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Why the Eagles Will (or Won't) Repeat as Super Bowl Champs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Luke Easterling | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 3:44 PM ET

It hasn't always been pretty, but somehow, the Philadelphia Eagles have followed up last year's Super Bowl run with a 4-0 start to the 2025 season.

Despite looking disjointed (at best) on offense for much of the first month of the year, the Eagles are one of just two remaining undefeated teams in the league, leaving many confused about what to expect from the defending champs the rest of the way.

Are the Eagles a worse team that just keeps getting lucky this time around, or are they a sleeping giant who will be even harder to beat once they smooth out the rough edges that have been holding them back?

On the latest episode of "Best Podcast Available," I sat down with Devin Jackson from the Philadelphia Enquirer to talk about the curious case of this year's Eagles team.

Philly's struggles on offense have been the most obvious, as the passing game has yet to maximize the explosive weapons they have on the roster, and Saquon Barkley has yet to have the kind of dominant performance we saw on a weekly basis last season.

"The run game is the big equalizer for them," Jackson said. "It makes them go, it makes them unstoppable on offense. And they haven't been able to run the ball at all this season."

"Teams are gonna load the box to stop Saquon Barkley," Jackson continued. "So, you have to be able to force them out of those stacked boxes. I don't think they're doing a good enough job of spreading teams out formationally, and making them make a decision."

Jackson believes the Eagles need to shake things up in terms of how they line up, and which personnel packages they favor when they want to run the ball.

"I think they have to ditch the heavy personnel," Jackson said. "I think they don't have the people, they don't have the blockers to run 13 personnel, run 22 personnel, and try to incorporate a fullback. I don't think they have that in place right now."

As for the defense, the lack of a consistent pass rush has been the biggest problem, particularly when it comes to their edge players.

"Nolan Smith has been pretty good, Jalyx Hunt has been pretty good, but I don't think they're at at that point right now where they're gonna consistently be able to win 1-on-1 matchups," Jackson said. "And you've kind of seen that this year."

On the plus side, the Eagles have gotten massive contributions from a handful of young defenders, with second-year defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean making big plays right away, as well as rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell.

"The evolution of the Eagles' secondary has really been dependent on Quinyon Mitchell's ability to guard another team's No. 1 receiver, and be able to let him follow guys," Jackson said. "They depend on him so much, and he rises to the occasion. (DeJean) is such a good tackler, so they feel pretty confident that they can limit those explosive plays."

Nakobe Dean is returning to practice this week in anticipation of coming off injured reserve soon, but the early returns on first-rounder Campbell could make things interesting with how the Eagles decide to divvy up those snaps next to Zack Baun.

"With Campbell, you have the opportunity to see if he can bring you some more juice in pass-rushing situations," Jackson said. "The best thing the Eagles have done is throw everything they can at him, and you can start to see it click for him."

The good news for Eagles fans? Despite all of their struggles and problems on both sides of the ball, their team is still undefeated, and has the opportunity to be a juggernaut if they can find solutions and finish this season as strong as they did in 2024.

To check out the entire conversation, watch the full episode of BPA here: