Following an already impressive offseason, we look ahead and make a few predictions about the coming Philadelphia Eagles season.
If you’ve found yourself daydreaming at work while fantasizing about 50-yard bombs from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Quez Watkins, don’t beat yourself up too badly. You aren’t alone. Everyone is excited about this Philadelphia Eagles team.
How might the rookies and new additions blend? How much fun is it going to be if all of the Georgia Bulldogs can bring some of that winning attitude to the franchise and they duplicate what we saw from them at the NCAA level?
We all tend to look further ahead. Some of us think out loud. Those roads intersect here. How about some bold predictions for the offense?
The Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line finishes with 34 sacks allowed (or fewer).
Jalen Hurts was sacked 38 times during the 2022-2023 NFL season en route to Philly tying with the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals by allowing 44 quarterback takedowns on the campaign. Only ten teams gave up more.
Some of that comes by way of opposing teams fielding some phenomenal pass rushers. Sometimes, the wounds are self-inflicted. As great as it is to have a quarterback that can work off-script, things can sometimes backfire when your O-line loses track of where the man you’re supposed to be protecting is.
Hurts has improved by leaps and bounds as a starter, and now that the team has invested so much into him financially (and seeing as how he missed time with injuries in each of his first two full seasons as QB1), job number one is keeping him upright.
Expect some of the focus to be on getting the ball out early and allowing Boston Scott, Kenneth Gainwell, Rashaad Penny, and D’Andre Swift to handle many of those ball-carrying duties that Jalen took on himself in the past. Fewer sacks, a little over two per game will be given up as a result. Here are some ideas on what that means for the offense and some early predictions that come to mind as a result.
Jalen Hurts finishes the regular season with 30 touchdown passes and 15 TDs as a runner.
Jalen Hurts threw more touchdown passes last season (22) than he did during his first full season as a starter (16). The game has most certainly slowed down for him, and it’s hard to argue that it shouldn’t be difficult for him to toss somewhere around two TDs per contest if his upswing continues.
They say a quarterback’s best friend is a good running game. Adding Rashaad Penny and D’Andre Swift will both elevate the ground attack (and Swift is also dangerous as a receiver). Expect another step forward for Hurts and even more explosion on the offensive side of the ball.
DeVonta Smith again leads the Eagles in receptions and earns his first Pro Bowl nod. A.J. Brown again leads Philly in receiving yardage and receiving TDs.
Throw this one in the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ category. Last season, despite opposing defenses walking into games versus the Philadelphia Eagles with the knowledge that they had to limit A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, no one could get that done with any consistency.
It’s Brown’s presence that increased the opportunities for Smith to get the ball thrown in his direction more often. The Slim Reaper responded, stepped up, and produced the highest reception total by a wide receiver in franchise history (95 grabs). Zach Ertz still owns the record for any player regardless of position.
A.J. Brown set the franchise record for receiving yards (1,496). He’ll again lead the team in receiving. DeVonta will again rack up more catches than everyone else and earn his first Pro Bowl nod as a result.
The Philadelphia Eagles finish with NFL’s highest rushing yards total and they do so by at least 250 yards.
Though the NFL has evolved into a league that enjoys seeing high point totals and long TD passes, there’s nothing like some bully ball. There’s beauty in watching an elite offensive line once it gets rolling and seeing your team grind games out when there’s nothing the competition can do to stop them.
Watching these past two seasons has convinced us that the only thing that can stop the Philadelphia Eagles’ running game is their occasional desire to ignore it. Added weapons and a few games that we expect them to be leading in late will help spearhead another phenomenal season on the ground, They’ll finish as pro football’s top-ranked ground attack besting anyone finishing second by at least 250 yards.
There were only four teams that ended last year’s regular season with more rushing yards gained than the Philadelphia Eagles. Two qualified for the postseason, the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants. Two missed their opportunity, the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears. Atlanta, New York, and Chicago might be trailing a lot in the fourth quarter of 2023’s grind. That means they may have to throw the ball more. We’ll see what happens with Baltimore.
Either way, we expect Philadelphia to produce a higher rushing yards total than anyone else. Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Baltimore may have something to say about that though. Watch out for the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers though.
D’Andre Swift finishes with a minimum of 750 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving.
D’Andre Swift is going to make magic happen. In this offense, with Jalen Hurts joining him in the backfield and with a steady rotation at tailback and an elite offensive line, there’s a chance we could get some Edgerrin James/Marshall Faulk vibes.
Don’t compare him to those two yet. We most certainly don’t want to put any pressure on D’Andre by placing him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame too early, but we’re expecting some elite-level versatility.
Jalen Hurts, again, finishes second in MVP voting, and, again, he’s snubbed in the process.
There’s never any reason to cry over spilled milk, but why not? If Jalen Hurts didn’t prove he was the MVP last season by his play on the field, the point was most certainly driven home by what the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense looked like in his absence.
Okay, they were decent with Gardner Minshew in the lineup versus the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Eve. Hurts still got snubbed though, and now that we know he’s a star, the voters are going to make it even harder for him to take home the MVP trophy now.
Expect yet another step forward. Keep your eyes peeled for another postseason snub as well.