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.
Yesterday I wrote about things that have me excited for the upcoming season. For the sake of balance, here are some things that have me a bit nervous as we head into the new season.
I mentioned Jalen Hurts as one of the things I’m excited to see. He also falls into the category of potential concerns. Hurts is learning a new offense and has new receivers to throw to. There are going to be some ups and downs. Hurts had some bad games in previous years, but he was always able to bounce back from them. Could all the new changes turn a bad game into multiple bad games?
I think Hurts will be fine, but it is fair to acknowledge there could be real struggles. The passing game was erratic this summer. There are some reasons for that. Still, there are no guarantees things will go well. We will all be curious to see how Hurts plays this fall.
Sean Mannion is a first time offensive coordinator. He’s stepped into a team with Super Bowl expectations. That is the standard in Philly these days. Mannion will have the pressure of dealing with rabid fans and one of the league’s biggest media contingents. He, and Hurts, will be living under a microscope. Everything we’ve heard about Mannion is promising, but he will have some ups and downs of his own. No new coordinator gets things perfect right away. You learn on the job. We’ll see how he handles Hurts, Nick Sirianni, fan pressure and media scrutiny. Mannion is getting ready to go one one heck of a roller coaster ride.
I’m excited to see DeVonta Smith this season, but I’d be lying if I said I had complete confidence in the other receivers. The group has the potential to be very good. They also could underachieve and make life hard on Hurts and Mannion. Dontayvion Wicks really flashed at time this summer. Is he ready to be WR2? He had an issue with drops in the past. That needs to stay in the past. Rookie Makai Lemon was limited by a hamstring issue and then failed to impress when he did get on the field. The practice time between the preseason finale and regular season opener is critical for him. Lemon needs to get more comfortable and play faster.
We don’t know how Darius Cooper, Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore will be used. We do know they will need to deliver when they are on the field and they need to be ready to step up if any of the top trio gets hurt.
TE is fine if everyone stays healthy. That just isn’t likely to happen based on Dallas Goedert’s history. The guess is that the Eagles will add Zach Ertz after Week 1 so that they have another proven pass catcher in the mix. Johnny Mundt is a good blocker. EJ Jenkins is a good blocker as well. We don’t know enough about his receiving skills to make a strong judgment. Eli Stowers might miss the beginning of the season as he deals with a hamstring issue. The Eagles will work him in when he’s healthy. They will give him a chance to show what he can (and can’t) do.
The new scheme needs good TE play for the offense to be at its best. The group has potential, but also is far from a sure thing. We’ll have to wait and see if thye do addErtx. Then we’ll have to see how he looks.
Landon Dickerson didn’t have any injury issues this summer. But he also didn’t look completely healthy. He struggled more than previous Training Camps. Was Dickerson just pacing himself like some veterans do? Or was he really having ups and downs? Dickerson played though an injury last year and his performance suffered because of that. He and the team know better this time around. If he struggles, the Eagles will turn to Drew Kendall.
I’m genuinely curious to see Dickerson in action. At his best, he is one of the top OGs in the league. He gets movement in the run game due to his combination of size and strength. He’s stout in pass pro and locks guys up when he gets his hands on them. We didn’t see that kind of play last year. If Dickerson isn’t getting the job done, Kendall sure looks ready. He’s quick off the ball and blocks well on the move. He’s actually a better fit for the new scheme than Dickerson. He just isn’t as physically dominant.
I don’t really have any concerns with the Eagles front seven. The group is deep and talented. The only potential issue is Jonathan Greenard’s injury, but it sounds like he should be fine pretty soon.
Depth in the secondary is a possible concern. Jonathan Jones has had a good career. He was hurt much of the summer so we don’t have a good feel for where he’s at right now. Kelee Ringo played well late in the summer, but much of that was going against backups. Could he handle being on the field against starting WRs? Mac McWilliams isn’t physically special which means he needs to win with knowledge and experience. He’s just starting Year 2 so he doesn’t have knowledge or experience.
These concerns pale in comparison to some of the problems facing other teams. Howie Roseman has built a deep, talented roster and Sirianni gets his teams to win. This should be a good season. If some things go right, this could be a great season.
*****
Daniel Jeremiah had Howie Roseman as a gest on his podcast.
This was a good interview. Howie was relaxed and gave some good answers. You should enjoy their mutual love of Willie Lampkin.