Against all odds, the Philadelphia Eagles are the last team with a perfect record this season, and quarterback Jalen Hurts has gotten much of the credit. The Eagles (5-0) are just one of two teams to rank in the top 10 in the league in total offense and defense, points and league yards. The other? The Buffalo Bills (4-1) who started the season as favorites in Las Vegas to reach the Super Bowl, February 12.
Philadelphia’s numbers may be lost in the fact that only one of its wins has come against a team with a positive record this season. A win on Sunday against the league’s third-best defense would validate their record and give the Eagles the respect that comes with a 6-0 start, something they haven’t achieved since 2004, when they won their first seven games in a season in which they went 13-3.
The good news for Philly is that since 2000, the last team to miss the perfect step has made it to the Super Bowl 10 times (45%). The bad news is that only one of those teams, the 2006 Colts, has managed to lift the Lombardi in February.
The success of coach Nick Siriani‘s squad goes far beyond Jalen Hurts, newcomer wide receiver A.J. Brown or the fourth-best running game in the NFL. The key word in Philly this year has been balance.
Despite all this optimism, Philadelphia’s road back to a Super Bowl is still a long one and will have its next chapter on Monday, October 17 when they take on the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys defeated the protagonists of the last Super Bowl: the Bengals in week 2 and the Rams on Sunday. Dallas arrives at the meeting in Philadelphia with proven ability. Now there is only one obstacle between them and the division top: the Eagles.
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