Philadelphia Eagles Heads to Training Camp with Eyes on Repeat

Like every NFL team, Super Bowl defending champion Philadelphia starts their training camp in late July. The defending champs face a much steeper hill to climb to secure a second straight Vince Lombardi Trophy than what they climbed last season. That doesn’t mean Philly has no shot at the repeat. Check out a preview of the 2018-2019 Regular Season Philadelphia Eagles.

Philadelphia Eagles Heads to Training Camp with Eyes on Repeat

#TBT | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/cvu3m9WQV4

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 5, 2018

Let’s study Philly’s offense and defense before looking at their schedule.

Philadelphia Eagles Offense

It’s hard to find a better offense in the NFL than what the Super Bowl Champs field. Philly’s offense starts with one of the top lines in the league. The Eagles’ O-Line helped Philly average 132.2 rushing yards per game last season. That ranked 3^rd in the NFL. Philly’s O-Line is also great at protecting the quarterback. The Eagles’ have two starters at QB. Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles is slated to back-up QB Carson Wentz. Both would start for every other team in the NFL not nicknamed the Saints, Patriots, Panthers, or Packers. Coach Doug Pederson figures to employ the same running back by committee approach he did in 2017. This time, Jay Ajayi will split duties with impressive former Wisconsin RB Corey Clement. When he got chances last season, Clement made the most of them. He also had an excellent Super Bowl, catching 4 passes for 100 yards and a TD. Philly’s got one of the deepest wide receiver groups in the NFL. In the Eagles’ 3 wide receiver set, the starters are listed as Mike Wallace, Alshon Jefferey, and Nelson Agholor. Tight-end Zach Ertz is one of the league’s best.

Philadelphia Eagles Defense

Last season, the Eagles’ D ranked 4^th overall in total yards allowed per game. The Eagles allowed 306.5 total yards per. Philly’s defense is built around stopping the rush. No team was better than the Eagles at doing that last season. Philadelphia held opposing teams to less than 80 yards on the ground per game. Overall, opponents only averaged 18.4 points per game. That’s more than 10 points less than what the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense averaged per game last season. The defense did lose a key player in defensive back Patrick Robinson. Robinson returned the New Orleans Saints. He was a key player for Philadelphia’s run to the Super Bowl.

Philadelphia Eagles Schedule

If Philly ends up not even making the playoffs this season, it will be because of the significantly more difficult schedule. Philly’s schedule last season was a cakewalk compared to this season. The Eagles must battle 5 teams that made the playoffs before their Week 9 bye:  Atlanta, Tennessee, Minnesota, Carolina and Jacksonville. Philadelphia must battle the rival Dallas Cowboys twice after their bye. They are also at the New Orleans Saints in Week 11, at the L.A. Rams in Week 15, and host the Houston Texans in Week 16. The Eagles schedule is ridiculously tough.

Philadelphia Eagles Prediction

The Eagles face improved NFC East rivals this season. The out of division schedule is insanely difficult. The Eagles are an excellent football team, but even a Super Bowl Champions like Philly could find it impossible to beat their very toughest rivals in the conference. New Orleans, Minnesota, and the Rams have a huge shot to beat Philadelphia. That’s 3 losses if they all beat the Eagles. Philadelphia must then hope to sweep their NFC East rivals and beat Indianapolis, and Houston to secure a 13 and 3 record. That most likely won’t happen. Philly will make the playoffs this season. But, they won’t secure homefield advantage. The Philadelphia Eagles should win the NFC East Division with a 10 and 6 record.