Welcome to 32 teams in 32 days. To get us through the offseason, we’ll be examining every team in the NFL, in order of projected 2025 win totals. Up next: the Eagles.
The Philadelphia Eagles are the kings of the football world. If they intend to remain such royalty, they’ll need to accomplish the same with less.
Not surprisingly, the Super Bowl LIX champs were hit hard with losses in free agency, including edge rusher Josh Sweat, defensive tackle Milton Williams, cornerback Darius Slay, guard Mekhi Becton and others. While the roster remains elite, the Eagles will have to compensate for those losses, primarily with some young talent such as Jalyx Hunt, Tyler Steen, Kelee Ringo and others.
Philadelphia has the benefit of playing in a relatively weak division outside of the Commanders. Still, the team will face challenges with a schedule that features the AFC West and NFC North, two divisions that combined to send six teams to the playoffs in 2024.
What’s at stake this season: Back-to-back championships
There’s nowhere to go but down for the Eagles, so maintaining their level of success would result in the ultimate achievement.
Philadelphia boasts a core of talented players including quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, linebacker Zack Baun, and cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. All are under the age of 30. With the way general manager Howie Roseman has manipulated the salary cap by utilizing void years, the Eagles could keep this group together for years to come.
Philadelphia is a clear-cut favorite to win another Super Bowl, with perhaps only the Lions seen as equals in the NFC. If the Eagles can put together another run and win a second ring in three years, they’ll start to be seen as a dynasty of their own.
Of course, the biggest challenge might be staying healthy after a season in which the Eagles largely enjoyed tremendous durability. If Philadelphia can luck out once more in that regard, it has as good a chance as anybody to be playing in Santa Clara come February.
Biggest question going into training camp: Is there enough in the passing game?
Before last season, Barkley had played 16 games only once since 2018. While he was tremendous in ’24 by rushing for 2,005 yards, the concern should be whether the Eagles have enough offensive firepower should he miss time.
While Brown and Smith are excellent, there’s minimal depth behind them and tight end Dallas Goedert has been steadily declining over the past four seasons. For all of its strengths, Philadelphia didn’t have a 3,000-yard passer last season, as Hurts had the luxury of handing off and watching Barkley run. (Hurts also missed two games.) Even a slight injury could cause issues.
Sources are saying about Hurts:
“Jalen is an elite competitor and a big-time leader. Two necessary and vital attributes in any great quarterback.” —AFC defensive coordinator
Breakout player candidate/X-factor: Nolan Smith, edge
With Sweat now playing with the Cardinals, Smith needs to become a consistent force off the edge. Last year, he racked up 6.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hits. Those are good numbers, but far from great.
The Eagles need the 2023 first-round pick to be the playoff version of himself, when he amassed four sacks in as many games, along with five quarterback hits.
Head coach-quarterback tandem ranking: 10th
The Super Bowl champs are loaded once more, and after extending Nick Sirianni this offseason, Hurts and his coach are locked in for years. The Eagles received middling play from Hurts in 2024, who threw for just 2,903 yards and 18 touchdowns, although he added another 630 yards and 14 scores on the ground with the help of the tush push. With Hurts and Sirianni, the Eagles remain A-list contenders.
Fantasy pick: Barkley regression likely
Barkley is the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for 2,000-plus yards in a season. He’ll likely be the ninth running back to see his stats fall after such a season, too. Only Eric Dickerson (1985) didn’t see a decrease of at least 113.8 points, and he scored 99.4 fewer points in ’86. Barkley also recorded 378 touches in the regular season and 400-plus combined carries in the regular and postseason, both of which have been warning signs of regression in the past. Barkley remains a fantasy first-rounder, but he’ll certainly struggle to duplicate the level of production he accomplished last season. —Michael Fabiano
Best bet: Win NFC (+360) via FanDuel
The NFC is a deep conference, with plenty of teams worthy of a wild-card spot, but in my opinion, there’s only one elite team, and it’s the Eagles. They were the only team last season to rank inside the top six in both EPA per play and opponent EPA per play and they further improved their roster this offseason. Their young defense should also be expected to take a step forward in 2025. The defending champions will be back in the Super Bowl at the end of the upcoming season. —Iain MacMillan
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 32 Teams in 32 Days: Back-to-Back Titles Would Put Eagles in Dynasty Conversation.
