Last year’s collapse looks like a thing of the past as Saquon Barkley and a defensive revival have the Eagles looking primed for another Super Bowl run similar to 2022.
They have won eight straight games and look as dominant as any team in the NFL right now thanks to that lethal combination.
They currently have the league’s No. 1 rusher (Saquon Barkley) and the NFL’s No. 1 total defense (allowing 282.8 total yards per game).
That’s a winning formula, especially if we are talking about holding a lead. The Eagles have outscored teams 140-67 in the second half during their win streak and haven’t trailed in the fourth quarter during that span.
It also puts them in rare air. The Eagles are one of two teams since the merger to have the NFL’s leading rusher and the top-ranked total defense. The other would be the 1992 Super Bowl-champion Dallas Cowboys with Emmitt Smith.
The similarities do not stop there. Not even close.
- Both were NFC East teams off to 10-2 starts that won 11 games the previous season.
- Both had a 26-year-old quarterback (Troy Aikman vs. Jalen Hurts) who also happened to make a short stop at Oklahoma in college.
- Both had a fourth-year coach (Jimmy Johnson vs. Nick Sirianni) seeking their first Super Bowl ring.
- Both had two of the younger defenses in the league and the top-ranked total defense in the NFL.
- Both drafted two defensive backs in the first two rounds that year. Dallas notably took Darren Woodson in the second round. The Eagles drafted Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first two rounds.
- And both will surely have Pro Bowl triplets (Aikman, Smith, Irvin vs. Hurts, Barkley, Brown)
1992 Cowboys vs. 2024 Eagles
|
Division |
NFC East |
NFC East |
|
Wins in previous season |
11 |
11 |
|
Record in first 12 games |
10-2 |
10-2 |
|
QB age |
26 |
26 |
|
Coach year number |
4th |
4th |
|
QB/coach titles entering year |
0 |
0 |
|
Individual rushing rank |
1st |
1st |
|
Total defense rank |
1st |
1st |
|
Defensive backs drafted in first 2 rounds |
2 |
2 |
|
Season result |
Won Super Bowl |
?? |
We’ll see if Philadelphia can make good on all the similarities and win a Super Bowl like the Cowboys, but things are looking up.
Barkley is on pace for 2,123 rushing yards, which would break Eric Dickerson’s NFL record (2,105 in 1984). He’s averaging 81.8 rush yards per game on 7.6 yards per rush in the second half, both would be records since they were first tracked in 1991 (min. 100 rush attempts).
Plus, the Eagles defense has done a 180 under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The unit is allowing 74.7 fewer passing yards per game this year vs. last year, the biggest turnaround by any team since the 2012-13 Saints.
Eagles defensive ranks last 2 seasons
|
PPG |
30th |
4th |
|
YPG |
26th |
1st |
|
Pass YPG |
31st |
3rd |
They owe that to the youngest defense in the NFL led by players like Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
Rookies Mitchell and DeJean have not allowed a touchdown on 109 targets in coverage this year and are limiting quarterbacks to 4.3 yards per attempt during the eight-game win streak. No. 1 wide receivers are averaging 40.5 receiving yards per game vs. the Eagles during the streak.
No. 1 WRs vs. Eagles during 8-game win streak
Add in Jalen Hurts, who is back in MVP form, and the Eagles are a major problem and can make good on the above 1992 Cowboys comparison.
