Philadelphia Eagles: We should have seen Super Bowl run coming
After a last-place finish a year ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were not expected to reach the Super Bowl. But not all 7-9 records are created equally.
When the 2017 NFL season began, very few people gave the Philadelphia Eagles much of a chance to reach the Super Bowl. The team was coming off back-to-back 7-9 years. During the preseason, Las Vegas listed their odds to win it all at 40:1 (tied for 13th in the league) as well.
Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but digging a bit deeper into Philly’s 2016 numbers reveals a team that should have been taken more seriously when this season kicked off. Though the Eagles ended last year in the NFC East cellar, they still managed to tie for the ninth-best point differential (+36) in the entire league — all while playing the toughest schedule in the conference.
This statistical anomaly was the result of some very close losses. Things began well as Philly jumped out to a 3-0 start, which included a 34-3 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5, AFC North Champs, reached Conference Championship game). But they’d eventually drop two games by a point and lost another in overtime, all on the road.
Philadelphia battled an eventual playoff team nine times in 2016 and only had three games against clubs that finished below .500. Despite having a second-place schedule, the Eagles wound up facing six division winners (Dallas twice, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Atlanta and Seattle).
Given how tough their schedule was and that they had outscored their opponents on the year, Philadelphia clearly played better than their record had indicated. Throw in the fact that they had a rookie quarterback, and it should not have been such a surprise to see the Eagles have great success in 2017.
Sure enough, the team was coasting at 10-2 with second-year quarterback, Carson Wentz. After posting mediocre numbers (3,782 yards, 16 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 6.2 yards/attempt) last year, it was likely he’d improve with a full season under his belt. And improve, he did. This season, Wentz threw a touchdown on a higher percentage of his passes than any other quarterback in football. His 4.7 TD/INT ratio was second only to Kansas City’s Alex Smith.
Of course, Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14, but backup, Nick Foles, is in a position to become the 10th reserve quarterback to win a Super Bowl. No team since the 2001 Patriots has won a championship after posting a losing record in the previous season.
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The Eagles were underdogs in each of their first two playoff games this year — and they won both of them. They will be underdogs in Super Bowl LII, as well. But in a city with so few titles that their most famous sports statue commemorates a fictional boxer, no one is going to care how they win — as long as they do win.