NFL teams most likely to go from worst to first in 2021

NFL teams to watch out for in 2021: Philadelphia Eagles

6. Philadelphia Eagles

There’s a clear drop-off from number five to the final three teams. However, for the Eagles there is a path. No one's saying that they expect this team to finish above .500 in any way, but let’s not forget that this division was won by the 7-9 Washington Football Team last season, and if Doug Pederson didn’t pull a couple of starters for Philly in the final regular season contest, it could have been the 6-10 Giants.

Washington should be favorites once again with the addition of Ryan Fitzpatrick, new weapons around him, and a couple of key additions to an already close-to-elite defense, and while people are betting big on the Cowboys once again, Washington should still be better by quite a bit.

Even the Giants have things to get excited about, where it will be up to the development of Daniel Jones, since the rest of the roster is more complete than people give it credit for. This could be one of the more balanced divisions across the league and shouldn’t be made like we did a year ago.

"He carries himself like a veteran. He can scramble outside of the pocket. When that happens, man it makes it a little easier for the offensive line."Lane Johnson on how Jalen Hurts' mobility helps the offensive line.#Eagles (via @SiriusXMNFL) pic.twitter.com/opdGEIkp8L

— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) July 2, 2021

Why things are looking up for the Eagles

It certainly won’t be easy for Philadelphia to make some noise, but the roster is better than it was last year when they lost just one game to a non-playoff team by more than one score.

That 2020 schedule was much tougher than these simplistic strength-of-schedule rankings would suggest with eight of their losses coming at the hands of playoff teams, while the offensive line took hits all year long, as Brandon Brooks was lost in the offseason already and Jason Kelce was the only intended starter to play more than 52 percent of the snaps.

Jalen Hurts definitely had some special moments as a playmaker, even though he has to become a more consistent thrower and reader of the field. They re-united him with former Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith, who will move everybody else down the pecking order.

That Week 16 loss at Dallas was pretty bad, but they did shock the Saints. Jalen Hurts battled with Kyler Murray until the end and if they don’t bench him in the fourth quarter, they win that game.

Eagles defensive line not messing around 💪 @Eagles pic.twitter.com/bTgKEp9olP

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 5, 2020

The Eagles had one of the best drafts league-wide. They got several guys on the O-line back healthy and this weird tension between Doug Pederson, Carson Wentz and the front-office is now out of the way.

Looking at the rest of the NFC East, there’s more things to get excited about for the other three teams, but Philly seems to have gotten some scheduling breaks.

First, the two Super Bowl participants are the only playoff teams from a year ago that they’ll face through the first ten weeks. They get to play both New York teams in consecutive weeks, so they can stay out there before heading into their Week 14 bye.

That may be late, but that gives them the opportunity to recuperate before closing out with four straight divisional games, all but one of those at home. Some people seem to be much higher on Washington than the books and a lot of casual fans are, but few would be shocked if 8-9 or 9-8 was enough for the NFC East crown – which there’s a route to get to for Philly, if Jalen Hurts takes a big step forward.

Chance: 5-10 percent