Why Eagles players don't fear repeat of 2023 collapse

The 2023 Philadelphia Eagles famously won 10 of their first 11 regular-season games before they dropped five of six contests and then suffered a blowout wild-card playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Philadelphia has since built a six-game winning streak to improve to 8-2 for the ongoing campaign. Despite what happened beginning last December, Eagles players believe head coach Nick Sirianni is the right leader to ensure the club doesn't suffer yet another collapse. 

"I think this team is really equipped to handle difficulties and adversity more so than last year, a lot of it because of what happened last year," Eagles wide receiver Britain Covey recently said, as shared by Chris Franklin of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "But also, I feel like coach Sirianni has done a really good job with his messaging. This whole week’s message was that we’re 6-0 but it doesn’t matter. Don’t get complacent. Everyone’s kind of buying into that, which is a good feeling. You trust the trajectory."

Sirianni reportedly began September on the hot seat after his relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts allegedly became "'fractured' and unhealthy" last season. Questions about Sirianni's future then hovered over the club when it entered its Week 5 bye at 2-2, but the Eagles silenced such chatter by winning six straight games thanks largely to the efforts of star running back and free-agency acquisition Saquon Barkley.

Per the StatMuse website, Barkley began Friday leading the NFL with 1,347 yards from scrimmage this season. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the 27-year-old as the overall betting favorite at +105 odds to win the Offensive Player of the Year Award. 

"Last year, obviously, we were up so high, and we were riding that wave, thinking we couldn’t come down from it," Eagles offensive tackle Fred Johnson added. "Once we started going down, it was just a one-way trip to you-know-where. When it got bad, it got worse, and when it got worse, it got even more worse. This year, everybody’s taking it one day at a time. I think that goes a long way to keep our minds off certain things and maintain that tunnel vision — just to get better, execute and play the best football we can every week." 

Philadelphia will next try to play its best during the upcoming "Sunday Night Football" game at the 5-5 Los Angeles Rams. On Friday, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Eagles as 2.5-point favorites for that matchup.