Insider compares 2024 Eagles to previous Super Bowl teams

The Philadelphia Eagles' locker room appears to be fine after the club improved to 12-2 via this past Sunday's 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

During the latest edition of The Athletic's "Scoop City" podcast, NFL insider Dianna Russini compared the current Eagles squad to the one that won Super Bowl LII in February 2018 and the one that lost Super Bowl LVII in February 2023.  

"When I left that Eagles locker room late on Sunday night," Russini explained, "my first thought: This Eagles team has got a lot of that magic from the 2017 team with some of the players in the 2022 team. Combine this, and you’re getting what we’re seeing right now, which is the best team in football." 

Veteran defensive end Brandon Graham, who has played only for the Eagles since 2010, generated headlines when he initially said last week that Philadelphia wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts "were friends, but things have changed" after Brown seemed to criticize Hurts. Hurts responded by completing 25-of-32 passes for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Pittsburgh, while Brown finished the game with eight receptions for 110 yards and a score. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Eagles and 12-2 Detroit Lions as the co-betting favorites at +230 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX. Philadelphia next plays at the 9-5 Washington Commanders this Sunday. 

"A.J. Brown said something that may not have been the best thing to say," Russini added about the storyline that hovered over the Eagles last week. "But he was right. This idea of conflict is that it’s normally bad, right? It’s not always like that. And you’ve got a lot of strong personalities and a lot of people who want the ball — and a lot of people that want to be part of something great here."

The Eagles, coming off their Week 5 bye, have notched 10 straight wins and are maybe the NFC's best overall team, considering the Lions' ongoing injury crisis. Perhaps everyone associated with the NFC East side will ultimately view the Brown-Hurts saga as a positive for a club that seems to have fully moved on from its collapse late last season.