6 Numbers That Tell The Story of The Eagles Heading Into the Bye Week

Has everything been pretty for the Eagles this season? No. There are genuine flaws on this team that are 100% fair to knock. That includes a secondary that has been ripped apart in the past two weeks (though they looked good vs Miami). But let's put all of that into perspective. They are 8-1 and just beat their only competition in the NFC East. The Eagles head into the bye week having beaten the Cowboys 28-23 to go up 2.5 games in the division.

This Eagles team is in a great position. They are the only 8-win team in the entire NFL. Everyone else has at least 2 losses, and many have 3. And while we hyper-focus on the Eagles' flaws, all of these other teams have flaws too. The 49ers defense got beat up in the past 3 games, and Brock Purdy has developed a nasty turnover habit. The Chiefs offense seems less explosive than it has in the past. The Bills are a mess. And they just beat the Cowboys. Even the Ravens, who have at times looked unbeatable, had 2 embarrassing losses. No one is perfect this season.

So for once, can we just appreciate the things going well? This Eagles team, despite the flaws, is the best team in the league. The record shows that, and how every team has looked shows that.

They aren't as perfect as they looked at this point last year. But we saw that perfection go away in the Super Bowl where the Eagles D couldn't get a single stop in the 2nd half. The important thing is this is a team with a very good chance of being there at the end, and as good of a chance as anyone else at winning it once they get there. Don't believe me? Let's look at the facts.

Jalen Hurts is injured. But if you just looked at his performance throwing the ball from the pocket, you may not notice. Hurts now has 3 straight games with at least 200 yards, at least a 74% completion rate, and multiple TDs. The running part of his game is clearly limited. But he is passing the ball as well as anyone in the game right now. That TD pass to Devonta Smith was a thing of beauty. Hurts has himself back in the MVP discussion, and people can’t even accuse him of being a run-first QB anymore because he isnt running that much.

Remember when Red Zone Offense was a major issue for this team? They scored TDs on all 3 Red Zone Trips, and have scored TDs on 11 of their last 17 Red Zone trips. That’s a success rate of 64.7%. That would be 7th in the league. They seemed to have figured something out in the Red Zone after struggling to punch the ball in over the first 5 games.

There has been so much talk about Brian Johnson, and how he is not doing a good enough job. Do I love all of his play calls? No. But the simple fact is, this Eagles offense is still in the top 10 of every offensive metric. Including points, where they are 2nd with 28 per game. They just put up 28 on a Cowboys defense that went into the game 4th in the league in points allowed. So if this is the Eagles offense underperforming, I can’t wait to see how they play if they figure it out. Yes, there are legitimate complaints, but if they are scoring points on a great defense, does it matter?

The Eagles defense has had issues. The secondary needs to be much better. But there is still one thing the Eagles do as well as anyone, and that is get after the QB. Haason Reddick had 7 Pressures, and Josh Sweat had 6 in week 9 vs the Cowboys. That brings Reddick up to 43 on the season, and Sweat up to 50. Both are top 5 in the league, and Sweat is tied with Micah Parsons for the most in the league. 93 total pressures between your two primary edge rushers, plus all the production they are getting from the interior. This D-Line is still elite, and perhaps the best in the league.

There has been endless talk about how hard the Eagles' schedule is. And yes they do have to play the Chiefs, the Niners, the Cowboys in Dallas, the Seahawks in Seattle, and the Bills. But then they get the Giants twice and the Cardinals. The record of those teams is a combined 32-37 (.464).

Meanwhile, the Cowboys' schedule might actually be harder. They have the Giants again, but then also the Commanders twice, the Eagles again, the Seahawks, the Lions, the Bills in Buffalo, and the Dolphins in Miami. Those teams have a combined record of 41-37 (.526). The Cowboys' schedule, while maybe less top-heavy, is objectively harder than the Eagles. And the Eagles have a 2.5-game lead. They are in a great position to win the Division.

Thank you to Brandon Lee Gowton for pointing this one out on Twitter. Every time the Eagles have started 8-1, they either made or won the Super Bowl. That includes two seasons in the Pre-Super Bowl Era where they won the NFL Championship. Does that them a lock to make it this year? No. But it puts into perspective just how good of a place they are in right now. The road is clear for them to win the division and the conference. And once they do that, their path to the Super Bowl becomes far clearer as well.