Can the Eagles Return to Soaring Heights in 2026?
The Eagles are one of the NFL’s most polarizing teams, capturing headlines week in and week out. Two years removed from their coveted Super Bowl run, the team finds itself with an uncertain future. At least that’s what the media would have you believe. The Eagles' demise has been greatly overblown. They are still a good team and will shock the media in 2026. Let’s look at the bumps that slowed them down in 2025 and how they can improve those faults to catapult themselves back to the top of the NFL in 2026.
The Season that Was
2024 was the year that this current iteration of the Eagles peaked. Everything came together, and Philadelphia finally harvested the fruits of its labor. In 2024, the Giants and star running back Saquon Barkley were locked in a contract dispute. The two sides were at an impasse over how much the Giants were willing to pay their star player. New York was willing to let Barkley try his luck in free agency, hoping that no other team would be willing to pay what he was asking. To the disappointment of the Giants, the former Penn State running back had agreed to terms with the Eagles. A massive blow in New York as they lost their best player not only to another team but to their division rivals.
The Eagles were finally coming into their own, reaching the playoffs three years in a row with a Super Bowl appearance in 2022. Unfortunately, 2023 was a down year for the team's goals. While they won the NFC East and made the playoffs, they were knocked out in the Wild Card Round by the Buccaneers. Before the playoffs, the Eagles had gone on a hot streak to start the season, accumulating an 11-1 record. The wheels fell off in Week 13 as they finished the season with a 1-6 run into the playoffs. It was no surprise that they had fallen in the first round of the playoffs. Clearly, they needed some improvements to push the team over the hump. General manager Howie Roseman got to work immediately. Starting with the signing of Barkley, he went on to draft two studs. Using their first-round pick on future All-Pro Quinyon Mitchell and their second-round pick on another future All-Pro in Cooper DeJean. Another key pick up for the Birds was Zach Baun, who they picked up in free agency alongside Barkley.
The retool was a complete success as the Eagles dominated in 2024. They only had three losses in the regular season, two of which came in the first three weeks. Despite the loss of long-time center Jason Kelce, the offensive line continued to dominate. Behind one of the best lines in the league, Barkley joined the 2,000-yard club, as he rushed for 2,005 yards, placing him in elite company. Besides Barkley’s offensive dominance, the Eagles' defense was outright dominant. They led the league in yards per game, giving up only 278 and only allowing 31 touchdowns all year. The 2024 Eagles cruised through the postseason, where they dominated the Chiefs in the Super Bowl to win their second Super Bowl title in the 2000s.
Stepping Back in 2025
2025 started with the departure of their offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore. Moore took the head coaching job in New Orleans. The departure of Moore highlighted the biggest issue that has hampered this iteration of the Eagles. After each successful season, they find their assistant coaches and coordinators being promoted to bigger roles. We first saw this after the 2022 Super Bowl loss, where both coordinators took head coaching jobs on other teams. With little roster turnover, the Eagles took a step back in 2023. They bounced back in 2024 with the Moore hire, but in 2025, they took another step back after Moore's departure.
The 2025 Eagles were not a bad team by any stretch of the imagination. The roster is extremely talented thanks to hitting on multiple draft picks. The biggest issue they face with the roster is that they can’t pay everyone. Another issue that hampered the Eagles in 2025 is the tush push. The tush push has drawn controversy throughout the league, both in the media and with teams' upper brass. Essentially, pushing star quarterback Jalen Hurts at least one yard to secure a first down. The move has drawn controversy due to its extremely high success rate. NFL owners voted to ban the tush push, but the vote failed, keeping it in play. In 2025, we saw teams finally begin to slow down the tush push. NFL officials also began calling the play off-sides, severely slowing the formerly unstoppable play.
Philly had some good wins and some really bad losses in 2025, which the media jumped on. Hurts has also drawn considerable criticism over his passing ability. Hurts has never been an amazing passer, having failed to reach 4,000 passing yards in a season. In their Super Bowl year, the former Sooner had his lowest passing volume. Hurts excels with his rushing ability. Along with Barkley, the Eagles are one of the most dangerous rushing teams in the NFL. Where they leaned heavily on the run game in 2024, 2025 saw them put more focus on the passing game. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patulo drew heavy criticism for how he ran the offense, not using the team's strengths. Ultimately, we saw the Eagles fall early with the media and fans calling for the head of Patulo and head coach Nick Sirianni.
Bouncing Back in 2026
Patulo was fired shortly after the season, to the surprise of no one. The cash problem hit the Eagles hard this year as they lost several young players to other teams. Still, there is hope and lots of it in Philly. Roseman has already shown just how good he is at drafting, and I expect him to hit again this year. Roseman has already been hard at work, locking up some of their elite younger players for the future and grabbing good players at good prices in free agency. The team has also found its new offensive coordinator in Sean Mannion, who is a young, up-and-coming coach from the Matt LeFleur coaching tree. LeFluer is considered one of the best offensive minds in football, so their former quarterbacks coach should be a massive addition for the Birds. Despite losing some of their solid pieces, the Eagles have managed to keep their best assets in Philly. With the new addition of youth on the coaching staff, don’t be surprised when the Eagles make another deep playoff run.
