Closing Out 2024

I wrote about the importance of the Eagles winning the Super Bowl in my last post. So many teams have had great seasons, but disappointed when it mattered most. The Eagles were dominant in the regular season and kept that up in the postseason. Did we ever think there was a world where the Eagles would lead 34-0 or 40-6 in the Super Bowl?

2024 was a great season in a lot of ways. The Eagles had a lot of great moments on their way to winning it all. They won the first ever NFL game played in Brazil. The field was slick and sloppy. That did affect both teams, but the Eagles overcame it and won the game. The Eagles won their first game in New Orleans since September of 2002. The Superdome had been a house of horrors, with multiple playoff losses and some torturous defeats. The Eagles had never won a game in Cincinnati before last October. There were some ugly moments, particularly the 2008 tie and the 2016 defeat where the Eagles trailed 29-0. The Eagles finally broke through with a 37-17 win.

THAT’S A BAD (DE)JAWN @cdejean23 | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/ZlMCooglqv

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 27, 2024

Pittsburgh came to The Linc in search of their first ever win in Philly. Didn’t happen. The Eagles kept that streak alive with a 27-13 defeat of Mike Tomlin’s team. That game did give the Eagles their first win over Russell Wilson. He was 5-0 against the Eagles while QB of the Seahawks. Some might not think of beating him as a big deal. Wilson has tortured me since he came into the league so it was great to finally see him shut down. Wilson is with the Giants now so the Eagles have a chance to get some more wins.

The Eagles won a snow game in the playoffs. We all loved the 2013 win over the Lions, but that was a regular season game in a forgettable season. Beating the Rams in the divisional round on a snowy field was beyond cool.

FUMBLE

Jalen Carter punches it loose and Kyren Williams fumbles it! pic.twitter.com/CuBclgfQC2

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 19, 2025

You can argue that the snow helped the game to stay close. Since the Eagles won you can just sit back and enjoy the aesthetics of it. That win gave Nick Sirianni a 3-0 record against Sean McVay.

The 2024 Eagles faced a bunch of star QBs.

• Joe Burrow
• Matt Stafford
• Jayden Daniels
• Lamar Jackson
• Patrick Mahomes
• Jordan Love

Remember when Jonathan Gannon struggled to even slow down Derek Carr? Those days are long gone. The Eagles beat all of the QBs on that list. For the first time in a while, QBs had to fear the Eagles secondary. Fangio has a good scheme, teaches it well and has the players to make it really effective.

Speaking of Fangio, how cool is it to have a Philly guy running the defense? He loves Philly sports and totally gets the mindset of the fans. Fangio is an easy guy to root for. Now that he’s delivered a Super Bowl and built a great defense, he could become an a Philly legend.

Think of all the iconic moments from 2024.

• Saquon’s many long TD runs
• Cooper DeJean tackling Derrick Henry
• Saquon doing his backward jump over the Jags tackler
• Nakobe Dean sealing that game with an INT in the end zone
• Cooper DeJean tackling Jamarr Chase on fourth down
• Jalen Hurts long TD run to open the Rams game
• Jalen Carter sacking Stafford late in the win over the Rams
• Cooper DeJean’s pick-six in the Super Bowl
• Zack Baun’s diving INT in the Super Bowl
• DeVonta Smith hauling in the TD pass in the Super Bowl

There were a lot of other great moments beyond those. I chose these plays because they felt like the biggest, most special moments of the season. Hurts had more iconic moments in 2023. He had a better team around him last year so he didn’t have to carry them on his back. He still made his share of great throws and had a lot of impactful runs.

The Chiefs bring lots of pressure but a nice block by Saquon gives Hurts time to connect with Jahan Dotson down to the goalline! pic.twitter.com/TYpTHGcoW6

— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) February 10, 2025

That play didn’t feature a great throw or a great catch. It wasn’t a TD. But it was important. It showed that Hurts could handle the Chiefs blitzes and that he could get the ball to the open receiver, not just DeVonta or AJ. The play set up a Tush Push TD and got the Eagles off to a good start.

By winning the Super Bowl, the Eagles sent Brandon Graham out a winner. His career got off to a rocky start, but BG kept battling and goes out a franchise legend. The Eagles won it all in their first season without Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce. I think that shows you their success is more than just pure talent. There is great culture. Players help develop the guys around them. Kelce helped Cam Jurgens prepare to succeed him. Cox helped Jalen Carter prepare to succeed him.

2024 was a magical season for a lot of reasons. Since the Eagles have a loaded roster and a lot of young talent, 2025 could also be special. The schedule will be tougher and teams will come after the reigning champs with everything they have so nothing is going to be easy. That could make for some big time games and some more classic moments.

*****

If you want to get excited about the upcoming season, watch this.

The celebration is over, preparation is here. Check out this week’s episode of Unscripted!@LincolnFncl | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/IGoFtFiRF5

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) June 18, 2025

Sirianni has the right messaging for this team. It feels like the players are buying in. Time will tell on that.

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