Philadelphia Eagles ceiling and floor for 2023
Philadelphia hopes to become the NFC East’s first back-to-back champions since 2004 and the first team since the 2018 Patriots to win a Super Bowl after losing it the previous year.
With the conclusion of training camp and preseason, here's the Eagles' ceiling and floor heading into Week 1.
Ceiling: 14-3
It’s not impossible. Philadelphia posted the same record in 2022, and if things break right, there’s no reason to think they can’t do it again. NFL teams are typically as good as their starting quarterbacks, and after leading his team to Super Bowl LVII, quarterback Jalen Hurts is said to look even better in camp this summer.
Once again, Hurts will have two top-10 receivers to throw to in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but this year he gets a bona fide pass-catching threat out of the backfield in D’Andre Swift. The Philly native and former Lion has the fifth-most catches among running backs since entering the league in 2020.
Of course, for the Eagles to win 14 games, their defense will need to play close to their 2022 form. After leading the league with 70 sacks last year, the team added defensive tackle Jalen Carter and linebacker Nolan Smith through the draft. Both had excellent preseasons, and Carter owns the second-best odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year behind the Texans’ Will Anderson Jr.
Floor: 6-11
Then again, things don’t always go according to plan. Philadelphia will have two new coordinators calling plays this year. Former OC Shane Steichen is now head coach of the Colts and last year’s DC, Jonathan Gannon, took his motivational speaking skills to Arizona.
The team also lost linebacker T.J. Edwards and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to free agency. Edwards led the team with 159 tackles last year and Hargrave tied for second-most sacks with 11. The team hopes Carter and second-year linebacker Nakobe Dean can fill the void, but there’s a chance one or both fail to meet expectations.
Factor in the NFL’s toughest schedule with a brutal stretch of games from Week 11 to Week 15 and the Eagles could be looking at their fourth losing season in 10 years.
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