Philadelphia Eagles 2026 outlook: Why betting on them to miss the playoffs has real value

It is crazy just how much can change from one year to the next, especially in the NFL. We know there are going to be good teams that seem to succeed every year. Sometimes, though, there are teams that are good, but almost seem like they are fake good. That’s what I thought of the Eagles last year. Are they going to be good, bad, or somewhere in between this season?

The Eagles did make the playoffs a year after winning the Super Bowl over the Chiefs with ease. The team was just 11-6 for the season, though. The Eagles started the year looking dominant once again, winning all of their first four games. Then they had a tough home loss to Denver and an embarrassing road loss to the Giants. They won another four before they slumped to another three straight losses against the Cowboys, the Bears, and Chargers. The last week of the season meant nothing, and they lost to the Commanders. Of their six regular season losses, three were to non-playoff teams. In the postseason, they were in a back-and-forth battle with the 49ers before they lost in the fourth quarter.

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Perhaps an addition by subtraction was the Eagles finally getting rid of disgruntled wide receiver AJ Brown. There is no denying Brown’s talent, but he clearly was not happy with the offense. How can you be when it relies on a strong running back and a quarterback who really doesn’t throw much? They replaced him with Dontayvion Wicks, who had some flashes with the Packers, but nothing super impressive. They upgraded their defense, an area that looked a little weak last season. They got a cornerback, Riq Woolen, and traded for rusher Jonathan Greenard, both areas of need.

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Defensively, I do think the Eagles will still be solid, but they need to generate more pressure on the quarterback to allow their secondary not to be so exposed. It should improve from last year. On offense, I still am not sold on Jalen Hurts. I get that he has won a Super Bowl, but that defense was amazing. The Eagles' best feature is their short-yardage success. If it is a short distance, they are going to get the first down. They have speed with DeVonta Smith, and Wicks could get the targets that Brown was getting. Dallas Goedert is still a solid tight end. Saquon Barkley had a pretty poor year compared to his first season with Philadelphia, but he is still an elite back, and maybe this year will be closer to his first season with them.

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The Giants are probably a bit better this year, and the Cowboys should be better. Plus, the Commanders are likely to improve. They won a lot of one-score games last season, so maybe some of that comes back to the median with this year’s schedule. They are listed at 10.5 games, and that seems pretty high for them. I like the idea of taking the Eagles at +154 to miss the playoffs more than anything. I don’t have them as a playoff team this season despite the improvements.

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