The summer is officially over, training camp and preseason are a wrap, and the Eagles will depart Philadelphia four days from now for a 9+ hour flight to São Paulo, Brazil, for an intriguing season-opening matchup against Jordan Love and the talented Green Bay Packers.
Philadelphia has retooled its roster, changed both coordinator positions, and has one of the younger teams in the NFL entering the 2024 regular season. There are always questions to be answered, and with the regular season upon us, we’re looking at the three biggest questions for the Eagles ahead of the matchup against the Packers.
Can the young guys hit the ground running?
Cooper DeJean (21), Jeremiah Trotter (21), and Jalen Carter (23) are among the 12 players on the roster who are age 23 or younger, and all twelve play integral roles for a team with a legit Super Bowl window. The Eagles are a potential juggernaut, but an injury at a critical position on offense, or Darius Slay suffering an injury on defense, could expose a youth-filled group that could still not be ready for primetime. With Jason Kelce becoming a media giant and Fletcher Cox enjoying retirement, Philadelphia must have leadership voids filled from Day 1.
Can Jalen Hurts regain his All-Pro form?
Hurts was named to his second Pro Bowl last after starting 17 regular-season games. He completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 3,858 yards and a career-high 23 touchdowns. He also added 15 rushing touchdowns, setting a new NFL record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single season, matching Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. With Kellen Moore emphasizing Hurts become more efficient with check-downs to the running backs, his completion percentage could rise to over 70% in 2024. There were difficult moments in 2023, though, as Hurts’ QBR ranking fell from fourth (68.3) to 12th (60.1). His 15 interceptions nearly matched his first three years combined (18). After cleaning his game and meshing with Kellen Moore, Can Hurts regain his All-Pro form.
Will Vic Fangio’s defense respond to the pressure?
The offense can be explosive and set all kinds of records, but it won’t matter if the Eagles rebuilt defense doesn’t tackle better, make plays in coverage, and pressure and sack the quarterback. Philadelphia spent three years running some variation of Fangio’s scheme before hiring the architect. The Eagles are a young cornerback but much improved, while C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s return has brought swagger and confidence back to the unit. After a total collapse in 2023, can the Eagles’ defense regain that 2022 form?