In Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles flew to Brazil for Friday Night Football, went to bat against one of the best young teams in the NFC, and ultimately secured a pretty massive win on their way back to the City of Brotherly Love.
Was it perfect? No, the team had more issues than the slippery field in Brazil, but time after time, they found ways to overcome them in order to prove they are still one of the top teams in the NFL.
And the best part? This Monday, they get to do it all again under the national spotlight once more, this time with a home opener against the Atlanta Falcons at god old Lincoln Financial Field.
Will it be easy? No, in the NFL, almost no games are, but considering where the Eagles sit in 2024 and how the Falcons looked in Week 1, the conditions are there for Philadelphia to look very sunny this Monday night.
1. Jalen Hurts bounces back to pre-season form
After throwing a near-perfect summer in training camp, getting picked off just once on the final day by Darius Slay, Jalen Hurts had some legitimate struggles for the Eagles in Week 1, throwing as many touchdowns as picks while only completing 20 of his 34 passing attempts for 278 yards.
Now granted, nothing Hurts did was egregious enough to cost Philly the win, as he dominated on the team's final drive of the game, picking up key downs with his arm and legs on the way to a game-clinching field goal by Jake Elliott but still, as one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL, fans expect more from Hurts, as he's proven in the past that he can rise to the occasion.
Fortunately, in Week 2, Hurts won't be facing off against the Packers' young, hungry defense but instead the Falcons, who, despite hiring a defensive-minded head coach in ex-Los Angeles Rams DC Raheem Morris, allowed Justin Fields to make just enough plays to secure a Week 1 win in enemy territory.
Now, as you may or may not know, Hurts is a lot better player than Fields in pretty much every way, and in the past, when he faced off against Morris' defense, he shined, as back in 2023, QB1 threw for 303 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in a Week 5 win over LA's finest. With the Cardinals' defense probably a little worse than that unit from yesterseason, it is entirely possible fans get to see another big effort from Hurts, which should feature 300 yards passing but also good, efficient decisions with the ball in his hands, both as a passer and a runner for good measure too.
2. The Eagles get their money's worth from Bryce Huff
Signed away from the New York Jets as the biggest defensive move of free agency – at least at the time, before Zack Baun changed positions and instantly became a star – Bryce Huff was incredibly unremarkable in his debut in Midnight Green, amassing just one tackle – an assisted tackle at that – on just 45 percent of the team's offensive snaps while looking downright unremarkable when compared to his peers.
Asked by reporters what Huff has to do to get more action moving forward during his weekly media session, as both Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith – a pair of non-starters – were on the field more than him against the Packers, Vic Fangio put it pretty bluntly.
“You know, just separate himself from the other guys,” Fangio told reporters.
A harsh take? You bet, but it's also fair, as the Eagles simply don't have an elite enough pass rush to guarantee snaps to a rusher, no matter how pricey. They simply aren't producing.
Fortunately, in Week 2, the Eagles will be facing off against a team that surrendered seven QB hits, four pressures, and two sacks in Week 1, and could be in for an even tougher effort when they take the show on the road to the City of Brotherly Love.
Lining up against a quarterback who isn't quite a statue but escapes that label about as well as he escapes a free rusher in the offensive backfields – barely – Huff and the rest of the Eagles' pass rushers will have a golden opportunity to prove who can go and who can't moving forward against the Falcons, with former Jet having more motivation than most to prove not just why his team signed him but to prove that he can be a part of the plan long-term.
3. Philadelphia Fly Eagles Fly-s to 2-0
In Week 1, the Eagles put it all together, overcame some brutal mistakes, and ultimately defeated one of the better teams in the NFC by five points on a different continent and on a freakin' Friday. They withstood having to play on crappy turf, poor communication between their new center and QB, and a couple of passes Hurts certainly wishes he had back, even if he could breathe a sigh of relief when regulation came to an end.
In Week 2, the Eagles are playing against a Falcons team that just lost to the Steelers by over a touchdown and watched their new nine-figure quarterback throw two picks and take two sacks in a rough debut. If ever there was a game for the Eagles to put on the fireworks, step on the gas, and prove that they are still one of the best teams in the NFC, nay the NFL period, this would be the one to do it, much like their routing of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 of 2022. Hmmm, what happened at the end of that season?
Oh yeah, Nick Sirianni led the team to the Super Bowl.
