Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Another Journey

Posted September 7th, 2026 | No Comments »

Game week is finally here. A new season is upon us. After a long offseason, we’re all excited to see what the birds have in store for us in 2026. We don’t know how things will turn out, only that there will be some interesting twists and turns. One week we will be in love with this team. The next, we’ll be ready to give up watching football forever.

Expectations can make things tricky. The Eagles made the Super Bowl in 2022 and 2024. They have a loaded roster that could lead them back to the big game. That doesn’t mean this season is Super Bow or bust, but anything short of being a serious title contender will be a major disappointment. The organization understands this and tries to embrace the lofty expectations.

It is important to realize this is a great time to be an Eagles fan. Many were upset at the struggles of last year’s team. They still went 11-6, won the NFC East and hosted a playoff game. The season was frustrating, but nothing compared to bad seasons of the past. Recent success has made some people forget what truly bad football looks like. Go check out 1998, 2012 or 2020. Those were bad years. BAD.

As frustrating as last year’s team was, there were still plenty of things to be happy about. Winning in KC will always be fun. The comeback win over the Rams was exciting and had an all-time great finish.

Wins over the Packers, Lions and Bills all featured great defense. Those teams combined to score 28 points against Vic Fangio’s defense. We got to see Nakobe Dean play the best football of his career. Jalyx Hunt emerged as a playmaker, leading the team in both sacks and INTs.

The offense had more downs than ups, which has been well documented. Somehow they led the league in red zone offense. Dallas Goedert had a career high 11 TD catches. Saquon Barkley ran for 1140 yards and 7 TDs. Tyler Steen emerged as a solid player, staring all 17 games at RG. It wasn’t all bad.

The Eagles spent the offseason addressing the problems from last year. They improved the depth on the OL. They upgraded CB2. Most importantly, they brought in a new offensive coordinator and a new scheme. There are no guarantees the changes will work as planned, but the players seem to have really bought in. There was an energy and excitement this offseason that we hadn’t seen in a few years. It sure feels like change was a good thing.

This team is flying under the radar. The Rams have the best roster in the league. They are absolutely loaded, which will make it all the sweeter when they somehow lose in January. Seattle is the defending champ and another media darling. Everyone is buying into the changes Dallas made. The Cowboys had a great offseason, but I think people are making a mistake when they assume all the changes are going to work seamlessly. I find it funny that the Eagles and Cowboys hired new coordinators and installed new schemes. Both teams made personnel changes. Dallas is expected to suddenly have one of the better defenses in the league. The Eagles are going to be a work in progress. Perception is a funny thing.

The poor old Eagles aren’t as exciting a story as those teams so they get overlooked, which I think is actually a good thing. The Eagles were the shiny object last year and it didn’t go well. This team is more connected. They aren’t being pulled in 50 different directions. This group is hungry. They were just as disappointed as the fans with how things went last year. Jalen Hurts is as motivated as we’ve ever seen him. Barkley is out to silence any doubters he has. Jalen Carter came to camp in great shape and had a great summer. Hunt was the star of the offseason and could emerge as a star this season. 2026 will be Lane Johnson’s final NFL season. He wants to go out on a high note. It could be Landon Dickerson’s final season. We’ll have to wait and see on that one.

I don’t know how things will turn out this season, but I am confident that this season will be more fun than 2025. We’ll get to see a new offensive scheme. The O-line is healthy and that means we’ll see a more productive Saquon Barkley. He only had 3 games with 100 or more yards last season. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t at least double that total this season. The defense could be the best in the league. There are special playmakers at each level of the defense.

Make sure you enjoy the journey. That could be seeing a young player develop or an old player navigate his final season. Lane Johnson is an all-time great right tackle. We won’t see anyone like him in the future. Enjoy his greatness while you can.

Nick Sirianni has led the Eagles to the postseason in each of his five years as the coach. I don’t expect that to change. He led the team to the Super Bowl in 2022 and 2024. That would seem to bode well for 2026. We’ll have to wait and see on that. The waiting is almost over. Football season is here.

Enjoy.

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