In the immortal words of former Eagles quarterback Jeff Garcia – “Merry Christmas Philadelphia!” It is here. It is time. It’s been 207 days since the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans, and for the last 340 days they’ve been virtually untouchable.
The Basics: Cowboys at Eagles
- Who: Cowboys (0-0, 0-0 Away) at Eagles (0-0, 0-0 Home)
- When: Thursday 8:20 p.m. ET
- Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
- TV: NBC/Peacock
- Betting: Eagles -8.5 ; Money Line: Eagles -442, Cowboys -343
Fly Eagles Fly
Back in the 13th century the Mongols under Genghis Khan built the largest empire the world has ever seen, and one of their great secrets was training young eagles for battle. Younger birds were sharper, hungrier, and faster than older ones. They struck quicker, hunted longer, and became a weapon no army could counter. The key was catching them while they were young because once they matured, they were unstoppable. That’s the lesson staring the NFC East in the face right now. If they don’t catch the Eagles while they’re young, it’s going to be a long Super Bowl window in Philly for the NFC East and the rest of the league.
The Birds turned over some big names since they raised the Lombardi in the crescent city and are still going to trot out a pretty stalwart bunch tonight. Veterans Mekhi Becton, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Darius Slay, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are all gone, leaving behind more than 4,000 snaps of experience. But what’s left is 10 of 11 offensive starters from last year and the youngest defensive core in the NFL: Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Sydney Brown. This isn’t a rebuild, it’s a recalibration of assets built on the same principle the Mongols understood. Youth isn’t always a weakness. It can be a weapon.
Can Barkley Break The Curse?
On offense, the Birds return the best player in the league in Saquon Barkley. He’s coming off 2,504 rushing yards, the most in NFL history. But to do that he had to log 382 touches, the second most in NFL history. The problem is that history hasn’t been kind to running backs after a 2,000-yard season or 370 touches. Derrick Henry dropped to 937 after his 2,000 yard season, Jamal Lewis fell to 1,006, and Terrell Davis went from MVP to just 211 yards before suffering an injury. Only Barry Sanders stayed close with 1,491 following his 2,053 yard haul. The curse of 370 is real. It’s absolutely real. But Barkley doesn’t need to carry this offense by himself. Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert give him cover. All he has to do is provide the knockout punch from time to time. Last season he provided the haymaker eight times. Eight times he sored on touchdown bursts from 60+ yards.
Pick Your Poison
When you are good enough to be able to dictate what kind of poison to administer to your opponent, on any given Sunday, you beome an absolute nightmare to opposing defensive coordinators. That’s what this Eagles team represents when preparing to face them – an absolute horror show.
I’m well aware what everybody wants to know. Will they repeat as Super Bowl champions?
Here’s the deal. Not many teams have won back-to-back Super Bowls but not many teams have what the Eagles have.
The Formula
The teams that have won two in a row have all had three things in common:
- A Hall of Fame coach.
- An elite quarterback.
- A top-5 defense.
Check, check, check. It sounds simple but only the Patriots in 2003 an 2004 and the Chiefs in 2022 and 2023 have won consecutive Super Bowls this century.
Philly certainly has a coach whose on his way. Nick Sirianni is one of only three coaches in NFL history to reach two Super Bowls in his first four years as a head coach and one of only six to take his first four teams to the playoffs. His .706 winning percentage is 5th-highest in NFL history behind four Hall of Famers. Wait, who? Nick Sirianni? You mean the guy who sparred with a few of the home fans during and after the Cleveland game back in October? Then loaded up the post-game press conference with his offspring before shaving his head the next day? That Nick Sirianni? Did you happen to notice a slight change in his demeanor when at the podium these days? He used to struggle a bit from the pulpit before becoming a world champion head coach. But his tone now has an air of swagger to it as if to say “This is what we’re doing and I really don’t give a fu*k what any of you think.” Personally I love it. Sirianni was asked a couple days ago about the World Championship banner that will be unveiled at the Linc before tonight’s game. This was his response.
“I didn’t know it was banner night. We won’t be out for that.”
As for the Birds’ man in the arena, Jalen Hurts is one of only six active quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl and one of only three to play in two. He’s the most accurate quarterback in Super Bowl history at 73 percent, and he’s only the third quarterback to win six playoff games before his 27th birthday. But probably the biggest intangible Hurts has that no one else does is that when he goes up against the modern day G.O.A.T., Patrick Mahomes, guess which one blinks. Hint: it’s not Hurts (btw If Mahomes is today’s G.O.A.T why did he fall to me in the 6th round of my fantasy draft laast night?).
The defending champs certainly have the defense in place to run it back. They were no. 1 in the NFL last year and even with some key losses, are still absolutely loaded with Jalen Carter, Zack Baun, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Jordan Davis, Jihaad Campbell, Reed Blankenship and Moro Ojomo all coached under the auspices of one of the best defensive coordinators ever in Vic Fangio.
They have it all and they know how to win.
The Birds are 43-13 since the middle of the 2021 season. That’s 13 losses since November of 2021. Think about that for a moment – and one was a meaningless loss to the Cowboys with the subs on the final day of the 2021 season. They’ve only lost one game in the last 340 days as well, a last second loss to the Commaders, on the road, in a game that saw Hurts get knocked out in the first quarter.
Philly is Special
In a word this team is “special” and there’s something special going on here with this team, these coaches, this G.M., this owner. The roster runneth over with supremely talented players and the coach has built a championship culture with a grinder’s mentality.
Yes, their schedule is tough. Philly has 4th-hardest in the NFL. The Eagles play 11 teams that made the playoffs last year. They don’t have any back-to-back home games for the first time ever for a defending champion and a few key injuries can derail any season.
But I look around the NFC and only see a few teams that can seriously challenge the Eagles.
The Lions? They were the No. 1 seed last year, but Jared Goff has won two playoff games in the last six years and crumbled against the Commanders last year at home. The Commanders are coming off a big year but they’re also the oldest team in the NFL and weren’t exactly competitive in the NFC Championship Game. Six of their wins last year were fourth quarter comebacks which is a credit to their star quarterback Jayden Daniels but it isn’t sustainable. The Packers? They still have Jordan Love the last time I checked and the Rams are still 13 yards shy of their best chance of winning a Super Bowl with an injured 37-year old Matt Stafford. As for the Vikings? Are you serious? They got rid of a quarterback who won 14 games for them in lieu of a guy who hasn’t thrown an NFL pass yet. The Bucs? They certainly seem to own the Eagles in the postseason, but those days are over for Baker Mayfield and company.
The Eagles are the best team in football on paper. They know how to get to Super Bowls and they know how to win Super Bowls. But games as we know aren’t won on paper. In any championship season there is a veritable plthora of things that need to go right. They did last year.
This is a team that’s not just loaded with talent, it’s a team that talks like they’re still hungry, motivated, determined and focused. There hasn’t been one sign of satisfaction or contentment this summer after last year’s championship parade. They seem obsessed with doing it again like the rest of Eagles Nation is and to accomplish anything worth accomplishing, you HAVE to be obsessed.
They’ve got the players, the coaches, the front office and the formula. They also have the motive and the opportunity. Last year the journey began in a far off galaxy, a continent away. This year the journey begins tonight at the Linc – 8:20 kickoff versus everybody’s favorite villain, the Dallas Cowboys. The same team they beat by combined score of 75-13 last year. But that was last year. In a few hours there will be no more hype, no more speculation and no more historical perspectives. At 8:20 it becomes just another football game, the first of 20 or 21 if the champs do this thing right.
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