Stop Comparing The 2024 Eagles To The Eagles From Last Year
The Eagles 2023 season is a dark cloud that hangs over the franchise even a year later. The city saw a team start 10-1, only to win 1 more game the rest of the year, before being thoroughly crushed in the playoffs by a mediocre Bucs team.
So it is easy to understand why some fans would be a bit slow to get excited about a 7-2 start. We saw them start this well only a year ago, and it all started falling apart at around this same time. But those fears, while understandable, are unfounded. Because this 2024 Eagles team has very little in common with that 2023 team, apart from the good record over the first 10 or so weeks.
The 2023 Eagles Did Not Beat Up Bad Teams
I have seen a few people say that the Eagles schedule has been too easy, and we saw last year what happens when the schedule gets harder. But I think we remember a different 2023 season. They went 4-2 in that “Gauntlet” everyone was worried about. They beat the Chiefs, Bills, and Dolphins, and split with the Cowboys.
Before the season if you were told they would go 4-2 in that stretch, people would have thought they would win it all. But then dropped the last 2 games of that gauntlet, and they kept losing. They let Drew Lock and the Seahawks beat them. They let a 4 win Cardinals team beat them. They let the Giants with a backup QB beat them. They lost to the Jets earlier in the year.
There was no beating up on bad teams going on last year. They actually had an impressive strength of schedule and beat some very good teams. But every game was a struggle no matter who they played.
This year, the schedule is much easier, at least on paper. Their hardest game so far was week 1 vs the Packers, which they won. But they haven’t played a team with a winning record since the bye week. The difference is they are beating these teams up. The Browns game was close, but they blew out the Giants, Bengals, and Cowboys, and should have blown out the Jags if Sirianni just took the points, and there was not a bogus “fumble” return for a TD.
They have a point differential of +82 in this span. So far this year they have the 4th best point differential in the league. Even when they were 10-1 last year, their point differential was middle of the pack.
The two seasons are not alike in how they played out to this point at all. In fact, they have more in common with 2022 and 2017. In those seasons, the Eagles had what people called an easy schedule. But they kept beating those “easy teams” on the road to the Super Bowl.
The Talent Is Better
Do you know what else makes this different? Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper Dejean, Zack Baun, a healthy Nakobe Dean, and a more seasoned Jalen Carter. The leap from James Bradberry and whoever they ran out in the slot last season, to Mitchell and DeJean, is astronomical. The gap between the linebackers last year, and this year, is astronomical.
Last year, the 6 guys who had snaps at LB combined for 67 stops over 17 games. A stop is any play in the run game that is considered a win for the defense, meaning you stopped them either for no gain, or a minimal gain. This year Dean and Baun have already reached 67 stops in just 9 games. Baun alone is on track to pass all of the Eagles linebackers from last year.
Mitchell and DeJean have given up for just 176 yards combined over the last 5 games. 35.6 yards per game, and no TDS allowed. There were weeks where Bradberry and the slot corner combined for that in 1 game, let alone across 5 games.
The Eagles Linebackers and Secondary were both among the worst units in the league last year. Now they are among the best. And before you bring up the opponent, James Bradberry alone gave up 112 yards against Drew Lock at one point last year, including getting beat for the game-winning TD.
The Eagles defense got younger, faster, and better. Swapping out Haason Reddick for Bryce Huff hurt a bit, they are worse on the Edge this year. But every other part of the defense got better. I didn’t even have to mention the difference Saquon Barkley makes on offense, but that is pretty significant too.
The Coaches Are Better
I think Sean Desai and Brian Johnson got a bit of a raw deal last year. Desai had a terrible roster, and Johnson had Sirianni’s playbook to work with. I don’t think it is fair to blame everything on them.
But the leap from two inexperienced guys, to two Coordinators proven at this level, is pretty evident. Especially on defense. There were times last year when it looked like the defense had no clue what to do. That is poor coaching. Changing coordinators mid-season only made it worse. Now they have Vic Fangiom one of the most experienced and respected D Coordinators in the league.
The players are always in the right spot, they don’t bite on every single fake, they don’t look baffled by motion, and they finish their tackles. What we are witnessing is a well-coached defensive unit. The talent makes a massive difference and is probably more important than the jump in coaching, but that talent is also better coached than they were last year.
As for Kellen Moore, he implemented some things that actually brought the Eagles’ offense into this century. They aren’t using motion as much as Moore did in past stops, but they are using it way more than Sirianni ever allowed.
Better Doesn’t Guarantee Success
None of this is to say the Eagles are going to win it all, or even make the Super Bowl. There are other good teams, even if it feels like there are fewer good teams than usual. The Lions will be a tough out. The 49ers, despite their rocky start, could be a tough out now that CMC is back. If they make it to the Super Bowl, the Chiefs, Ravens, Bills, or whoever makes it out of the AFC, will all be tough outs.
Winning is hard. Only 1 team can do it. The point is that they are in that mix though. They were not last year. Even when they were beating the Chiefs, they did not have the feel of a Super Bowl team. This team does. They are contenders, and Tyrone Johnson talked about them being contenders this week on The Best Show Ever.
If it doesn’t happen this year, the good news is that their core, outside of Lane Johnson, is not only young but locked up long-term. The offensive group of Hurts, Barkley, Brown, and Smith have at least 2 more years left. Hurts, Brown, and Smith are here until at least 2028. The left side of the line is here for the foreseeable future. And Carter, Mitchell, and DeJean all have at least 3 more years after this. This team is not going anywhere.
But before we even think about the bright future, we should acknowledge the present is pretty bright too. Stop worrying about another Eagles collapse, and enjoy the rise. Because this team has very little in common with the one we saw last season.
Listen To Or Watch ‘The Best Show Ever?’ Live On The 97.5 The Fanatic And On NBC Sports Philly From 2 To 6 p.m. every Weekday
