The Eagles are finding out that along with the spoils of reaching the Super Bowl come a super hard schedule.
That’s because the Eagles have the toughest schedule in the NFL based on opponents’ winning percentages from last season. In all, the Eagles’ foes in 2023 had a winning percentage of .566 in 2022. The next closest was the Dolphins at .554.
In other words, the Eagles could be hard-pressed to match their franchise-best record of 14-3 last season, even though the team might actually be better. Jalen Hurts, the MVP runner-up, returns, along with offensive stars A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.
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On defense, the Eagles have franchise legends Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox, along with first-round draft pick Jalen Carter, who could end up starting Week 1.
And they’ll be tested right away as 10 of the Eagles’ 17 games are against teams that went to the playoffs last season. That’s tied for the most in the NFL.
Many of those games, no doubt, will take place in prime time. That will be revealed when the full NFL schedule is released Thursday at 8 p.m. Teams are allowed a maximum of six prime time games, and it’s likely the Eagles will have close to that amount.
Already, two of the Eagles’ dates were released on Wednesday. The NFL announced a Christmas Day matchup against the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field at 4:30 p.m. The Eagles on Wednesday night announced a Dec. 3 home matchup against the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of the NFC Championship game, a game the Eagles won 31-7.
The Eagles will also have a Super Bowl rematch on the road against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Eagles 38-35 in February in Glendale, Arizona.
The other playoff teams on the Eagles’ schedule are the Cowboys and Giants, whom the Eagles will play twice each; the Minnesota Vikings with Delaware natives and Salesianum teammates Brian O’Neill and Troy Reeder; the Buffalo Bills; and the Tom Brady-less Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Delaware native Chris Godwin.
The Eagles had known their opponents as soon as the 2022 season ended as they’ll play their NFC East foes twice each. They’ll also play a game against each team in the NFC West and AFC East. Because the Eagles finished first in the NFC East last season, they’ll play the other three games against first-place finishers in the two other NFC divisions (Tampa Bay in the NFC South, Minnesota in the NFC North), along with the AFC West (Kansas City).
Check back here throughout the day as the schedule gets leaked.
Eagles’ 2023 opponents
Home: Dallas, New York Giants, Washington, San Francisco, Arizona, Minnesota, Buffalo, Miami .
Road: Dallas, New York Giants, Washington, Seattle, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay, New England, New York Jets, Kansas City.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
