USA TODAY predicts Eagles wins NFC East, lose to 49ers in Wild Card round
The Eagles are reporting to training camp with playoff expectations after adding the likes of Haason Reddick, A.J. Brown, Nakobe Dean, and Jordan Davis this offseason.
With All 32 NFL teams around the league reporting to camp, USA Today’s Nate Davis took a swing at projecting each team’s final regular season record.
Davis and USA Today (Subscriber-only content) have the Eagles winning the NFC East and landing the No. 4 overall seed in the conference.
(4) Philadelphia Eagles (11-6): One wouldn’t normally regard Philly as South Beach North (North Beach?), but the parallels with the Dolphins are evident. There’s an impressive nucleus coming off a strong kick to 2021 – the Iggles’ fast finish landed them in the wild-card round – yet questions remain about the long-term viability of a former Alabama quarterback, Jalen Hurts, in this case. But he spearheaded the league’s No. 1 ground game in 2021 and now has WR A.J. Brown to anchor the receiving corps, is fronted by a standout offensive line, and backed by a solid defense … not to mention the benefit of playing in what seems a relatively weaker conference than Tagovailoa’s. Even if Hurts falters, this group might be good enough to cover for him. But if he thrives? Then the Eagles, who open against four 2021 non-playoff teams and face just one 2021 postseason outfit in the final five weeks, could go a long way.
The excitement is short-lived, as Davis has the Birds losing to the 49ers in the Wild Card round.
He believes Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will finish the 2022 season by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in Glendale, Arizona.
AFC playoffs
Wild card: (2) Ravens def. (7) Patriots; (6) Chargers def. (3) Chiefs; (5) Bengals def. (4) Colts
Divisional: (1) Bills def. (6) Chargers; (2) Ravens def. (5) Bengals
AFC championship game: (1) Bills def. (2) Ravens
NFC playoffs
Wild card: (2) Rams def. (7) Saints; (3) Packers def. (6) Cowboys; (5) 49ers def. (4) Eagles
Divisional: (1) Buccaneers def. (5) 49ers; (3) Packers def. (2) Rams
NFC championship game: (3) Packers def. (1) BuccaneersSuper Bowl 57 (Glendale, Ariz.)
Packers def. Bills
Such a scenario would likely lead to discussions about what went wrong and if Jalen Hurts did enough to warrant a contract extension while remaining the future quarterback.
An 11-6 finish in 2022 would be a two-game improvement over Philadelphia’s 9-8 finish in 2021.
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