On Thursday evening, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the lowly Houston Texans 29-17 to report their eighth-straight victory of the season and stay the one undefeated crew within the NFL.
In doing so, the 2022 season grew to become the franchise’s greatest opening to a season with a primary 8-0 begin.
Though that they had a good season final 12 months, nobody may have predicted the Eagles would turn into Tremendous Bowl contenders behind an inexperienced quarterback and a second-year head coach.
However, towards the chances, Philadelphia has transitioned into the highest tier of NFL groups — apart from the Buffalo Payments and the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs — as many individuals’s favorites to be taking part in in February’s season finale.
So, how did we get right here?
Inexperienced shoots
Final 12 months was one in all rebuilding for the Eagles. The departure of beginning quarterback Carson Wentz and head coach Doug Pederson offered a complete change for the group.
And whereas usually these years of reestablishing an id generally is a powerful watch, for Eagles followers there have been positives to carry onto.
The arrival of Nick Sirianni as head coach supplied a recent perspective from the sideline and a scheme change on the sphere.
With no established quarterback on the roster, it was left to Jalen Hurts — the previous Oklahoma star who was drafted within the second spherical in 2020 — to guide the crew.
Hurts had restricted expertise in his rookie 12 months, however what time he spent on the sphere didn’t go nicely as he displayed the naivety first-year quarterbacks usually present.
However, paired with Sirianni, rookie vast receiver DeVonta Smith, dynamic operating again Miles Sanders and one of many league’s greatest offensive strains, the Eagles confirmed indicators of a fast retooling.
After a sluggish begin to the season, the offense started to hum as video games glided by, with the crew finally ending with an 8-7 report earlier than an eventual first-round playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Regardless of the disappointing finish to the season, there have been good indicators to go off for the 2017 Tremendous Bowl winners.
And, sensing foundations have been in place, Philadelphia’s entrance workplace went all out to enhance the crew as greatest it may in the course of the offseason.
The crew made key additions to an already talent-rich protection — together with Haason Reddick, James Bradberry, C. J. Gardner-Johnson and, simply earlier than the commerce deadline, Robert Quinn — to make what has turn into a deadly set of defenders for opposing groups.
In addition to one other offseason to be taught the system, the offense received a significant enhance when the crew traded for Professional Bowl vast receiver A.J. Brown.
However even with all these additions, the beginning the crew made has taken everybody without warning.
The crew has gained each one in all its eight common season video games, with Hurts taking the leap to a Professional Bowl quarterback having struck up an already deadly relationship with Brown via 9 weeks of the NFL season — Brown has 5 touchdowns in his final three video games.
Hurts rise has been astronomic from a promising quarterback to one of many league’s greatest. After Thursday’s recreation, Texans head coach Lovie Smith praised the 24-year-old, calling him an “excellent participant.”
What has been most spectacular has been the steadiness of the crew. Though the crew has developed threatening passing assault, Hurts’ dynamism together with his legs has allowed the crew to stay a potent operating crew, making them virtually undefendable at factors.
After Thursday’s victory over the Texans and setting a franchise-best begin to the season, Hurts was in no temper for getting forward of himself.
“I imply, I have been 8-0 earlier than and misplaced the nationwide championship. Simply take it daily. We have not completed something but. It is a day-by-day factor of us controlling issues we are able to, taking part in to our commonplace and attempting to develop every single day. I feel that is actually what it is about.”
After such a begin, many are penciling within the Eagles to return out of the NFC convention and problem in Tremendous Bowl LVII in Arizona.
And in what has been a down 12 months for most of the conventional huge groups within the NFC — the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Inexperienced Bay Packers are all going via tough beginnings to the season — Philadelphia have given themselves the right shot to seize a first-round playoff bye come January.
And within the Metropolis of Brotherly Love, Hurts will likely be showered in adoration on his return because the Eagles proceed their endeavor for the group’s second Tremendous Bowl ring.
