{"id":24117,"date":"2023-07-31T20:23:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T00:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=24117"},"modified":"2023-07-31T20:23:24","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T00:23:24","slug":"taking-stock-philadelphia-eagles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/taking-stock-philadelphia-eagles\/","title":{"rendered":"TAKING STOCK: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopes were high for the Philadelphia Eagles after a solid first year under head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was anointed the permanent starter once Sirianni was hired. The team made the playoffs and while they made a quick exit in the 2021-22 NFC Wild Card Round, the stage was set for something special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not sure anyone suspected what the Eagles would actually unleash. Philadelphia cruised through the NFC, in spite of being in the toughest division in the conference that sent three teams to the playoffs, won 14 regular season games, got the first-round bye and won both their playoff games, in the Divisional Round and NFC Championship, in blowout fashion to land in Super Bowl LVII.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the big game, Philly proved it belonged, nearly pulling off the upset before falling 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs after a last second field goal. The key play? A Jalen Hurts fumble in the first half that, if it hadn\u2019t happened, would have probably all but sealed the win for the Eagles. That\u2019s the kind of thing that can haunt you all offseason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picking a high point would be too tough a call. They opened the year 8-0 and saw their win streak end, as it often does, against a divisional opponent, the Washington Commanders, 32-21 on Nov. 14. Hurts was injured late in the season and the team\u2019s other two losses all came with Gardner Minshew under center. Hurts, legitimately, dropped just two games all season counting the Super Bowl. It was an MVP caliber campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hurts wrapped his 2022-23 campaign with a 14-1 regular season record, completing 66.5 percent of his passes for 3.701 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns and, teamed with his offensive coordinator and line, to create a short yardage offense that no one could stop. You want to write something like \u201call but unstoppable,\u201d but that would be a lie. Not a single defense in the NFL in 2022, with Hurts at quarterback, could stop the Eagles with a yard to go. And, even now an offseason later, I have no idea where a team would even begin to figure out how to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns. Freshly acquired wide receiver AJ Brown, from the Tennessee Titans, caught 88 passes for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns. He probably wasn\u2019t too sad he was traded and you can see why the guy that traded him, Titans general manager John Robinson, is currently unemployed. DeVonta Smith caught 95 passes for 1,196y yards and seven scores. Four Eagles finished with double digit sacks, led by Haason Reddick\u2019s 16. Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham all recorded 11. So that\u2019s 49 sacks between four guys. Uh, that is not bad. Oh, the next guy? Fletcher Cox with seven sacks. That\u2019s not a bad drop off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TJ Edwards had 159 tackles with 10 for a loss, two sacks, seven passes defended and a fumble recovery. CJ Gardner-Johnson, now with the Detroit Lions, had six interceptions with eight passes defended, one sack, 67 tackles and five tackles for a loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022-23 Record:<\/strong> 14-3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playoffs:<\/strong> Lost Super Bowl LVII to the Kansas City Chiefs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 Super Bowl Odds:<\/strong> +700<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 NFC Championship Odds:<\/strong> +300<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 NFC East Odds:<\/strong> -125<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOW WHAT?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, as with any team that makes it to the Super Bowl, win or lose, the team was raided of its free agents and its coaching staff. Both coordinators have gone on to head coaching gigs, with offensive coordinator Shane Steichen getting the open job with the Indianapolis Colts and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon taking over the Arizona Cardinals. Miles Sanders is gone, as is CJ Gardner-Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the Chiefs, this is a team that could, realistically, beat every single team on its schedule<\/a>. Philly won\u2019t go 17-0, but 14-3 is certainly possible again. Where might they stumble? Your division opponents will always be able to get you once. I don\u2019t see the Commanders being the team this year, but a loss to the Dallas Cowboys or New York Giants is on the table. After that, they play at the Los Angeles Rams, who should be healthy (and surprise a lot of doubters) on Oct. 8, at the New York Jets with Aaron Rodgers on Oct. 15, at the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 20 and they host the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 3. Will they lose all those games? Probably not, but even if they did and drop a division game, that\u2019s still a 12-5 finish and an NFC East crown. I feel 13 wins with this team at a minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eagles remain the team to beat in the NFC, barring the catastrophic injuries that derailed the Rams, who were in the same position a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DRAFT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the rest of the NFC was hoping that the Eagles wouldn\u2019t get better this offseason, I hate to break it to you. They aced the draft once again, earning an \u201cA\u201d grade<\/a> thanks to nabbing Jalen Carter, defensive tackle from Georgia and one of the best players in the entire draft, with their opening first round pick. With their second first rounder, they took his teammate, edge rusher Nolan Smith. In the third, they selected Alabama offensive tackle Tyler Steen, then took defensive back Sydney Brown from Illinois in the same round. The fourth? How about cornerback Kelee Ringo, again from Georgia, who had a first-round grade? It\u2019s ridiculous that a Super Bowl team was able to add that much talent in the draft after they made it to the dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FREE AGENCY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is expected with any team that makes it to the final boss, Philadelphia was raided of its free agents. And since Hurts needed a new contract, there wasn\u2019t a ton of money to toss around to add players outside the draft. As such, Philly\u2019s free agent class is small, as they added safety Terrell Edmunds from the Pittsburgh Steelers, safety Justin Evans from the New Orleans Saints, cornerback Greedy Williams from the Cleveland Browns, running back Rashaad Penny from the Seattle Seahawks, defensive end Kentavius Street from the Saints, wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus from the Atlanta Falcons, tight end Dan Arnold from the Jacksonville Jaguars, offensive tackle Dennis Kelly from the Colts and outside linebacker Nicholas Morrow from the Chicago Bears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFC EAST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t handwave injuries knocking a team from its trajectory. It happened to the Rams last year and could happen to both the Eagles and Chiefs in this one. But you can\u2019t pick winners based on that and, there\u2019s no question that Philadelphia is the best team in the NFC East and should repeat as champions at worst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter <\/em>@TheFirstMan<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with us our socials on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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