We’re now just one day away from Philadelphia Eagles football. With excitement levels soaring through the roof, it’s time for our team of writers to give their predictions ahead of the new campaign.
Can the Eagles finish what they started last year and lift the Lombardi Trophy? Here’s what our writers have to say.
Bryan Cameron
It’s a tall order to expect a team to overcome a Super Bowl hangover and make it back to the big game. Especially after losing the game in the same manner that the Eagles did. But this team is different. They’re not like the Buffalo Bills who have taken steps backward year after year. This Eagles team is entering another level of play at the perfect time.
Jalen Hurts is the special ingredient that only the Chiefs and Bengals have witnessed. Yes, he’s that good. If you remove him from this team then all you have is a version of the Buccaneers. Luckily that is not the case as he’ll be an Eagle for the long haul which all but guarantees that this team will compete for years to come.
The schedule this season may be tougher but all that will do is help this team overcome the adversity needed to hoist the Lombardi trophy. I have the Eagles finishing as the number one seed in the NFC at 13-4. I think there is a path to 14-3 but they will have to find ways to win that tough slate after their bye week.
One way or another, I believe that the Eagles will be back in the Super Bowl against the LA Chargers and you will witness a parade this season Eagles fans. The perfect way for Jason Kelce to ride into the sunset.
Liam Jenkins
There’s no team as complete as the Eagles in the NFC. In what was supposed to be an offseason of regression, Howie Roseman reloaded the defense with Georgia stalwarts, replaced Jonathan Gannon with a creative coordinator in Sean Desai, and locked Jalen Hurts in for the long-term.
The Eagles should comfortably win the NFC East and have the perfect opportunity to silence their doubters. With games against the Jets, Bills, and Chiefs all on the slate, Jalen and company can quickly make a statement that they are the team to beat this season. No excuses, no ‘yeah but the schedule’, just becoming the straight-up better team by beating the best that the AFC has to offer.
I believe the Eagles make it back to the Super Bowl. Whether they can win, that’s up to the footballing Gods…
Chris Infante
It’s common to see writers of Super Bowl losing teams be so confident that the team they write about is set to go back to the Super Bowl. This is no different.
The only question mark on the offensive line has turned into an exclamation mark with how Jurgens looked this summer and the defensive line looks as potent as ever despite the loss of Hargrave.
Yes, there are LB and S questions, but when aren’t there any? Both units are filled with young and hungry players who have a lot to prove. I anticipate a move (a big one) being made for one of those units by the trade deadline but for now, it’s serviceable.
It’s hard to envision a loss within the first five weeks of the season and the Eagles have a real shot at running the table into the bye week or at least being 9-1. A gauntlet of teams awaits after the bye. Despite that, I think we’re seeing another 14-3 season, the number one seed, and another trip to the Super Bowl.
Mike Greger
I’m changing my record prediction to 12-5. If you’re going game by game … change the last Giants game to a W. Sweep. Here’s why:
Let me be honest. Prior to scanning the schedule and really looking at the 53-man roster, I didn’t expect to be picking the Philadelphia Eagles to return to the Super Bowl. The hangover is a real thing. Players are bound to get injured. Plus, their strength of schedule is arguably the hardest in football.
Then, I started listening to what Jalen Hurts was saying, like really saying. And it wasn’t just him. Every single guy in a midnight green (or kelly green) uniform has been regurgitating his catchphrases like that annoying smoke alarm in your house that won’t stop beeping. They believe it.
Yes, the schedule is brutal — particularly the six-game stretch of Kanas City, Buffalo, San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle, NY Giants — and they will take their lumps there. I got them going 1-4 there. But they will be better for wear. They will deal with something last year’s team never faced: adversity.
That’s why I have them finishing at 12-5 and repeating as NFC champions, only this time they finish the job and beat the Buffalo Bills to hoist their second Lombardi Trophy in six years. Viva Las Vegas.
Ethan Rappleye
For the 2023 season, I think the Eagles take a slight step backward from 2022. The roster is still loaded and may end up being just as talented, but the mass change in personnel on the defensive side of the ball could lead to some early hiccups. They could win 14 games as they did in 2022, but 12 is a more realistic figure with the harder schedule.
With the NFC being relatively weak, the Eagles should find themselves in the NFC Championship game, this time beating a more healthy 49ers team, and advance to Super Bowl 58. This time they come out on the winning end, beating the Cincinnati Bengals to take home their second Lombardi trophy.
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
