last night and it undoubtedly brought out a mixture of emotions. The road ahead is much tougher than the one in the rear-view mirror, but what else can we learn from breaking down this season’s 17-game slate?
A hot start is vital
The opening stint of the 2023 Eagles schedule is actually quite inviting. On the contrary, deeper into the season, there is a month-long slog that may be among the toughest 4-week slates I have ever seen.
The Eagles face the Patriots, Vikings, Buccaneers, Commanders, and Rams to start the season. This team is absolutely good enough to kickstart their 2023 campaign with an impressive 5-0 run and make no mistake, stacking those wins early will be absolutely vital if they are to become the first repeat NFC East winners since 2005.
The biggest test this Eagles team has faced
There’s no easy way to say this, but the Eagles might have one of the toughest runs in all of Football.
They host the Dallas Cowboys in week 9 before going into a Bye. Depending on how good or bad things are by that point, the next month or so could become a daunting prospect.
Coming off the bye, the Eagles will face the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers, before then traveling to Jerry World to play the Cowboys once more. That four-game stretch shouldn’t be enough to knock the Eagles out of the #1 seed mix, provided they can take care of business elsewhere, but this is absolutely a streak of games that will test this team in a way it is yet to be tested…and that’s a good thing.
The Eagles avoided the injury bug last year and adversity was minimal, as is to be expected when you’re dominating opponents with ease. But facing three Super Bowl contenders in as many weeks in a Dallas Cowboys sandwich is going to command some real resilience from Philadelphia.
That’s not to say they can’t handle the pressure. I have no doubts that Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts will have the team firing on all cylinders, and this is the kind of window where we really see just how high the ceiling is for this young team.
Finalizing the Sandwich
On the plus side, there’s another slice of Bread to apply before we finish the sandwich. A great start, a tough filling, and a nice ending is how this schedule is structured, giving the Eagles a chance to rebound and exert one last sprint to the line before the playoff scenarios are finalized.
The Eagles face the Giants on Christmas Day and again in week 18. Between those games, they play host to Jonathan Gannon’s Arizona Cardinals. The G-Men are always tricky and they are definitely improving, but this is a trio of winnable games that could come right when the team needs it most.
With the NFC East likely being a two-horse race, ending the season with 3 wins could well be the difference.
Grude match galore
There’s a lot at stake here for the Eagles and that’s not just due to the caliber of opponents. There are grudges littered throughout this season:
- Week 1: Gatecrashing Tom Brady’s retirement ceremony
- Week 2: The Vikings in primetime? Ever since 2017, Minnesota has felt like a rival and a win feels absolutely magical.
- Week 11: Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs. Let’s hope it yields a different result.
- Week 13: The ‘shutting up Deebo Samuel’ game.
- Week 17: The ‘humbling Jonathan Gannon’ game.
This is on top of the regular NFC East chaos
Playoff bound?
When all is said and done, all that matters is that the Philadelphia Eagles return to the playoffs this year. They made a significant investment in Jalen Hurts and have continued to build the team the right way. After a fairly light schedule last year, they now get the counter punch.
This is a team that should have more than enough talent to still amass 10+ wins on the season. If we’re to do little to no analysis and just go off games the team ‘should’ win:
Commanders (x2)
Giants
Cowboys
Cardinals
Rams
Vikings
Buccaneers
Patriots
That’s 9 wins without sweeps against the Giants and Cowboys. There are teams like the Jets, Seahawks (at home), and Dolphins who should make life difficult for Nick Sirianni and might even steal a win. The Birds could realistically get to 10-12 wins pretty easily and that should be enough to get them across the line and back into the playoffs.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File
