Philadelphia Eagles (o9 -134/u9 +110) 2020 Preview
Last year’s NFC East Champs, the Eagles come in to 2020 as a team with something to prove. Even after winning a SuperBowl just 3 short years ago, Philly doesn’t seem to get enough credit. There are still questions about Carson Wentz as a top-flight NFL QB. As the architect of the “Philly Special”, the shine has come off of Doug Pederson a great deal. Many of the same issues from last year seem to be carrying right into 2020. The Eagles are at a crossroads and need to prove their worthiness yet again.
So there’s this strange perception that Carson Wentz is always hurt because it sure seems like he is. The thing is, he’s really not. In his 4-year career he has played 16 games twice, 13 games once (the year they won the title) and 11 games once. He’s missed 5 regular season games in his whole career (yes, he’s missed playoff games too, but I’m making a point here). Wentz went for 4,039 yds, a 63.9% completion rate, with 27 TDs and 7 INTs last year with the likes of Greg Ward as his top WR. Dude was out here ballin’. The offense has not really improved the skill position players. Yes, Desean Jackson is back hoping to recreate some of that old magic but their first round pick Jalen Reagor is already hurt and will miss the first 4 weeks of the season. The two excellent TEs of Zack Ertz and Dallas Goedert are still around, as are Alshon Jeffries’ injuries (he will also miss the early part of the season). Miles Sanders is being touted as a fantasy darling and he well may be, if Pederson is willing to give him a large majority of RB touches, but he’s still not top tier for his position. The main problem the Eagles will have on offense is their line. Brandon Brooks and Andre Dillard are both lost for the season with an Achilles and biceps tear, respectively and Jason Peters had to come out of retirement to play out of position. This is concerning. I do not believe the Eagles 16th ranked offense DVOA has gotten any better.
The Eagles defense is lead by one of my favorite position coaches, Jim Schwartz. That guy deserves another head coaching job in the league, but I digress. This defense finished 12th overall DVOA last year but it was a tale of two units – the run stopping was excellent and the secondary was average. Fletcher Cox is a bad man and he’s going to solidify the front along with Malik Jackson (back from a long injury). The Birds’ secondary was the real problem last year and consistently got burned. In comes Darius Slay and Nickell Roby-Coleman to help. Slay is just average now according to PFF but Coleman is definitely an upgrade and will help. The Eagles will need it in a division with plenty of WR talent. I do think that Schwartz will be able to coach up the defense and make them better than last year.
The problem this year is the Eagles play a division winner’s schedule, so they will have tougher games than Dallas. And the Eagles will have to play better than last year because Dallas was extremely unlucky and might not lose so many toss up games again. The Giants and Washington are bad (both lined under 7 wins) but I don’t think the Eagles can pencil in 2 season sweeps here. In fact, I think they will split the season series against these two teams and have a difficult time with the much more talented Cowboys. The secondary won’t be getting annihilated as they were last year, and the game totals should be lower. I’m just not sold on this team even being a playoff team given the current makeup of the NFC. The Eagles won’t be winning the division this year and they might not make the playoffs. I’m going to lean under here and look to bet against them when they are favored due to name recognition and being a “popular” team. When you’re coming into the season with Desean Jackson as your number one WR, it’s hard to see the silver linings.
No Season Total Play. Lean Under 9 wins.