In 2023 the Eagles started hot and were one of the best teams in the league. They started the season with a five-game win streak that was ended by Zach Wilson and the Jets in week six. Before that game, the Eagles were 12-0 all-time against the Jets. Philly bounced back with another five-game win streak, including two huge wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, giving them all the momentum they needed.
After those two wins, they had a highly anticipated matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Deebo Samuel and company disregarded any momentum Philly had and destroyed the Birds 42-19. The next week division rival Dallas Cowboys also put a whooping on the Eagles winning 33-13. The rest of the season was downhill with the Eagles losing five of their last six games and barely making the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The main reason for Philly's disaster second half of the season was due to poor coaching from OC Brian Johnson and DC Sean Desai. Both were relieved of their duties and replaced. Vic Fangio left Miami to return home to Philadelphia and become their new DC. Former Cowboys OC, Kellen Moore, will now be calling plays for Hurts and the Eagles' offense. The Eagles also addressed many positions of need and look much stronger heading into 2024.
2024 Philadelphia Eagles
Coaching Staff and Front Office Personnel
- Head Coach: Nick Sirianni (Fourth Year as Eagles Head Coach)
- Offensive Coordinator: Kellen Moore (First Year as Eagles OC)
- Defensive Coordinator: Vic Fangio (First Year as Eagles DC)
- Special Teams Coordinator: Michael Clay (Fourth Year as Eagles STC)
- Notable Assistant Coaches: Jeff Stoutland (O-Line coach/Run Game Coordinator), Kevin Patullo (Associate Head Coach/Pass Game Coordinator), Clint Hurtt (Defensive Line Coach), Roy Anderson (Defensive Back Coach), Dough Nussmeier (Quarterbacks Coach), Aaron Moorehead (Wide Receivers Coach), Jason Michael (Tight Ends Coach), Bobby King (Inside Line Backers Coach), Jeremiah Washburn (Outside Line Backers/Defensive Ends Coach)
-General Manager: Howie Roseman (14th Year as General Manager)
Notable Additions
-Free Agency: Saquon Barkley (RB, New York Giants), Bryce Huff (LB, New York Jets), C.J. Gardner Johnson (DB, Detroit Lions), Devin White (LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Paris Campbell (WR, Indianapolis Colts)
-Draft: Quinyon Mitchell (CB, Toledo) Cooper DeJean (DB, Iowa), Will Shipley (RB, Clemson), Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (LB, Clemson), Jalyx Hunt (OLB, Houston Christian) Johnny Wilson (WR, Florida State)
-Trades: N/A
Notable Subtractions
-Free Agents: Jack Driscoll (OT, Miami Dolphins), Sua Opeta (OG, Tampa Bay Buccaneers), D'Andre Swift (RB, Chicago Bears)
-Trades: Haason Reddick (LB, New York Jets)
-Releases: Kevin Byard (S, Chicago Bears)
-Retired: Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox
2023 Eagles Offensive Team Ranks
- 24.6 Points Per Game (7th)
- 354.4 Yards Per Game (8th)
- 225.5 Pass Yards and 128.8 Rush Yards Per Game (16th and 8th)
- 48.0% Conversion Rate on Third Down (3rd)
- 59.68% Red Zone Conversion Rate (9th)
- 28 Turnovers (7th)
2023 Eagles Defensive Team Ranks
- 25.2 Points Allowed Per Game (30th)
- 356.1 Yards Allowed Per Game (26th)
- 252.7 Pass Yards and 103.4 Rush Yards Allowed Per Game (31st and 10th)
- 46.4% Conversion Rate Allowed on Third Down (31st)
- 65% Red Zone Conversion Rate Allowed (29th)
- 18 Takeaways (t-23rd)
Creative Play Calling
One area the Eagles NEED to improve from last season is play calling. The Birds have two elite wide receivers, a dual-threat QB, and now a top-five running back in the league and three running backs who can contribute in the passing game as well. Any time the Eagles ran a screen pass play last season the defense sniffed it out immediately and it was going to either Dallas Goedert or 35-year-old Julio Jones. Philly finished the season with a 10.9% pre-snap motion rate, the lowest in the league, and was a whopping 11% below the NFL average.
Luckily new Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore has used pre-snap motions regularly during his time in Dallas and Los Angeles. Last season with Moore, the Chargers offense had a pre-snap motion rate of 25.9% which ranked eighth in the NFL. The Eagles also ran close to no routes inside the numbers and ranked 22nd in usage of the slant route. When they did use it though, they ranked 7th in success. The Birds were also first in success on curl routes but ranked 28th in usage. AJ Brown is one of the best receivers after the catch but got almost no opportunities to display it last season.
In 2023 the Miami Dolphins ran pre-snap motions on 68.2% of plays and it led to them having one of the best statical offenses in the league. They had the most yards per game and Tua Tagovailoa led the league in passing yards. They also had a 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers including the league's leading receiver Tyreek Hill. The Eagles have a better QB, RB, TE, O-Line, and arguably WR core than Miami. If they implement the pre-snap motion even half as much as Miami they could replicate that success.
Nick Sirianni Needs to Stay Away From Play Calling
Nick Sirianni debuted as the Eagles head coach in 2021 and it didn't take long for their fans to call for him to be fired. Nick wanted control of the offense but refused to run the ball. It got to the point his own mother was texting him and telling him to run the ball. Once he listened and handed off the play calling the Eagles ended the season strong and ended up making the playoffs and having one of the best running attacks in the league. Who woulda thought?
In 2022 Nick seemed to stay away from play calling and the Eagles had one of the best offenses in the league. Miles Sanders had 1,269 rushing yards averaging 5 yards per carry, and Hurts had 4,461 total yards and 35 touchdowns. The Eagles had two 1,000-yard receivers for the first time in franchise history and they were second in the league in points per game.
Last season Brian Johnson took all the blame for the Eagles' stale offense despite Sirianni being the main issue yet again. Nick would override Johnson's play calls but it took until Week 8 against the Washington Commanders for it to be brought up, when Johnson wanted to call a pass play on 3rd and 11, but Sirianni told him to call a run.
“Nick is the head coach, and if he wants us to run something, our job is to play to his vision and how we attack defenses,” Johnson said.
If the Eagles want to be successful, the play-calling needs to lie with Kellen Moore alone.
Aggressive Defense
The Eagles' defense is best when it's aggressive, and we saw that on full display in 2022. Philly had four players with 10+ sacks and led the league with 70 sacks which is just two shy of tying the NFL single-season record. They also had 17 interceptions and allowed the least pass yards per game in the NFL. CJ Gardner Johnson was tied for most interceptions in the league despite missing most of the season.
In 2023 Sean Desai played arguably the SOFTEST defense I'd ever seen. Philadelphia sent no pressure and played zone coverage more often than not. It felt like they were sending out a prevent defense on every third down as well. They had only one player over 10 sacks, had 43 as a team, and had only nine interceptions. When the Eagles did blitz all it did was open up the offense for their opponents due to the secondary not pressing receivers and playing zone coverage.
Philadelphia's new Defensive Coordinator, Vic Fangio, is much more experienced and knowledgeable than Desai and will be a huge upgrade. Fangio blitzes when necessary, but sends pressure consistently. The more the Birds d-line gets to opposing QBs, the more it helps the secondary that is coming off a lackluster year. Last year Fangio was the DC for Miami, who had a franchise record 56 sacks which ranked third in the league.
Improved Secondary
If you watched a single Philadelphia Eagles game last season, chances are you know just how bad that secondary was. Philly had a passer rating allowed of 356.1 which ranked 26th in the league. They allowed the second-most passing touchdowns with 35 and the fifth-most passing yards, allowing 4,551 on the season. Not only did they allow opposing QBs to air the ball out, but they didn't even get the ball back for their offense. They were tied for the third least interceptions in the league.
One bright spot in the secondary was the performance of Kelee Ringo late in the season. He could have a breakout season if given opportunities, and Eli "pick six" Ricks is also a breakout candidate. Not to mention the Eagles' first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell from Toledo. In his final season in college, Mitchell allowed 43% of passes that went his way to be caught for only 290 yards and allowed zero touchdowns on the season, while totaling 18 passes defended. He's played both on the inside and outside and has been progressing nicely. Multiple Eagles veterans have had nothing but good things to say about him all camp and pre-season, including CB1 Darius Slay.
The Eagles also used their second-round pick on a DB in Cooper DeJean out of Iowa. DeJean can play corner, nickel, and safety and has said he's willing to play wherever Vic Fangio puts him. DeJean could be the Swiss army knife for this reconstructed secondary. Another name that a lot of people are glancing over is Isaiah Rodgers Jr. who was on the team most of last season but was suspended for the entirety of it due to gambling. When he was last on the field he was named the most underrated CB in the league by PFF and had a rating of 82.1. CJ Gardner Johnson returned to the Eagles and is another player who can play Safety or Nickel. This secondary, on paper, is much improved and with Vic Fangio calling plays, it should be successful.
The Eagles Need to WIN, Not Just Get By
In 2022 the Eagles were blowing teams out and leaving no doubt as to how good they are. They had a point differential of 7.82, compared to the 0.29 point differential in 2023. Seven of the Birds 10 wins were come from behind victories. The way the Eagles were winning games wasn't sustainable, and that became more than evident when the Birds' schedules got harder and they started getting blown out which led to them losing games they had no business losing.
I'm not saying the Eagles need to win every game by 10+ points, but if you're winning games by three points consistently, you're simply just getting by. Many say "A win is a win", but those wins become losses quickly if you don't fix it. With all the new faces, and new coordinators the first few weeks will probably be closer than they should be, but with the Eagles now having one of the best rosters in the league, there's no reason they shouldn't be winning games by 7+ points on average.
The Bottom Line
The Eagles had as close to a perfect off-season as they could. They addressed almost every position of need, improved their already good receiving core, and any player they lost, they replaced. They also brought in two coordinators that should fit right in. If they keep offensive play-calling creative, defensive play-calling aggressive, and keep Nick Sirianni OUT of play calling we could see the Eagles spar right back to the Super Bowl.
Defined Eagles Strengths
-One of the best receiving duos/cores in the league
-Experienced and talented Coordinators
-A hungry Jalen Hurts
-Stacked defensive line
Defined Eagles Weaknesses
-May take time to adjust to all the new faces
-Shaky LB core
-First season without Jason Kelce since 2011
-Nick Sirianni still questionable as Head Coach
Eagles Seasonal Outlook
Record Ceiling: 15-2
Record Floor: 11-6
NFC East Finishing Position Prediction: 1st
Team MVP: Jalen Hurts
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