This week, all week long, we’ve been taking a negative look at each of the teams in the NFC East, in detail. Today we’ll finish out the series with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Disclaimer: I typically try to go a little harder on the Eagles than the other three NFC East teams during this series, but uhhhh, they didn’t leave me with much material to go on this year. I mean, we’re talking about a team here that was beating a dynasty 40-6 in the Super Bowl. So my apologies in advance, lol.
🔥 DUMPSTER FIRE SERIES 🔥
Cowboys | Giants | Commanders
1) The Eagles put a lot of mileage on Saquon Barkley in 2024
Including the playoffs, Saquon Barkley got an astronomical 482 touches in 2024. That was the third-highest number of touches in a single season since 2000. There have been 17 players who have had 430 or more touches in a single season during that span. Here are those players, with their yards per carry during their heavy workload season, and their yards per carry in their follow-up seasons:
| Year | Player – Touches | YPC | YPC – next season |
| 2014 | DeMarco Murray – 497 | 4.7 | 3.6 📉 |
| 2000 | Eddie George – 488 | 3.7 | 3.0 📉 |
| 2006 | Larry Johnson – 475 | 4.3 | 3.5 📉 |
| 2000 | Edgerrin James – 474 | 4.4 | 4.4 (same) |
| 2003 | Ahman Green – 461 | 5.3 | 4.5 📉 |
| 2012 | Arian Foster – 460 | 4.1 | 4.5 📈 |
| 2004 | Curtis Martin – 457 | 4.6 | 3.3 📉 |
| 2002 | LaDainian Tomlinson – 451 | 4.5 | 5.3 📈 |
| 2005 | Shaun Alexander – 448 | 5.1 | 3.6 📉 |
| 2000 | Jamal Lewis – 444 | 4.4 | DNP (knee) |
| 2003 | Ricky Williams – 443 | 3.5 | DNP (retired) |
| 2006 | Steven Jackson – 436 | 4.4 | 4.2 📉 |
| 2004 | Corey Dillon – 434 | 4.7 | 3.5 📉 |
| 2018 | Ezekiel Elliott – 433 | 4.7 | 4.5 📉 |
| 2017 | Le’Veon Bell – 431 | 4.0 | DNP (contract dispute) |
| 2003 | Edgerrin James – 431 | 4.1 | 4.6 📈 |
| 2002 | Ricky Williams – 430 | 4.8 | 3.5 📉 |
Of those 17 players:
• Three had an increase in yards per carry. One remained the same.
• 10 had a decrease in yards per carry. 5 decreased by at least a full yard per carry. Three more decreased by at least a half yard per carry.
• Three guys didn’t even play the next season.
Saquon Barkley had one of the best running back seasons in NFL history in 2024. Even without the extreme workload, it was always going to be nearly impossible to match what he did. But also, the heavy workload is likely to factor into his production in 2025.
2) They also put a lot of mileage on Jalen Carter
Jalen Carter played the second-most snaps in the NFL among interior defensive linemen last season.
• Zach Allen, Broncos: 1,031
• Jalen Carter, Eagles: 1,027
• Kobie Turner, Rams: 919
There’s a 100-plus snap difference between Carter and the next guy on the list.
There were concerns about Carter’s conditioning heading into the 2024 season, but he put those to bed. However, the new concern is that overuse could compromise his effectiveness.
Carter saved the Eagles’ season with a sack and a quick pressure of Matthew Stafford at the end of the Divisional Round game against the Rams. In the Super Bowl, he was often doubled by the Chiefs’ two best offensive linemen, which allowed the Eagles’ other pass rushers to eat against the Chiefs’ other O-line tomato cans.
If anything happens to Carter, the Eagles are screwed. Their other defensive linemen:
• Jordan Davis: Huge athletic specimen, but can’t play more than two or three snaps without huffing and puffing.
• Moro Ojomo: Promising young player, but only one career sack.
• Ty Robinson: Rookie 4th round pick.
Their depth on the interior is shaky, and their edge rushers were dependent on Carter’s presence for favorable matchups last season.
3) They lost a lot of starters
The Eagles lost five defensive starters, one starter on offense, and a handful of other key contributors this offseason:
| Player | Starts | Snaps |
| iDL Milton Williams | 7 | 629 |
| EDGE Josh Sweat | 19 | 775 |
| CB Darius Slay | 18 | 898 |
| RG Mekhi Becton | 19 | 1,164 |
| S C.J. Gardner-Johnson | 20 | 1,119 |
| EDGE Brandon Graham | 1 | 311 |
| LB Oren Burks | 5 | 322 |
| CB Isaiah Rodgers | 3 | 412 |
| TOTAL | 90 | 5,630 |
They were all good players for the Eagles in 2024, and that above chart doesn’t even include Nakobe Dean, who tore a patellar tendon in the playoffs, and who Vic Fangio said won’t be returning to the field “anytime soon.”
Ojomo will have to replace Williams. Guys like Jalyx Hunt, Azeez Ojulari, and Josh Uche will have to replace Sweat and Graham. Kelee Ringo and Adoree Jackson will have to replace Slay and Rodgers. Tyler Steen or some other lineman will have to replace Becton. Sydney Brown and/or Andrew Mukuba will have to replace CJGJ. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. will have to replace Dean for however long Dean is out.
That’s a lot of question marks. Some will pan out. Some won’t, or will at least be downgrades.
But then also, there’s the trickle-down effect, in that new players will have to fill in as depth to replace some of the aforementioned depth guys moving into bigger roles.
4) They have a very hard schedule
Here are the Eagles’ 2025 opponents, with their 2024 records and point differentials:
| Week | Opponent | 2024 record | 2024 point diff |
| 1 | Cowboys | 7-10 | -118 |
| 2 | Chiefs | 15-2 | +59 |
| 3 | Rams | 10-7 | -19 |
| 4 | Buccaneers | 10-7 | +117 |
| 5 | Broncos | 10-7 | +114 |
| 6 | Giants | 3-14 | -142 |
| 7 | Vikings | 14-3 | +100 |
| 8 | Giants | 3-14 | -142 |
| 9 | (BYE) | ||
| 10 | Packers | 11-6 | +122 |
| 11 | Lions | 15-2 | +222 |
| 12 | Cowboys | 7-10 | -118 |
| 13 | Bears | 5-12 | -60 |
| 14 | Chargers | 11-6 | +101 |
| 15 | Raiders | 4-13 | -125 |
| 16 | Commanders | 12-5 | +94 |
| 17 | Bills | 13-4 | +157 |
| 18 | Commanders | 12-5 | +94 |
| TOTAL | 162-127 (0.561) | +456 |
Or, if you prefer your strength of schedule metrics to be betting odds-focused, here’s this from Deniz Selman:
Technically the Giants have the “hardest” schedule in the NFL, but that’s really only because they have to play the Eagles twice, and the Eagles get to play the Giants twice.
The NFC East teams all play each other twice, as you’re aware, and in 2025 they play the entirety of the AFC West and the NFC North. They also each have three games on their schedules that their divisional rivals don’t. The Eagles have a first-place schedule, and as such, they play first-place teams in the NFC South, the NFC West, and the AFC East. Those teams are the Buccaneers, Rams, and Bills. The NFC East teams drew the following floating opponents this year:
| Finish | NFC East team | NFCS / NFCW / AFCE opponents |
| 1st | Eagles | Buccaneers, Rams, Bills |
| 2nd | Commanders | Falcons, Seahawks, Dolphins |
| 3rd | Cowboys | Panthers, Cardinals, Jets |
| 4th | Giants | Saints, 49ers, Patriots |
The Eagles have to play a Bucs team that always seems to have their number, a Rams team that gave them their hardest game in the playoffs, and a Bills team that has won the AFC East five consecutive seasons. We’ll see what changes as the year progresses, but as of right now that trio of opponents is far harder than any of the trios the other NFC East teams have to face.
Also, the first five games of the schedule will be challenging. Four of those five opponents won 10+ games in 2024, and two of them — the Rams and Chiefs — will have revenge on their minds.
5) They start slowly
In 2024, they lost at home to the Falcons Week 2 in a game in which they got torn up by Kirk Cousins of all people. In Week 3 against the Saints they didn’t score a point until the fourth quarter. In Week 4 they got blown out by the Bucs. Even in 2023, when they actually started 5-0 they needed a drop (or he didn’t keep his feet inbounds or whatever) by Kayshon Boutte to beat the crappy Pats Week 1, and they got all kinds of lucky breaks against the Vikings Week 2.
The Eagles always point to the fact that they have won their Week 1 game in each of the four seasons Nick Sirianni has been the head coach, but that doesn’t exactly mean they have looked good doing it. The reality is that they have started slowly each of the last two seasons, partly because they have short training camp practices designed to keep players healthy for the regular season.
As noted above, the Eagles have a very difficult schedule to start the season. Their approach to training camp has worked so far, but it has potential this season to backfire.
6) Jalen Hurts has yet another new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
Hurts is entering his sixth NFL season. He will have his fifth offensive coordinator in those six years:
• 2020: Press Taylor (passing game coordinator)
• 2021: Shane Steichen
• 2022: Shane Steichen
• 2023: Brian Johnson
• 2024: Kellen Moore
• 2025: Kevin Patullo
Interestingly, the two coordinators the Eagles hired from the outside (Steichen and Moore) had enough success with the Eagles that they were able to land head coaching jobs with other teams. The two coordinators they promoted from within the organization (Taylor and Johnson) were fired after one season as the coordinator.
Patullo was promoted from within.
Hurts will also have his fifth quarterbacks coach in six seasons in 2025.
• 2020: Press Taylor
• 2021: Brian Johnson
• 2022: Brian Johnson
• 2023: Alex Tanney
• 2024: Doug Nussmeier
• 2025: Scot Loeffler
Hurts is no doubt used to the changes almost every year and has proven that he can adapt, but it’s still not ideal.
7) They had incredible injury luck in 2024
The Eagles were the second-healthiest team in the NFL in 2024, per Aaron Schatz. They only had three players who were unavailable for the Super Bowl against the Chiefs — LB Nakobe Dean, WR/RS Britain Covey, and FB Ben VanSumeren. Only Dean was a key contributor in the regular offense/defense.That’s kind of remarkable, and very likely unsustainable. (OK, so the 2022 team that also went to the Super Bowl was only missing Derek Barnett, but shut up, I don’t have a lot to work with here.)
8) The kicker
Jake Elliott is pretty safely the best kicker in Eagles franchise history, but after three stellar seasons in 2021, 2022, and 2023, he had a down year in 2024.
| Year | FGA | FGM | FG % |
| 2021 | 33 | 30 | 90.9% |
| 2022 | 23 | 20 | 87.0% |
| 2023 | 32 | 30 | 93.8% |
| 2024 | 36 | 28 | 77.8% |
He missed eight field goal attempts in 2024, the same number of misses the previous three years combined. Leading up to the Super Bowl, Elliott had missed five kicks in his previous four games and was a clear concern for the Super Bowl. (He made all eight of his kicks in the Super Bowl.)
Turns out, Elliott may have been hurt throughout the season, but he will remain a concern until he’s not.
9) There hasn’t been a repeat NFC East champion since 2004
The last time a team repeated as NFC East division winners was when the Eagles did it in 2004. In each of the last 20 seasons, we’ve seen the previous year’s division champion dethroned.
| Year | NFC East champion |
| 2004 | Eagles |
| 2005 | Giants |
| 2006 | Eagles |
| 2007 | Cowboys |
| 2008 | Giants |
| 2009 | Cowboys |
| 2010 | Eagles |
| 2011 | Giants |
| 2012 | Commanders |
| 2013 | Eagles |
| 2014 | Cowboys |
| 2015 | Commanders |
| 2016 | Cowboys |
| 2017 | Eagles |
| 2018 | Cowboys |
| 2019 | Eagles |
| 2020 | Commanders |
| 2021 | Cowboys |
| 2022 | Eagles |
| 2023 | Cowboys |
| 2024 | Eagles |
The Eagles are favorites to win the NFC East again in 2025, but so were most of the teams above that had a chance to repeat, but didn’t.
I couldn’t find preseason odds for division winners during this span of time, but pro-football-reference keeps a record of preseason Super Bowl odds for past seasons. The 2023 Eagles, 2022 Cowboys, 2018 Eagles, 2017 Cowboys, 2014 Eagles, 2011 Eagles, 2010 Cowboys, 2009 Giants, 2008 Cowboys, 2007 Eagles, and 2005 Eagles were all favored to repeat — or they had the best Super Bowl odds among the NFC East teams or whatever — but couldn’t close. If history is any indication, some team other than the Eagles will win the NFC East in 2025, even if the Eagles appear to have the best team.
10) They’re going to get everyone’s best
People hate the Eagles. Like, if you’re a fan of some other team and you’re reading this, you probably hate the Eagles, right? Well, I get the sense that a lot of teams around the league also hate the Eagles.
They tried to ban a play that only the Eagles are successful running, and they’re probably going to try to restrict the way the Eagles manipulate the salary cap at some point.
Two of the top four “biggest trash talkers” in 2024 were Eagles (Brandon Graham and C.J. Gardner-Johnson), per a poll conducted by The Athletic.
I’m sure that other general managers are sick of hearing about Howie Roseman. Philadelphians generally love “Big Dom,” but I’m sure opposing fans do not. I could go on.
But the guy that really gets under people’s skin is Nick Sirianni. After each of the Eagles’ playoff wins, we scoured the SB Nation live thread comment sections for funny comments during the game. There’s always stuff about Sirianni. For example:
• “Sirianni has the kind of face his own mother could slap.”
• “Nick Sirianni is a complete douche canoe.”
• “F*** Sirianni. Have mentioned that I hate guy?”
• “First, Damn I hate Philly. Second, I want to punch Sirianni.”
He gets into it with opposing fans, players, and coaches. Like, kinda regularly. I mean…
(Video via @JeffMcDev)
And, you know, there’s the fans, lol.
It’s probably also worth noting that the four teams they beat in the playoffs — the Packers, Rams, Commanders, and Chiefs — are all on their schedule.
In 2023, the Eagles seemed to get everyone’s best coming off a mere Super Bowl appearance. They ended up collapsing down the stretch. They’re definitely going to get everyone’s best punch in 2025.
