The Eagles have been to three Super Bowls in eight years, winning two of them. Most analysts think they have the best roster in the NFL this season and could add to the Super Bowl title. They did this without a Hall of Fame QB. They did this without a Hall of Fame coach. That’s a pretty amazing feat. Are the Eagles a model franchise for others to emulate?
The Chiefs have had more success, playing in 5 SBs in 6 years and winning 3 of them. But they do have Andy Reid, one of the best coaches of all time, and Patrick Mahomes, who will end up as one of the best QBs of all time. If you’re another team, how do you try to replicate that? Think back to the Patriots with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. How do you try to replicate that?
Jalen Hurts was a second round pick. He’s having a good career, but isn’t close to being an all-time great. Nick Sirianni wasn’t sought after when the Eagles hired him. He was very much an under-the-radar candidate. But you have to give the Eagles organization credit for building great teams by being smart, creative and aggressive.
One of the most impressive parts about what Jeff Lurie and Howie Roseman have done is that things haven’t gone perfectly. Carson Wentz looked great for a couple of years and then had to be traded. Doug Pederson was fired after the disastrous 2020 season. The Jalen Reagor pick was a huge bust. Last year’s free agent star, Bryce Huff, was a huge bust. Things do not always go right, or anywhere close to it.
Roseman does a brilliant job of solving the problem. He’ll trade away the players he can. Sometimes they bring a good return, other times it isn’t much. Roseman will cut guys if he has to. He’s not afraid to admit something didn’t work out and then move on. Failures don’t make him any less aggressive. He understands not all moves are going to work.
The Eagles understand that there are 32 teams doing a lot of the same stuff. You have to look for any advantage you can get. This could be running the tush push, being creative with contracts or making a ton of practice squad moves to try to take advantage of that as much as possible. The Eagles move up and down in the draft. Roseman makes a ton of trades all year long. He’s always trying to maximize situations. The Eagles were one of the first teams to be really aggressive on fourth downs. That’s an organizational philosophy, not just the coaches.
Whether the Eagles are a model for others to follow, an anomaly or a combination remains debated within the league.
The critics think the Eagles manipulation of the salary cap will catch up to them at some point. Spending cash over cap has worked brilliantly, but it is risky. If the Eagles don’t draft well, the house of cards will start to fall apart.
I don’t think other teams should copy exactly what the Eagles do, but I do think they should study how the Eagles have done things and the adaptability of their approach. When Jim Schwartz wanted D-linemen, he got them. When Vic Fangio wanted LBs, he got them. The Eagles went cheap at RB until they spent big on Saquon Barkley. They figure out what the coaches want and build the roster accordingly. They also try to find market inefficiencies. Barkley was actually a bargain in 2024.
The top four teams in cash over cap in recent years were:
1 – CLE 2 – SF 3 – PHI 4 – NO
The Browns spent a lot on the disastrous Deshaun Watson contract. They have nothing to show for it except misery and embarrassment. The Niners and Eagles have both had a lot of success in recent years. The Saints spent big in hopes of becoming a contender again, but it did not work. They have finally changed that philosophy this year.
There is no magic formula for winning. The Steelers were last in the league in cash over cap spending in this period. They kept winning. On the flip side, they have not had any postseason success in a long time.
The big takeaway is that the Eagles are smart about who they acquire and how they pay them. That formula sounds simple, but is hard to master. Roseman and the front office have done a brilliant job of it in recent years. With such a young, talented roster, the Eagles success should continue into the future.
Week 2 games don’t normally have all that much intrigue. Not a lot of people were fired up for last year’s Week 2 game, when the Eagles got upset by the Falcons. Usually it takes a bit longer for storylines to develop. That won’t be the case on Sunday, when the Eagles go to Arrowhead to battle the Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch.
Can the Eagles beat the Chiefs for a third year in a row?
That is a tough task. KC losing would drop them to 0-2, something they haven’t been since 2014. Even though this is mid-September, this is a legitimately big game, especially for the Chiefs.
I think it would be a mistake to assume the Eagles will win because they have the better roster. The Eagles dominated KC in the SB. That butt-whipping was embarrassing for KC. Those guys are going to be fired up. The Eagles won’t take them by surprise. The Chiefs are going to be well-prepared and highly motivated.
While KC will have the emotional edge, that only goes so far. The Eagles are the better team. Let me change that. The Eagles are the more talented team. They didn’t play all that great in the opener. I would like to dismiss that to opening day sloppiness, but we need to see this team play more before we know how truly good they are.
The Chiefs offense struggled against the Eagles in 2023, turning the ball over twice and only scoring 17 points. Last year the offense was worse. They did score 22 points, but most of that came in garbage time. Patrick Mahomes was sacked a career high 6 times and KC turned the ball over 3 times. The Chiefs have a revamped OL that they hope will make a big difference. Rookie Josh Simmons will be the LT.
Chiefs OT Josh Simmons allowed 4 pressures on his way to a 51.0 PFF grade in his first career start.
All things considered, this isn’t a bad start for a rookie LT in the NFL, but it isn’t great either. We can expect to see Simmons improve as the season goes on. pic.twitter.com/aZ9xU0sDTh
He showed a lot of promise last week and should improve the more he plays. He is a rookie and will make some mistakes. RT Jawaan Taylor remains an erratic blocker. He will have some really good moments and some really bad ones. Nolan Smith should get the better of that matchup. The thing we all want to see is how Jalen Carter will play. You know he’ll have a chip on his shoulder after last week. I just hope he doesn’t try to do too much. Nick Sirianni needs to make sure Carter is focused.
The Eagles pass rush was great in the SB in part because the coverage was so good and Mahomes had to hold the ball. If the Eagles can win up front again, they’ll have a great chance to win the game.
.@GregCosell shows how the Eagles gameplan to create disruption in the Chiefs offense #FlyEaglesFly
You know Mahomes and Andy Reid want to attack Adoree Jackson over and over. They saw what Dallas did. There is one big difference. KC doesn’t have anyone like CeeDee Lamb. Xavier Worthy is injured and will miss the game. Rashee Rice is suspended. They need Hollywood Brown to have a big game. Or someone. Brown just seems the most likely.
One other player KC will challenge is Drew Mukuba. Vic Fangio said he had some missed coverages in the opener. You know they have coached the heck out of him since then, but Mukuba will see some interesting stuff from Reid.
The Eagles didn’t blitz once in the SB. I think they will mix in a blitz or two this time around, just to keep KC off balance. The biggest fear is that Andy Reid will remember the value of running the ball and attack the Eagles on the ground. That’s how KC won the SB a few years back. They ran on the Eagles. Of course that team didn’t have Zack Baun and Jihad Campbell at LB. Reid barely ran last week. I could see him over-correcting and running a lot this week, just to drive me insane.
No one knows what to expect from the Eagles offense. AJ Brown was only targeted once last week. You could see Jalen Hurts trying to get him the ball on the first play of the game. DeVonta Smith only had 3 catches so you know he would love to have a big game as well. Hurts won’t have Dallas Goedert. That will make things easier on the Chiefs secondary, which really struggled last week.
KC shut down Saquon Barkley in the SB, holding him to 25-57. Barkley was only 18-61 last week so you know he would love to break out and have a big game. The absence of Goedert will affect Barkley since DG is such a good blocker. The Eagles don’t have another TE who is a plus blocker. Maybe they will use a 6th OL as a way to throw a wrinkle at the Chiefs.
Hurts has outplayed Mahomes in the last three games, with the Eagles winning the last two. Hurts downfield throws have been critical, as well as his ability to run and burn the KC defense. Steve Spagnuolo can try to spy him. I’m not sure there is anyone who is a great fit for that role.
I didn’t think the Eagles OL was great against Dallas. Landon Dickerson should be healthier this week and that could make a big difference. The Eagles need the OL to win the battle up front. George Karlaftis is a dangerous edge rusher. Chris Jones remains one of the best DTs in the league. We also know Spags is one of the best in the league at dialing up blitzes. He will try to figure out something to slow down Hurts.
KC normally has a STs edge on opponents. The Eagles were great on STs in the opener. Tank Bigsby will take over as the KOR. It will be interesting to see if he can help the Eagles to have good field position.
This is a game the Eagles should win, but the Chiefs being 0-1, at home and wanting revenge for the SB makes them more dangerous than usual. Can Big Red come up with the right gameplan for his guys to win? Do the Chiefs have enough good players right now?
I lean toward the Eagles, but sure wouldn’t bet much money on it.
It was funny to me to see the Chiefs open as favorites in this game (although the line has since shifted to the Eagles). Why would this team be favored? Because the Chiefs have Mahomes and Reid? Didn’t we already learn that lesson seven months ago? The Eagles are simply a much better team, and they’re going to win comfortably on Sunday. The Chiefs get a late garbage-time TD and two-point conversion to make the score look closer than it is, and the Eagles recover an onsides kick to seal the win. 28-25.