How Many Wins Will the Philadelphia Eagles Have In 2020?
Thursday, the NFL released the full 256 game slate for the 2020 season.
For the Eagles, coming off a 9–7 season in which the team won four straight games to clinch the NFC East, it is important for the team to get off to a hot start as the rival Cowboys will be chasing their tails the whole season.
The Eagles had an interesting offseason to say the least. They acquired pro-bowl defensive back Darius Slay from the Lions, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin from the Niners and interior defensive lineman in Javon Hargraves in free agency.
However, they lost arguably their most important defensive player in Malcolm Jenkins and picked quarterback Jalen Hurts out of Oklahoma in the second round of the draft, even with starting quarterback Carson Wentz locked up long-term.
Lets get right to the 100% accurate, not-so-early schedule prediction for the professional football team that resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ideal Start
Just like in the 2017 season, which ended with Doug Pederson and company holding up the birds’ first Lombardi Trophy, the Eagles open up the season at the rival Redskins. The Redskins drafted Ohio State stud defensive end Chase Young with the №2 overall pick in the draft, adding to an already star-studded defense with names such as Ryan Kerrigan, Thomas Davis, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat and Landon Collins. Their new coach, Ron Rivera, has a track record of being one of the best defensive coaches in the league since he became an NFL head coach in 2011.
However, as good as the Skins’ defense looks, their offense looks just as bad. We still don’t know if quarterback Dwayne Haskins is the answer, and their weapons are mediocre besides Terry McLaurin.
The Eagles have not lost to the Redskins since the 2016 season, and I believe the streak continues this year. The Eagles pass rush should dominate, and I trust Wentz and Pederson will be able to break through the Redskins defense multiple times, though I do think the game will be close.
In Week 2, the Eagles take on a team they have owned the past couple of seasons in their home opener, the Rams. The Rams lost a lot of pieces in the offeseason, including wide receiver Brandin Cooks, running back Todd Gurly and linebacker Clay Mathews. I just believe the Eagles are a better football team than the Rams, and they should improve to 2–0.
Up next on the docket, the Cincinnati Bengals. Led by №1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft Joe Burrow, the Bengals will be looking to pull off a shocking upset, but I don’t see it. The Bengals offensive line and defense in totality is awful. Even though Burrow has some weapons in Joe Mixon, A.J. Green and second-round pick Tee Higgins, Fletcher Cox and crew should put Burrow on his back all day.
Then, there’s Week 4. Sunday Night Football. At the San Francisco 49ers.
Yes, those same 49ers that lost Super Bowl LIV to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Eagles are probably going to suffer their first loss here. Though the teams are similar in terms of the way they are built, I never like east coast teams traveling to the west coast and vise versa. I do believe time changes throw some teams off, and this may be the toughest game on the Eagles schedule, especially to date. I just don’t see how the Eagles win this game unless everything goes right.
Record at the end of first quarter: 3–1. First place in the NFC East.
Brutal Second Quarter
Following the loss at San Francisco, the Eagles travel in-state to take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2012. The last time the Eagles played the Steelers, Wentz was a rookie signal caller, Pederson was a rookie head coach and the Eagles slaughtered their in-state rivals 34–3.
This time around, the Steelers still have Ben Roethlisberger, but they don’t have Antonio Brown or Le’Veon Bell. Now, they have JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conor, plus a modern-day Steel Curtain defense with T.J. Watt, Devin Bush and Minkah Fitzpatrick leading the charge.
For some reason, I just have a bad feeling this game ends in an L for the birds. Coming off a loss at San Fran, and then playing a well-coached Steelers team the next week is not going to be fun.
Speaking of not going to be fun, coming off back-to-back losses, the Eagles are going to look to bounce back at home in Week 6.
The problem?
Their opponent is the vaunted Baltimore Ravens, led by 2019 MVP and Madden NFL 21 cover star Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens are loaded. Jackson probably won’t be able to top what he did last season, but he will still be a challenge for the Eagles. While the Eagles defense is usually great against the run, I just think Baltimore’s pound-and-ground style is a bad fight for the Eagles. This game smells like a third straight loss to me.
To finish up the second quarter of the season, the Eagles take on the division rival Giants, led by new Head Coach Joe Judge.
Not only have the Eagles not loss to the Giants since 2016, they have dominated them over the past decade. The Eagles defeated the Giants 16 out of 20 times (80%) in the 2010’s, including seven straight. While I do think the Giants will be better by the end of the season, the Eagles will whip the Giants back to New York here in primetime on Thursday Night Football, the Giants becoming the Eagles punching bag to take out some frustration after losing three straight.
The date every Eagles fans circle on their calendar: Dallas Week.
This year, Dallas Week in Philly happens in Week 8 on Sunday Night Football.
As all of these Dallas games seem to be in the middle of the season, this game will be for first place in the division.
The last time the Cowboys came to Philly, it was three days before Christmas. The Eagles record was 7–7. The Cowboys record was 8–6. The Cowboys had destroyed the Eagles in Week 7 in Dallas 37–10.
If the Cowboys were to beat the Eagles in Philly, they would punch their playoff ticket and win the NFC East in back-to-back seasons, something which nobody had done since the 2004 Eagles team that lost Super Bowl XXXIX to New England.
The result?
The Eagles won the game 17–9 and ended up winning the division.
Now behind new Head Coach Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys will be coming to Philly looking for revenge. I’m not sure if the Dak Prescott contract situation will be resolved by then, but I know Prescott will be playing his best, like he almost always does against the Eagles.
Besides last season, the last time the Cowboys lost a meaningful game in Philadelphia was Week 17 of 2008 when the Eagles blew out the Cowboys 44–6 to make the playoffs. That Eagles team went to the NFC Championship.
History is not on the Eagles side, and I see the Eagles dropping to 4–4 half way through the season after starting 3–0.
Record in second quarter: 1–3.
Record at the end of the second quarter: 4–4. Second place in NFC East.
Even More Brutal Third Quarter
Eagles fans: You thought the second quarter of the season was hard? Wait till the third quarter!
It least it starts off all fine and dandy with the Giants after the Week 9 Bye Week. As mentioned earlier, I think the Giants will be a better team next year, but I’m not picking the Giants to beat the Eagles until they prove they can.
After sweeping the Giants, the Eagles travel to my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, to take on the Browns. This will be the Eagles first regular season trip to Cleveland since 2012 when Michael Vick led the Eagles to a 17–16 victory over the Brandon Weeden Browns (that was Weeden and Trent Richardson’s debut game). That was Andy Reid’s last season in Philly.
A lot has changed since then. The Eagles have a franchise quarterback because the Browns gave them the pick in a massive trade (the only player left on the Browns from that trade is Denzel Ward). The Browns have had six head coaches and six general manager’s while the Eagles have had two head coaches, two GM’s and a Lombardi Trophy.
I do think Kevin Stefanski and the Browns will be a decent football team this year. The Browns have the talent. The question is: Will Stefanski fall on his face like former coach Freddie Kitchens, or will he be THE ONE to turn it around in Cleveland?
I think the latter is more likely, and I do think signal caller Baker Mayfield will improve from last year’s dismal season, but I think the Eagles are the better all-around team. They have the better quarterback, offensive line and defensive line, the three most important positions arguably in the league.
So, the Eagles start off 2–0 in the third quarter. Brandon, how is it so brutal? They only won one game in the second quarter.
Because the next two games are a Monday Night at home vs Seattle in a rematch from last year’s Wild Card Game and the Packers in the first week of December in Lambeau, and those games will not be fun at all.
As much as I think the Eagles would have beat Seattle if Wentz would have played the whole game, and as much as I think the Eagles are as good as the Seahawks, the Eagles have never defeated Russell Wilson or Pete Carroll. They are 0–5 against the duo, including 0–4 under Pederson and 0–2 at home.
The Seahawks just have the Eagles number, much like how the Eagles have owned the Giants.
Then, the Packers Week 13 just scares me. Green Bay is probably going to take a step back next season from their 13–3 record as they went 9–1 in one possession games last year. That won’t happen again more than likely.
What was that one loss? It was against the Eagles on Thursday Night Football at Lambeau when former Eagle Nigel Bradham picked off Aaron Rodgers at the goaline.
With that being said, that game happened in Week 4, and the Eagles couldn’t stop Rodgers.
I doubt they will be able to neutralize that offense even in the cold. Rodgers just torches the Eagles. Rodgers is 4–1 in his career against the birds, throwing 12 touchdown passes and only 3 interceptions in those five games.
Record in third quarter: 2–2
Record at the end of the third quarter: 6–6. Second place in NFC East.
Finishing Strong
Just like the last three seasons, the Eagles will enter the last quarter of the season barely hanging on to a playoff spot, looking to get hot late, and just like those seasons, I believe they will again.
The hardest game on this part of the schedule is the Week 14 game at home against the New Orleans Saints. Coming off two straight losses to Seattle and Green Bay, the Eagles will NEED to win this game to get their confidence back. This win is a byproduct of the schedule.
If this game was in September, there’s no way I would pick the Eagles. I do think the Saints are the better team. I do think Malcolm Jenkins is going to want revenge on the Eagles for letting him walk.
However, the Saints are a dome team, and they typically struggle late in the season. If the weather is what I anticipate, the Saints offense should struggle to move the ball, and the Eagles should be able to do just enough to capture the win. It doesn’t hurt that the Philly crowd will be rocking as this is a 4:25 game.
After the big win at New Orleans, the Eagles have a little bit of a trap as they travel to Arizona to take on the №1 pick in the 2019 draft Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins and the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are an up and coming team, and they will be a tough opponent. The Eagles need to be careful to not take them lightly like they did with the Dolphins in Week 13 last season.
I already mentioned in the San Francisco game how I don’t like it when teams travel across the country. This game makes me nervous, but I do think the Eagles are the better team and considering the fact they will need to win this game to have a shot for the division, put this game in the “W” column.
Then comes Dallas Week part 2.
Week 16.
Jerry’s World.
4:25 p.m. eastern standard time on FOX.
This game will more than likely decide the division, just like the Week 16 in Philly did last season, and just like last season, the Eagles will win.
And then they will defeat the Redskins on Jan. 3 Week 17 to finish 10–6.
Will that win the division?
Maybe. Maybe not. The Cowboys should hover around 10 wins, and if they split the games between one another, it will come down to tie breakers.
From my projections, the Eagles will finish 5–3 on the road and 5–3 at home. They will go 8–4 in the conference, including 5–1 in the division, and they will go 2–2 out of conference.
No matter if they win the division or not, 10 wins should be considered a successful season for Eagles fans.
The Eagles may not be a Super Bowl contender anymore, but they are still a an above average football team that should make the playoffs.
Follow Brandon on Twitter, @brandonlewis_7
