The 2022 Philadelphia Eagles were an NFC juggernaut. They had a top-3 offense and defense. Their pass rush was historic. Jalen Hurts had the finest season of his career. And they steamrolled their way through the postseason before coming so close to knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
It might have been the best team the Eagles organization had ever put together.
And this year’s team might be even better.
Maybe it’s an unfair comparison to make right now, considering these Eagles still have a long way to go to reach Super Bowl LIX, and record-wise they’re not even the best team in their own conference yet. But that is the way it’s starting to look with five games left in the regular season. These Eagles have won eight straight games, including their impressive, 24-19 win over the Balitmore Ravens on Sunday that ran their record to 10-2. They are again ranked in the top 5 on both sides of the ball, but these 2024 Eagles are built differently than that 2022 team and are better in key areas.
And those improvements — as outlined below — will make them even harder to beat when they begin their postseason run.
1. They are a better overall defensive team, not as reliant on the pass rush.
The 2022 team was a pass-rushing monster. They finished with 70 sacks in the regular season — the third-best total in NFL history. They added eight more in their two NFC playoff games. Their secondary was strong too, but their ability to rush and disrupt quarterbacks was why they had the No. 1 passing defense in the NFL.
But when the pass rush wasn’t there, they struggled. That was clear in the Super Bowl when they couldn’t get to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs quarterback completed 21 of his 27 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 44 of the Chiefs’ 158 rushing yards. That exposed another flaw — those Eagles were not a great tackling team.
This year, after a slow start, the Eagles are doing everything well under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Their pass rush isn’t overwhelming, but they do have 36 sacks so far, on a pace to finish with 51. They’re just as good against the pass as they were in 2022, though, because they tackle better — especially the linebackers in the middle of the field — and rarely get beat for big plays.
And it’s showing up in the numbers. In their current eight-game winning streak they lead the NFL giving up just 13.4 points and 241 yards per game. Their 30 sacks and 15 forced fumbles in that span is a league-high, too.
2. They aren’t leaning heavily on quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts was a legitimate MVP contender in 2022 and most of the time when the Eagles won, it was because of him. He was the one who found ways to bail the team out of trouble. They relied on his arm, leading a top-10 passing attack, as much as they relied on his legs as a key part of the best rushing attack in the league.
He’s still obviously a key cog in the Eagles machine, but he might not be the main cog anymore. The Eagles incredibly rank 28th in the NFL in passing yards and dead last in attempts. They’re only passing on 43.4 percent of their plays (down from 51.6% in 2002).
“We’ll do anything we need to do to win the football game,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “This last month of the season has been very unique. I’m not sure how many times we’ve even passed it in the fourth quarter in November.”
His point is they’ve leaned into their rushing attack when they need to put games away. But even that features Hurts a little less than it did in 2002. He’s carried the ball on only 28.1 percent of their runs, a slight dip from the 30.1% of two years ago. He’s there when they need him, but they clearly don’t need him all the time.
3. The presence of Saquon Barkley.
This, of course, might be the biggest difference. The ex-Giants running back has turned the Jalen Hurts show into a legitimate 1-2 punch. Hurts still draws plenty of respect from opposing defenses, but Barkley is the man that they all primarily try to stop.
Not that they can. He is a legitimate MVP threat, as much as Hurts was two years ago. He leads the NFL in carries (246) and yards (1,499) and yards per attempt (6.1). He also has 29 catches for 267 yards and he’s scored a total of 13 touchdowns. Everyone assumed he’d have a breakout year in his first year running behind a legitimate offensive line, but he’s exceeded those expectations.
In fact, he’s on pace for an NFL-record 2,123 yards. He’s drawn defenses in to stop him and he’s convinced Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to ride him as far as they can. And if he stays healthy, that should be pretty far.
4. They are better at stopping the run.
The numbers in this case are simple and stark. In 2022, the Eagles gave up 121.6 rushing yards per game — good for 16th in the league. They gave up at least 100 rushing yards 12 times. Then in the Super Bowl, they gave up 158.
This year’s team has been much, much better despite what happened on Sunday, when the Ravens, the NFL’s second-best rushing team, totaled 166 yards on the ground. Overall, these Eagles have the seventh-ranked rushing defense, giving up 104.75 yards per game. And a lot of that was because of a real slow start. Take away the first two games of the season and the average dips to a league-best 94.2.
They are getting better play from their interior line, particularly from Jordan Davis. And their linebackers — Zach Baun and Nakobe Dean — have been much better run-stuffers than the 2022 unit. That will be huge down the stretch when teams lean on the run and the weather becomes a factor. And it could be the key to their playoff success too, especially if they end up playing the run-heavy Lions.
5. They are better at grinding down the will of their opponents with their Saquon-powered ground game.
The biggest issue with the Eagles late last season when they were collapsing in a 1-6 finish was that they forgot their identity. They suddenly became pass-happy instead of doing what they always did best — grinding teams down with their powerful offensive line and ability to run.
This year they’re doing it better than ever. Consider that of Barkley’s 1,499 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns, 982 yards and eight touchdowns have come in the second half of games. He averages 4.4 yards per carry in the first halves, but 7.6 yards per carry in second halves. Meanwhile, Hurts has dropped back for 207 first-half passes, but only 128 in second halves.
Yeah, some of that is because they’re protecting leads. But they’ve only had three, maybe four blowout victories. This is more about knowing what they do best. With their line and with Barkley and Hurts, they can out-physical tired defenses late in games. They did that in 2022, though not nearly as well with Miles Sanders as their main back.
This team is content to just hand the ball off late in games and watch Barkley do what he does best — run over teams and run down the clock. And teams with the ability to do that have a huge advantage in the postseason.
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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