It’s Super Bowl Or Bust For The Philadelphia Eagles

Super Bowl or bust. That’s almost a curse when it comes to the NFL. Having expectations that lofty on the day that the Eagles take their first training camp practice might seem crazy. Or, to some, it might seem perfectly reasonable. After all, they are the defending NFC Champions, in a conference that did not spend the offseason getting much better. The path through both the division and the conference seems to be manageable, and the roster in Philly is stout. Jalen Hurts is the proud owner of a new contract that represents his franchise QB status, and a talented crop of young players seem poised to make an impact. Yes, there are a lot of reasons to think that the Philadelphia Eagles are destined for Las Vegas and Super Bowl 58.

But goals and results can be very different. There’s a long way to go for the Eagles to make good on that type of expectation. And, in fairness, only 2 teams make it to the Super Bowl. As we learned last year, only 1 can win it. So, is it fair to call this season a Super Bowl or bust year? Well, that depends on how much you think it affects the team. Sometimes, the weight of that moniker can lead to extensive pressure, pressure that even the greatest teams can feel. There have been seasons in the past where it certainly has felt like the fan base’s high expectations have weighed on the team, so could it be better to try and remain reserved when it comes to our projections for the 2023-24 Eagles?

Let’s look at some numbers to help our decision process. Just how hard is it for a team to make it back to the Super Bowl for a 2^nd straight year? Well, it actually might not be as rare of a feat as it seems. There have been 27 instances of teams going to consecutive Super Bowls, which is nearly half of the number of Super Bowls played (57). History would say that good teams have multi-year windows to compete for a championship in the NFL, and the Eagles are a GREAT team. It doesn’t mean that they’re guaranteed to go back, but it’s a surprising number of teams to go back considering how competitive the NFL can be. So, it seems fair to say that the Eagles’ goal being Super Bowl is not unrealistic.

What could stop them, then, from repeating as NFC Champs? Well, that’s still a scary list. Injuries sit at the top, with the possibility of an important player going down for a significant chunk of time constantly looming. Not to mention the Eagles are also employing new offensive and defensive coordinators heading into this season. Brian Johnson and Sean Desai have a lot on their plate, and if they aren’t up to snuff, it could end up overshadowing the strength of the roster. Some aging impact players, like Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson, and Jason Kelce, could certainly have a drop off. As talented as the birds seem right now, the NFL season has a way of making things go wrong. So maybe we shouldn’t be looking Super Bowl or bust?

Screw that. This isn’t Indianapolis, or Jacksonville, or Houston, or Carolina. We don’t play for consolation prizes in Philadelphia; we never have. Especially when it comes to the Eagles, high expectations are a way of life around here. At times, it can lead to this fan base seeming overbearing to our own players, but that’s the price of playing in one of the most passionate sports cities on the planet. I think this team is up for the challenge, and they’re going to have to be. Because like it or not, this city’s sights are already set on another trip to the big game.

Eagles training camp is a very interesting time of year for Philly fans, as the city prepares for another season. There’s a lot that we think we know heading into the team’s first action of the year, and there’s a lot still to find out. The roster looks strong, and the defending NFC Champions seem poised for another good season, but there is more to look at than just the stars. Especially in Philadelphia, it seems that every year the fan base, media, and organization fall in love with some lesser-known names that ball out in training camp.

Sometimes those guys end up never making little to no impact in the regular season (shoutout Paul Turner, the GOAT of Eagles training camp darlings), and sometimes they end up playing a big role in the team’s success in the coming year. From young players ready to take a jump in production, to some new names that might have their share of the headlines for the next couple of weeks, here are 5 potential camp darlings for the Eagles in 2023.

Bradley has carved out a nice role with the Eagles since the team selected him in the 6^th round back in 2020. Over 3 years in the NFL, the local kid has been a solid special teams player, drawing compliments from the coaching staff on that front. This year, though, is a turning point in his young career. The Eagles are once again thin at linebacker, which gives Bradley an opportunity to go into camp trying to earn more defensive snaps. Or we could find out that he is a career special teams player, and not a starting or rotational linebacker in the NFL. Whatever the result, there is an opportunity for Bradley, and that sets the stage for a guy who could become a headline in camp.

The Eagles selected Brown in the 3^rd round of this year’s draft, and the Illinois product plays another position of need for the birds – safety. Now, Howie Roseman could make a move any day and turn this into a moot point by acquiring a veteran safety, but as things stand now, Brown has a chance to compete for a starting spot in camp. With CJ Gardner-Johnson’s departure from the team this offseason, Brown could see his first NFL training camp turn him into a fan favorite if we start reading tweets from beat reporters about good performances.

Nolan Smith may be the least talked about 2023 1^st round pick in the entirety of the NFL. Jalen Carter has been the headliner grabber so far from this draft class (both good and bad), and the flurry of news about the 9^th overall pick has overshadowed his Georgia teammate to this point. Smith is a talent in his own right though, and with Brandon Graham another year older and Derek Barnett coming off a major injury, Smith living up to his 1^st round pedigree would be huge for the Eagles. The guy is an athlete, and if we start getting those “look how much of a monster this kid is” reports, Smith could become this fan base’s favorite rookie quickly.

Arguably the coolest name on this Eagles’ training camp roster, Zaccheaus spent his first 4 seasons in the league with the Falcons. He has put up a respectable 8 touchdowns in his career, and with Quez Watkins coming off a rough season and Zach Paschal leaving for Arizona, the 3^rd WR spot is definitely up in the air. Atlanta has not exactly been a good team recently, and yet Zaccheaus has 3 TDs in each of his last 2 seasons. This fan base has started to sour on Watkins, and if Zaccheaus shows out in camp, he could become the people’s choice for the new complement to AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Jurgens was basically handpicked by Jason Kelce to be his heir at the center position, but Kelce, who apparently has access to the fountain of youth, has shown no signs of needing a replacement. That sets up Jurgens to potentially replace Isaac Seumalo at guard this season and join one of the best starting offensive lines in football. This city loves Jason Kelce, and Jason Kelce seems to love Cam Jurgens. By the transitive property of fandom, then, we should all love Jurgens, right? Well, if he starts making some noise in camp, I think this fan base will latch on to Jurgens as one of the next generation of great Eagles linemen.