The excitement of a new season has quickly waned through the first month of the season with the Eagles posting a 2-2 record as they enjoy their bye week here in Week 5. It’s been a rollercoaster season already in terms of how the first four games have panned out. Could they be 4-0? There’s a path that could lead you to believe that. Could they be 3-1? That’s a more resounding yes. Could they be 1-3 or 0-4? Perhaps. The good thing is they aren’t. They sit at 2-2 and there’s no doubt the team needs to improve on the flaws that have been apparent to this point.
A slow starting offense, injuries, a porous defense, poor tackling have all been concerning issues that make many believe that maybe this team isn’t as good as some thought despite having serious talent across the board. As the team looks to clean it up, there’s also another factor that can benefit the Eagles moving forward. Their schedule.
The Eagles have one of the easiest strength of schedules for the remainder of the season. According to Pro Football Network, Philadelphia has the easiest.
ESPN Analytics has the Eagles with the fourth-easiest schedule to close out the regular season while Warren Sharp has Philadelphia slightly lower at eighth. Regardless, the climb to an NFC East division title and playoff appearance isn’t as steep as other teams and that could be a good thing.
Everyone remembers when the Eagles had a cake walk of a schedule in 2022. An impressive 14-3 regular season record and falling just short in the Super Bowl. Now there’s no guarantee that this year’s team will take care of business against inferior teams like that magical season, but they certainly have the talent to do so. You can only play who is on your schedule, but if the Eagles are able to start putting together complete football games, then this frustrating 2-2 start will be forgotten.
Inside the Eagles’ Schedule
Delving into every game would be tedious, but let’s take a look at the four upcoming games for the Eagles.
*Records are as of October 4th.
- Week 6 – at home vs Cleveland (1-3)
- Week 7 – on the road vs Cincinnati (1-3)
- Week 8 – on the road vs New York Giants (1-3)
- Week 9 – at home vs Jacksonville (0-4)
Thats a combined record of 3-13 and a .188 winning percentage. Of those teams, the Bengals pose the biggest threat based on their roster and talent. However, the Eagles are better talent wise than all four teams by a large margin. Will that talent play up to it’s level?
All four of these games pose a great springboard for this team on both sides of the football. The Browns have struggled moving the ball this season, averaging the second-fewest yards per game putting up 246.3 yards per game while scoring just 16.5 points per game which is the sixth-fewest in the NFL. This should be a get-right game for the defense of the Eagles which has had very few bright spots so far this season aside from rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and a couple of big games from linebacker Zack Baun. Deshaun Watson is not what he was in Houston since signing a huge deal with the Browns and he continues to deal with off field issues.
The Eagles, who should be at full strength with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Lane Johnson returning from injury shouldn’t have too much trouble on the offensive side against an average Browns defense. Cleveland has allowed 21.8 points per game which is right in the middle of the pack in the NFL while yielding 299 yards per game which is just outside the top 10, sitting at 11th.
The Bengals could be a tricky game for the Eagles as they will have to take on Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase in a hostile stadium as Cincinnati looks to right the ship after another slow start to a season. Entering Week 5, the Bengals have a top-10 scoring offense, averaging 25.5 points per contest, tied with Seattle for ninth in the NFL. They rank 12th in yards per game, racking up 338.3. In comparison, the Eagles offense ranks 7th in that department with 365.5 per game. This could be a high-scoring game with how many playmakers both offenses have.
The defenses might struggle in this one, with the Bengals surrendering 26 points per game which is tied for the fifth-most in the league along with Dallas while Cincinnati also gives up 326.8 yards per game, tied with Kansas City for 15th.
The third game of that stretch will be the first meeting between the Eagles and Giants this season. New York, as expected, have not been good offensively with Daniel Jones under center. The Giants have only averaged 15 points per game which is tied for the third-fewest with Jacksonville. The lone bright spot so far offensively for the Giants is rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers who leads the NFL with 35 catches and tied for 2nd with 386 yards through the first four games of the season.
The Giants defense has been much better than the offense, ranking 12th in both points allowed (21.0) and yards allowed (311.8). Philadelphia though, has dominated this head-to-head series, winning five of the last six meetings and outscoring the Giants 185-107 during that stretch.
Last and maybe certainly least, the Jaguars come to town with another return for Doug Pederson, if he doesn’t get fired beforehand. It has been utterly disastrous for Jacksonville this season. They have lost the first four games of the season and Trevor Lawrence has not taken the necessary steps forward to warrant being tied for the second-highest paid player in the NFL making $55 million a year. The Jaguars offense is pedestrian scoring just 15 points per game while 25th in yards per game averaging 285.5 per contest.
Defensively, it isn’t any better, yielding the third-most points per game in the NFL, surrendering 27.3 points per game this season while allowing offenses to march up and down the field, giving up 380 yard per game, also the third-most in the league.
Rest of the Way
After Week 10, the Eagles will have a tough stretch with a Week 11 battle in Dallas before coming home on short rest to take on a surging Washington team on Thursday Night Football in Week 12. Philadelphia will then close out with a game out west against the Rams, a tough game in Baltimore the week after before taking on Carolina, Pittsburgh, Washington, Dallas and New York to close out the season.
Coming into this week of action, those teams collectively have a 13-15 record with only Washington, Pittsburgh and Baltimore having winning records at the time of this writing.
Should the Eagles go 4-0 during the stretch after the bye before their date with Dallas? Perhaps. However, anything less than a 3-1 mark through those four games to be 5-3 heading into the showdown against the Cowboys would be quite head scratching and would certainly intensify the panic and the heat Sirianni is feeling as he and his staff look to right the ship through the choppy waters of the first month of the season.
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
