This 8-2 Eagles start feels more sustainable than last year’s 10-1 mirage. They have put that season in the rearview mirror, with some upgrades to personnel – think Saquon Barkley, Mekhi Becton, and Zack Baun - but some, like leader Lane Johnson, doesn’t want anyone in the locker room to forget.
“As good as things are going, I want people to remember last year,” said the right tackle. “You get to 10-1 and get that complacency feeling and you find out quickly this league will knock you on your ass if you let it.”
The Eagles headed into their weekend off with a 26-18 win over the Washington Commanders on Thursday night. It was their sixth straight victory. They haven’t lost since Sept. 28 and at 8-2 sit atop the NFC East.
The Eagles were 10-1 last year and the wheels completely fell off, losing six of their final seven including the opening round of the playoffs in Tampa.
It looked like the Eagles were head to the junkyard again after four games. They went 2-2 before their bye and looked like a lost team. Nick Sirianni was under pressure, the defense was inconsistent, and the offense was seemingly stuck in mud, spinning its wheels with turnovers and penalties.
Not many teams like an early bye, but the Eagles needed this one. They got healthy and emerged a different looking team.
Baun didn’t want to dive into what happened during those two weeks between losing in Tampa and winning the first game of this current streak against the Cleveland Browns.
“A lot of stuff in the locker room, just holding ourselves to an expectation,” he said. “We have goals at the beginning of the season, and we were underachieving and we had to turn something around. … I don’t know. Just good conversations.”
The Eagles’ hallmark since then has been physicality and intensity. They fly to the ball and arrive with bad intentions. Sometimes they miss tackles, but it’s not for lack of effort. Last year when they limped home, they were getting whipped physically. Effort appeared to be lacking.
The offense has things to clean up, without a doubt. They had three points in the first half against the Commanders and just seven in Dallas four days earlier.
“We knew we had a talented roster, but the paper stuff doesn’t matter,” said Johnson. “It’s about how you come together as a team, battle adversity, and fight through stuff. We got hit in the mouth in the first half (of the season). At the end of the day, defense has been playing well. Offensively we have some stuff to fix.”
