This weekend at Lincoln Financial Field, the Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) host the Cleveland Browns (1-4) for an important gridiron clash of the early 2024 season. Philly looks to complete the NFC East sweep with a victory over Cleveland as Dallas, New York, and Washington have all beaten the Browns this season. Nick Sirianni can extend his post-bye week record to 4-0 by following the game plan laid out by his division rivals.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has an unblemished 3-0 record following an NFL bye week during his three seasons as the leader of the pack. However, Sirianni has yet to need a course correction with Philadelphia entering the break following a loss like this season. While social media would lead you to believe the sky is falling after the 33-16 thrashing from Tampa Bay last weekend, there is still plenty of opportunity for the 2-2 Eagles to make a run at another NFC East title.
Despite wins entering the NFL scheduling break over the last few seasons, there are still lessons to be learned by looking back at history and the Eagles’ performance under Sirianni’s leadership. Join me in the proverbial time machine and let’s review the bye week situation over the last few years in Philadelphia.
Watering A Wilting Flower in 2021
During Nick Sirianni’s first campaign leading the Eagles, Philly was under .500 with a 6-7 record following a hard-fought 33-18 road win against the New York Jets. Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew led seven straight scoring drives to power the Eagles offense to the win. Minshew threw two first-half touchdown passes to tight end Dallas Goedert before Philly leaned heavily on the run game once they led on the scoreboard.
Following the bye week, Philadelphia hosted a COVID-depleted division rival Washington team missing 5 starters. Only Landon Dickerson did not participate in the game for the Eagles due to a virus-related situation. Washington stormed out to a 10-0 lead before the Birds took control of the game in the second quarter.
The Eagles outgained Washington on the day, 519-237, as Washington struggled to get going without starting signal caller Taylor Heinicke. Despite an ankle injury, Hurts scored twice on the ground and connected with Greg Ward on a critical 19-yard TD pass to seal the game in the final frame.
Philadelphia improved to 7-7 on the season while Washington fell to 6-8. The Eagles made the postseason in Sirianni’s first year but suffered a 31-15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card round.
Eagles take care of business in 2022
In October 2022, the Philadelphia Eagles were a team to be feared before and after the bye week. Nick Sirianni’s club entered the bye with a 6-0 record following a critical 26-17 home win over the Dallas Cowboys. Never one to make things too easy, the Eagles led 20-0 before Dallas trimmed that advantage to just 3 points in the fourth quarter. However, a Chauncey Gardner-Johnson interception in the fourth quarter and a missed Brett Maher 59-yard field goal allowed the Birds to hold on for the victory.
Following the bye week, the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) could only watch as Jalen Hurts & A.J. Brown connected for three first-half touchdowns pacing Philly to a 35-13 home win to extend the unbeaten streak to 7-0. Philly would slip up in a mid-November Monday night loss to Washington before finishing the season at 14-3. Philadelphia lost a heartbreaker to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, 38-35, to finish the season.
Big Time Matchups in 2023
Last season, things seemed sunny in Philadelphia with the Eagles at 8-1 following a 28-23 win over the rival Dallas Cowboys. It was the second straight season that Sirianni was able to stun Dallas before the Eagles’ scheduled break. Not quite as rosy was the injury issue plaguing Jalen Hurts as he fought threw a knee injury to improve the Eagles record before being able to get some rest. Hurts completed 17 passes for 207 yards and 2 TDs while adding a rushing touchdown as well.
Following the rest week, the Eagles traveled to Arrowhead Stadium for a small measure of revenge against their Super Bowl opponent in a 21-17 win. Jalen Hurts completed a second-half comeback with two scoring drives ending in rushing scored by the Eagles starting QB, while K.C.’s offense was held scoreless by the Philly defense following halftime. Philadelphia improved to 9-1 on the season before dropping 6 of their final 7 games to end the year with another playoff exit to Tampa Bay in the NFC Wild Card.
2024 sprinkles in some adversity
Despite a 2-2 record and alternating wins and losses this season, the Philadelphia Eagles have entered the bye week with a very different feeling than past seasons under Nick Sirianni. If the Eagles enter Sunday healthy at the wide receiver position, the Eagles will have an opportunity to extend the head coach’s stellar undefeated post-bye week record for at least one more season. According to analytics, Philadelphia has the easiest remaining schedule of any NFL team.
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns engage in football fisticuffs at 1 pm on Sunday.
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
