Soaring Eagles Right On Track For A Big NFC East Title
Last season, the Chip Kelly experiment in Philadelphia was a complete failure as the Eagles slipped down the pecking order in the NFC East. Despite showing glimpses of quality on the defensive side of the ball, Philly struggled to get much going offensively – and the likes of DeMarco Murray and Sam Bradford just didn’t step up to the plate until it was too late.
Twelve Months Later, The Eagles Are Flying
Philly has won three on the spin and Doug Pederson has completely changed the mood at Lincoln Financial Field. As of September 27th, there are just five unbeaten teams in the National Football League and Philadelphia is one of them, which shows just how well they’re playing right now.
Offensively, the Eagles are looking incredibly strong with rookie quarterback Carson Wentz under center. The second-overall pick from May’s NFL Draft has settled immediately into life on the big stage and is relishing the opportunity to lead Philadelphia in what could be a memorable bounce-back year for the franchise.
At the time of writing, punters wanting to back the Eagles to win the divisional title can get 2/1 with Betway in comparison with 15/8 at various other bookmakers. While the Super Bowl may be a stretch too far for Philly this season, the NFC East crown is certainly within reach if they maintain their current form.
Wentz is obviously crucial to Philadelphia’s success but he isn’t the only key component of that offense. Darren Sproles, Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor have all bought into Pederson’s style and are now running a Kansas City-type offense.
It isn’t the prettiest unit in football, but it’s certainly effective and that’s all that matters. At the end of the day, winning is more important than style – especially for a city like Philadelphia. The Eagles have racked up 92 points in three games this season whilst allowing a combined 27 points to the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Whilst it wasn’t a huge surprise to see Philly put Cleveland to the sword, most expected the Steelers to give Pederson’s men a real tough time. However, Pittsburgh put up just three points as the Eagles ran riot; a sign that many have underestimated their chances this year – although Philly was certainly always confident in their own ability.
It would be foolish to claim that Philadelphia are on the verge of finishing the year unbeaten on their way to lifting the Vince Lombardi trophy, but success could be on the horizon for the fans at Lincoln Financial Field. At the very least, supporters will be expecting Philly to get their hands back on the NFC East crown and from there, who knows. One thing is for sure, it would take a very brave man to write the Eagles off right now – they’re looking very strong indeed.
