The second-half turnaround for this Eagles team has been remarkable in so many ways, primarily coming with a new head coach in Nick Sirianni, a new full-time starting quarterback in Jalen Hurts, and a team considered by many to be in transition.
In the process, Sirianni became only the fourth rookie head coach to go from a 2-5 start to ending the season with a winning record.
But the Eagles have had several dramatic turnarounds in the second half over the past 20 years. Here’s a ranking of the top nine:
9. 2011; 3-6 start
Finish: 5-2, no playoffs
Comment: If anything, this team was a disaster after the so-called “Dream Team” free agent signings that summer flopped. But Eagles CEO and chairman Jeffrey Lurie cited the four straight wins to end the season as the reason why he didn’t fire head coach Andy Reid.
To Lurie, it showed how much the 2011 team respected Reid by saving his job. It was fools’ gold. The Eagles went 4-12 the next season and Reid was fired then.
8. 2009; 5-4 start
Finish: 6-1, playoffs, lost in first round
Comment: The finish is somewhat deceiving. After reeling off six straight wins after their Nov. 15 loss to the Chargers, the Eagles fell apart at the end. They lost the season finale at Dallas 24-0, thus missing a chance to win the division and host a first-round game.
Instead, they had to face the Cowboys in Dallas again the next week. They were crushed again, 34-14, in what turned out to be Donovan McNabb’s last game as an Eagle. He was traded during the offseason.
7. 2019; 5-7 start
Finish: 4-0, playoffs, lost in first round
Comment: The Eagles were running on fumes with a veteran team two years removed from the Super Bowl. They had to win all four games against division opponents to make the playoffs. They did, behind quarterback Carson Wentz, who had his best 4-game stretch since tearing his ACL late in the 2017 season.
But Wentz’s first playoff – and so far, only – playoff game ended in the first quarter when he suffered a concussion.
6. 2003; 2-3 start
Finish: 10-1, playoffs, lost in NFC championship game.
Comment: There was never a doubt about the Eagles’ talent after getting to the NFC Championship game in each of the previous two seasons. But the Eagles got off to a slow start by losing the first two games. Still, it was only a matter of time before the Eagles turned it around.
But with James Thrash as the Eagles’ leading receiver with 558 yards, it became clear that they needed to upgrade in order to take the next step. That offseason, they got Terrell Owens.
5. 2018; 4-6 start
Finish: 5-1, playoffs, lost in second round
Comment: The Eagles were on the verge of falling apart after a humiliating 48-7 loss to the Saints on Nov. 18 that left them at 4-6. Injuries had piled up in the secondary. And a few weeks later, Wentz would be shut down for the season with a stress fracture in his back.
But Nick Foles came to the rescue, just like he did the year before in the Super Bowl season. He not only led the Eagles to the playoffs, but to a first-round road win over the Bears.
4. 2006; 5-6 start
Finish: 5-0, playoffs, lost in second round
Comment: The Eagles were reeling. McNabb was just lost for the season with a torn ACL. His replacement, Jeff Garcia, was underwhelming in his first start, a 45-21 loss to the Colts and Peyton Manning.
Then the Eagles got rolling, and Garcia led them to a first-round win over the Giants.
3. 2013; 3-5 start
Finish: 7-1, playoffs, lost in first round
Comment: This was where the legend of Nick Foles was born. The turnaround, in Chip Kelly’s first season, began with Foles’ NFL record-tying 7 TD performance against the Raiders. It kept going all the way through one of the best seasons for a quarterback in NFL history as Foles compiled a 119.1 rating with 27 TD passes against just 2 INTs.
But the magic ran out in the first round against the Saints.
2. 2008; 5-5-1 start
Finish: 4-1, playoffs, lost in NFC championship game
Comment: For drama, this season had it all. The Eagles were left for dead after a tie to the woeful Bengals, followed the next week when McNabb was benched in a 36-7 loss to the Ravens.
McNabb started the next game and played brilliantly down the stretch, as did the rest of the team. But a playoff spot wasn’t secured until the Eagles beat the Cowboys, then got the help they needed to get in as a sixth seed.
Then they won road playoff games against Minnesota and the top-seeded Giants before losing to Arizona in the NFC title game. That was DeSean Jackson’s rookie season and Brian Dawkins’ last one as an Eagle.
1. 2021; 2-5 start
Finish: 7-2, playoffs (so far)
Comment: Sirianni seemed overmatched when he got the job last January, and that kept going into what was called a “transition period” with Hurts as the quarterback. And after the 33-22 loss to the Raiders on Oct. 24, in which Fletcher Cox was revolting against defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, it was fair to wonder if Sirianni and his staff would get a second season.
Not only will Sirianni be back, but the Eagles will have three first-round picks to keep building for the future. It’s a future that seems much brighter than it looked in October, no matter how long the Eagles last in the playoffs.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
