A little over a month ago, as the Eagles were coming off the bye and a close win over the Browns, there was panic around the city. The head coach was a “clown” according to multiple talking heads in the National Media, and the offense was underperforming. Now they are 7-2, with 5 straight wins. They sit atop the NFC East, and the top seed in the NFC is in arms reach. They are also top 10 in both offense and defense.

Yes, it was the Cowboys. Yes, the Cowboys are terrible. Yes, it was Cooper Rush and later Trey Lance. Yes, all of the teams they have beaten in these 5 weeks have had losing records. Those are all important bits of context.

Related: Eagles Roll Over Cowboys To Take Over 1st Place In NFC East

(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

But don’t let that context distract you from the reality of how good this team has looked. Even against losing teams, there are so many takeaways from those 5 games that tell the story of a team ready to contend. They are doing things we saw them do in 2022, but never saw last season. There might still be lingering doubt because of the 2023 season, but this team is not like that team.

For one, they did not beat up on bad teams last year. They lost to the Jets, Cardinals, Giants (with a backup), and Seahawks (with a backup), but then pulled out close wins over the Dolphins, Chiefs, Bills, and Cowboys. The comparison doesn’t fit. Last year’s team never beat up on the teams they were supposed to, and the defense or offense never looked like this.

So what should we take away from this team. Both in their win over the Cowboys and in the 4 wins prior to that. Just how real are the impressive numbers coming out of these games? Are they back to being a real contender?

These 6 Numbers Tell The Story Of Why You Should Be Excited About The Eagles:

• 13

  The biggest difference so far this season has been the defense. They went from a defense that was old and slow, to one that is among the youngest and fastest in the league. We will get into some of the individual accomplishments in a bit, but first, let’s look them as a unit.

  In these last 5 games, they are 1st in both points allowed per game (13), and yards allowed per game (200.8). Now you might be thinking so what, look at how they have played. So let’s actually look at who they have played, and how those teams have played against other defenses in these past 5 games.

  Dylan MacKinnon on X (formerly Twitter): "Bengals- 17 points/ 280 yards vs Eagles, 28.3 points and 342.5 yards vs everyone elseJaguars- 23 points/ 215 yards vs Eagles, 20.5 points and 293.8 yards vs everyone elseCowboys- 6 points/ 146 yards vs Eagles, 18 points and 307 yards vs everyone else / X"

  Bengals- 17 points/ 280 yards vs Eagles, 28.3 points and 342.5 yards vs everyone elseJaguars- 23 points/ 215 yards vs Eagles, 20.5 points and 293.8 yards vs everyone elseCowboys- 6 points/ 146 yards vs Eagles, 18 points and 307 yards vs everyone else

  That is while counting the 7 points for the Browns that came off a blocked FG return, and the 7 points for the Jags that came off a “fumble” return. Yes they have played bad teams, but they have done better against those teams than anyone else. And the Bengals may have a bad record, but they are still a top 10 0ffense. Don;t discount this defense just because of who they have played.

• 6

  Cee Dee Lamb is one of the best WRs in the league. Sure he had Cooper Rush throwing to him, but shutting him down is still no simple feat. He put up decent numbers with Cooper Rush throwing to him in the past. But he put up just 21 yards yesterday. To be specific, when he was covered by either Quinyon Mitchell or Cooper DeJean, he had just 6 yards. 

  The Eagles have a dynamic pair of young corners now. Quinyon held Ja’Marr Chase to just 16 yards a few weeks ago. teams have stopped even throwing his way because he has his side of the field so locked down. DeJean isn’t just shutting his WR down, he continues to make impressive open-field tackles. We remember the tackle on 4th down against Chase, well he made a similar play this week against Lamb, albiet not in as big of a situation.

  These two aren’t just good for rookies, they have been 2 of the best corners in the league the past 5 games. Oh, and they have them on rookie deals for the next 4 seasons. That is a reason to be excited not just for this year, but for the future.

  Brenden Deeg on X (formerly Twitter): "Quinyon Mitchell's last 5 games in coverage combined: - 19 targets- 9 catches allowed- 87 yards allowed- 0 TDs- 60 passer rating allowedIt's time to put the rookie in the All-Pro discussion. He's been incredible. pic.twitter.com/xiO9i6RboW / X"

  Quinyon Mitchell's last 5 games in coverage combined: - 19 targets- 9 catches allowed- 87 yards allowed- 0 TDs- 60 passer rating allowedIt's time to put the rookie in the All-Pro discussion. He's been incredible. pic.twitter.com/xiO9i6RboW

• 102.4

  I saw a few people say Jalen Hurts can’t throw a deep ball after he missed Devonta Smith deep with an underthrown pass. So I wanted to give this piece of information just to show how wrong that is. Not only he is great at throwing the deep ball, he is one of the best in the league. His 102.4 QB rating on throws 20+ yards downfield is better than Josh Allen (69.3), Patrick Mahomes (81.9), Jared Goff (93.8), CJ Stroud (62.1), and Joe Burrow (97). It puts him top 5 in the NFL, and he throws the deep ball more often than most QBs with a league-leading 9 throws of at least 40 yards.

  He struggled with the deep ball early in his career, but in the last 3 seasons, few players have thrown it better. He came back later in that same game and threw a perfect 44-yard bomb to AJ Brown.

  NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "Jalen Hurts dropping it in the 🪣 for A.J. Brown for 44 yards!📺: #PHIvsDAL on CBS/Paramount+📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/W63N4YcbCu / X"

  Jalen Hurts dropping it in the 🪣 for A.J. Brown for 44 yards!📺: #PHIvsDAL on CBS/Paramount+📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/W63N4YcbCu

• 67

  A stop is any run play that is considered successful for the defense. What that actually means varies from situation to situation, but basically, the defense won that play. Last year the Eagles LBs in 17 games had a combined 67 stops between 6 different linebackers. This year, in 9 games, Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun have 67 combined Stops. 

  The Eagles LB group has made such a big leap this year. From being one of the worst vs both the run and the pass to being among the best vs both. They consistently grade out as two of the best LBs every week, especially Baun. You keep seeing them make plays on both sides of the field, whereas last year we saw the LBs either whiffing or getting run over, if they were there to make the play at all.

  Dylan MacKinnon on X (formerly Twitter): "So last year the Eagles LB group, Dean, Morrow, Cunningham, Leonard, etc, had 67 combined Stops in 17 games. This season, in just 9 games, Dean and Baun already have 67 Stops. Its impossible to undersell how much better the Eagles LBs have been / X"

  So last year the Eagles LB group, Dean, Morrow, Cunningham, Leonard, etc, had 67 combined Stops in 17 games. This season, in just 9 games, Dean and Baun already have 67 Stops. Its impossible to undersell how much better the Eagles LBs have been

• 3.6

  From the start of last season, through to week 7 this season, no team had fewer takeaways than the Eagles. In a 21-game stretch, they had just 12 takeaways. Per Rueben Frank, they are on the 3rd team in history to do that.

  Since then, they have been forcing them left and right. 3 takeaways against the Bengals, 3 vs the Jaguars, and 5 this week vs the Cowboys. That is 11 takeaways in a 3-game span, 3.6 per game. Vic Fangio noted before this span that the team needed to improve in that area. Championship defenses force turnovers.

  Go back and look at the least 10 Super Bowl winners, you will notice nearly all of them were in the top 10 for takeaways. Them turning this around is a massive deal. By the way, since we were talking about Baun already, it is worth noting he forced 2 of the Cowboys fumbles.

  NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "The ball is fumbled into the end zone! @Eagles recover!📺: #PHIvsDAL on CBS/Paramount+📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/NUsE5hK67m / X"

  The ball is fumbled into the end zone! @Eagles recover!📺: #PHIvsDAL on CBS/Paramount+📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/NUsE5hK67m

   

• 3.33

  D’Andre Swift was a nice back for them last year. He hit the holes when they opened, and was near the top of the league in yards before contact. But yards before contact has a lot to do with what the O-Line is doing. It takes a decent RB to take advantage of that, but what separates good backs from great ones is what they do after contact.

  Well in 17 games Swift had 582 yards after contact. Saquon Barkley, in 9 games, already has 570, including 3.3 per carry. He shares the league lead with Derrick Henry.

  In the last 2 years, the Eagles had backs good enough to win when the O-Line one. But Barkley has the experience running behind a bad line, and he knows how to win without that help.  Barkley is among the best backs in the league. His presence has made a massive difference for this offense, which continues to be among the best in the league ever since AJ Brown returned.

  Shane Haff on X (formerly Twitter): "Saquon Barkley is just absurd pic.twitter.com/iHO5qhD8le / X"

  Saquon Barkley is just absurd pic.twitter.com/iHO5qhD8le

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