Ollie Velez
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is sacked for a safety against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In February 2023, the Philadelphia Eagles lost in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles responded to this loss with a productive off-season, including trading for D'andre Swift, drafting defensive tackle Jalen Carter, and resigning key players like center Jason Kelce. The Eagles started the 2023-2024 season extremely strong, going 10-1 and leading the National Football Conference (NFC). However, they could not maintain their tremendous record, losing 5 of their last 6 games, some of which they were highly favored to win. Their second loss came on December 3 against one of the strongest teams in the league, the San Francisco 49ers. Many thought this had the potential to be the game of the year as, at the time, the 49ers were 8-3 and the second in the NFC. However, the 49ers completely dismantled the Eagles, winning 42-19. The Eagles looked to bounce back the next week against their division rival, the Dallas Cowboys, but again, they lost big by a score of 33-13. The Eagles went into Week 15 as clear favorites against the Seattle Seahawks, who, at the time, were battling a four-game losing streak. However, with quarterback Jalen Hurts battling a sickness, the Eagles fell to the Seahawks 20-17, giving them a record of 10-4.
Following their third straight loss to the Seahawks, Jalen Hurts shared, “We didn't execute. I don't think we were committed enough, you know. Just gotta turn it around.” This seemed to fuel Hurts and the Eagles the next week. In Week 16, their losing streak was snapped after a 33-25 win against division rival, New York Giants. The Eagles were determined to win this game and turn it around and Jalen Hurts being completely healthy for this game helped seal the victory. Although the Eagles did not play their best game, they were happy to finally get back in the winning column and hopefully remain there for their last two games. In spite of that, the Eagles had a weak finish to the season, losing 35-31 to the Cardinals and 27-10 to the 5-11 Giants.
Going into the NFL playoffs, the Eagles were determined not to let their rough end into the regular season carry over. With an 11-6 record and second in the NFC East division, the Eagles were the fifth seed, set to play the fourth-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Week 3, these two teams faced off, and the Eagles put up a strong performance, winning 25-11. However, this time, quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers dominated the struggling Eagles. The Buccaneers won the game 32-9, ending Philadelphia’s season.
With their season coming to an end in poor fashion, the Eagles organization will have many questions to ask themselves. Is Head Coach Nick Sirianni the right fit? Who will replace recently retired Center Jason Kelce? The Eagles now have to look ahead to next season and make off-season moves that can help them compete for a Super Bowl in 2025.
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