Week 1 @ Washington
With the Washington Redskins in a state of chaos, I think this is a very winnable game on the road to start the season. The arrow is pointing up for the Eagles and down for the Redskins.
Week 2 @ Kansas City
The second time that the Eagles will face former head coach Andy Reid, and the first time that Doug Pederson will square off against his mentor. The Chiefs are never going to be a offensive powerhouse as long as Alex Smith is the quarterback, so the game should be up for grabs, but this is a tough road game for me to expect the team to come out on top.
Week 3 vs New York
The Eagles play their first home game of the season against the Giants, a team that the Eagles have played very well against and had their number over recent years. I’d expect this to be a win.
Week 4 @ Los Angeles (Chargers)
The Birds don’t get to enjoy the comfort of home very long, as they’re sent out on a west coast trip to visit the Chargers. The Chargers are a beatable team, but cross country trips are always tough for east coast teams. Toss-up game here.
Week 5 vs Arizona
The Eagles finally get another home game against an Arizona team that will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing performance of a year ago. Hard to tell what state they’ll be in, but Carson Palmer can be a turnover machine.
Week 6 @ Carolina (Thursday Night)
No one looks forward to Thursday Night Football, and this a tough spot for the Eagles to travel to face another NFC team that should be primed for a bounce-back season. This is a tough game to expect them to win.
Week 7 vs Washington
The Eagles begin a three-game homestand before their bye in Week 10. With extended rest, I think they have a pretty good chance to sweep the season series with Washington.
Week 8 vs San Francisco
After a season with some really tough matchups, the Eagles get a layup on paper. This could be a potential trap game, but its also one that they know they have to take advantage of.
Week 9 vs Denver
Playing this game in Philadelphia instead of Denver is huge. With lingering quarterback issues, the Broncos are yet another beatable team on the Eagles’ schedule.
Week 10 BYE
After getting stuck with a terrible bye in Week 4 last season, the Eagles got a much more favorable off week this season.
Week 11 @ Dallas
With an extra week to prepare for what could be the biggest game of the season, the Eagles could be in a great position to upset the Cowboys on the road.
Week 12 vs Chicago
A second layup-matchup at home. If the Eagles do defeat Dallas, this becomes a trap game. But if not, its certainly a game they should win rather easily.
Week 13 @ Seattle
Eagles will be walking into just as much of a buzzsaw as they did a year ago. This is about as close to a guaranteed loss as it gets.
Week 14 @ Los Angeles (Rams)
Carson Wentz goes to Los Angeles and makes the Rams look absolutely foolish for selecting Jared Goff over him.
Week 15 @ New York
The Eagles play their final road game of the season.
Week 16 vs Oakland (Christmas Day)
Merry Christmas Philadelphia 2.0? The holiday wraps up with a duel between Carson Wentz and Derek Carr.
Week 17 vs Dallas
I complain about this every year, and I’m going to do so again this year. I hate how the NFL handles the scheduling of its division games.
Stacking games against division opponents at the beginning and end of the season is something that may be good for ratings, but I think its ultimately bad for the quality of the NFL season.
And for the life of me, I’m tired of the seeing the Eagles play the Cowboys in Week 17. This has been the case for three of the last five years now. Only in 2013 did the Week 17 matchup have any significance. Usually at that point in the season, the fate of both teams have been decided. This essentially means that more likely than not, the Eagles only get one meaningful game against Dallas, and it happens to come on the road, again.
Final Thoughts
For the first time in several years, I actually really like the Eagles’ schedule.
In 2015 and 2016, I wasn’t particularly optimistic about what the team’s outlook looked like. In both of my initial thoughts on those schedules, I didn’t expect the team to have winning records or make the playoffs for a variety of reasons.
But this year I think there’s a lot working in the team’s favor. They play four of the first five games on the road, but there isn’t a matchup in those games that I consider too difficult for the team to overcome. I think a 3-1 start is very possible.
I think they then go 1-1 against Arizona and Carolina, and rip off three straight home wins leading up to the bye to put them at 7-2 or 6-3. The Dallas game is a toss-up, but with extra rest is one where a win is possible as well.
Seattle is only game I see as a lock that this team loses. But there should be wins against both the Bears and Rams, which would put the team at 8-5 or maybe even 9-4 going into the final three weeks of the season.
The Birds are a team with the arrow pointing up. I see this as a schedule where the Eagles should be a lock to win at least nine games, and I personally see a 10-6 finish and a playoff appearance, easily my most optimistic appraisal of this franchise since 2009.
As for the Denver game, it should be pointed out that Denver comes to Philadelphia as the 3rd road game and in a row (and off a game in KC the week before) and a date the following week with the dreaded PATs. We are a trap game and possibly a win.
I don’t think there’s any reason why the Eagles can’t (or shouldn’t) beat the Broncos in Philadelphia. Denver isn’t that good. Their QB situation doesn’t look like its going to be any better than it was a year ago, and I think their defense takes a bit of a step back without Wade Phillips pulling the strings.