Three 'can't lose' games for the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles
Jalen Hurts.
The Philadelphia Eagles ended the 2023 regular season by losing three games they should have won. No worries, they’ll definitely win these matchups in 2024.
Week 4 | at Tampa Bay
What better way to get over a 32-9 playoff loss to the Buccaneers than to win the next game at Raymond James Stadium? The Eagles saved their worst for last in last year’s NFC wild-card game by rushing for just 42 yards while going 0 for 11 on third and fourth downs.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield picked apart the Eagles defense, throwing for three touchdowns and a season-high 337 yards, but did so against a secondary without safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson or cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, the 22nd pick in this year’s draft.
Thanks in part to Mayfield’s performance, the Bucs won’t have offensive coordinator Dave Canales calling plays this time around. He’s now head coach of the Carolina Panthers. More on them later.
Week 7 | at New York Giants
The Eagles are 16-4 against the Giants in the last 10 years, 2-3 against quarterback Daniel Jones and 4-1 against head coach Brian Daboll. Of course, Philadelphia lost to New York 27-10 to end its regular season, but starters like Fletcher Cox, Darius Slay and DeVonta Smith all missed what proved to be a meaningless game for Philadelphia.
This game won’t be meaningless for new Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, the fourth-leading rusher in Giants history. In six years with the team, Barkley had 5,211 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground with another 2,100 yards and 12 scores through the air. He signed a three-year, $37M contract with Philadelphia in the spring.
The late-October contest will be Barkley’s first at MetLife Field since moving within the NFC East. Look for him to have a big game against a Giants defense that allowed 132.4 rush yards per game last season, fourth-most in the NFL.
Week 14 | vs Carolina Panthers
Canales takes over a Panthers team that went 2-15 last year and hasn’t had a winning season since 2017. Carolina lost all of its road games in 2023 and has little chance of winning at Lincoln Field on Dec. 8.
The Panthers allowed fewer points per game (24.5) than Philadelphia (25.2) last year, but scored an NFL-worst 13.9 points per game. Quarterback Bryce Young hopes to bounce back in Year 2 after throwing for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a rookie in 2023.
Unfortunately, edge-rusher Brain Burns won’t be back. After recording a team-high eight sacks in 2023, the two-time Pro Bowler was traded to the Giants on March 11, the same day leading tackler Frankie Luvu signed a three-year deal to play linebacker for the Commanders.
With them, Carolina still had the fewest sacks in the league (27) last year. Without them, the Eagles are a sure bet to win the game.
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