It’s been a long offseason, and there’s still 111 Days until kickoff.
But we finally know where and when the Eagles will be during the 2024 season.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS@Ticketmaster | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/Pgk6pp2QmU
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 16, 2024
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We already knew that the Birds would open their season in Brazil. “Hosting” the Packers for their international season opener. It wouldn’t be until the following week they play back in the US. Opening Lincoln Financial Field against a Kirk Cousins led team, in a primetime game, during Week 2, for the 3rd straight season.
2023 Compared To 2024
After a 2022 season that saw the Eagles return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2017, nobody expected them to end their 10-1 season by going 1-5 to end the year. With a pitiful blow out in the wildcard round. Now the Eagles will look to make another push for Super Bowl LIX after an offseason filled with free agent signings and a successful draft class.
Strength Of Schedule
Last season, the Eagles entered with the highest strength of schedule (SoS) in the League. Their opponents had a combined win% of .566. The 4 teams behind that were:
Dolphins .554%
Patriots, Cowboys & Giants .549%
The Falcons held the lowest SoS in the league last season, with a whopping .417%.
Entering the 2024 season, the Eagles Strength of schedule is .491%, tied for 21st in the league with the Colts and Titans.
While the Browns (.547%) and the Falcons & Saints (.453%) round out the top and bottom of the league.
It may sound like the Eagles schedule got easier, but don’t let the strength of schedule fool you. Multiple teams featured in the Eagles schedule played several Quarterbacks throughout the season. Whether it was injury or dedication to a tank. These are the teams who might’ve had their season derailed by QB play last year.
- Falcons(7-10): Desmond Ridder / Taylor Heinicke
- Browns(11-6): DeShaun Watson / Jeff Driskel / Joe Flacco / P.J. Walker / Dorian Thompson-Robinson
- Giants (6-11): Daniel Jones / Tyrod Taylor / Tommy DeVito
- Bengals(9-8): Joe Burrow / Jake Browning
- Steelers(10-7): Kenny Pickett / Mitch Trubisky / Mason Rudolph
Playing five teams who were missing their starting Quarterback (or worse) certainly impacted these records. And 3 of those teams finished above .500%.
Even though the Eagles will play competitive teams throughout the year, nothing compares to ‘the gauntlet’ the Eagles went through last season.
No Gauntlet, No Problem?
The Eagles played a stretch of last season where they played a stretch of games, deemed ‘gauntlet’:
Week 9 Vs Cowboys
Week 10 BYE
Week 11 @ Chiefs
Week 12 Vs Bills
Week 13 Vs 49ers
Week 14 @ Cowboys
Week 15 @ Seahawks
They started off strong, going 3-0 t0 kick off a tough stretch against 6 straight playoff teams. The start of their unfortunate 1-5 run started against the 49ers. No matter how you want to spin the cause for the Eagles 2023 collapse. The only thing to look forward to is next season, and the lack of another gauntlet in this years schedule.
Luckily, there is no real string of difficult games across the Eagles schedule. Although anything can happen throughout the season, the most difficult parts of the schedule will be in the following chunks.
Weeks 8-10
@ Bengals
Vs Jaguars
@ Cowboys
And
Week 12 & 13
@ Rams
@ Ravens
If the Eagles are going to struggle at any point in the season, this would be the point to look out for. Which leads to a question we can’t answer “Can they compete with some of the better teams in the league?” Because they won’t see the very best (Chiefs/49ers/Lions) until the playoffs.
PHLSportsNation’s Justin Giampietro has the Eagles going 13-4 in his early season prediction. What do you think the Eagles record will be by the end of the year?
Photo Credit: Philadelphia Eagles
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