Her Take

What a team, what a season.

The team that started 2-2 with a very early bye week went on to win 10 games in a row and finish with a 14-3 record, steamrolling opponents and resting starters in the 4th quarters of most of their games. The team with two new coordinators and a host of new players from both free agency and the draft meshed like they’ve been playing together for years. The team that everyone doubted, that everyone always doubts, rolled into New Orleans and absolutely decimated the best team in the NFL over the last five years, avenging their Super Bowl loss from two years ago.

It’s hard to pinpoint my favorite part of this season. Every day I come up with a new one or two or three. I don’t even know where to start anymore when I talk about this season with other people. So, to work through some of these thoughts, I’ve committed them to writing. Let me know which one resonates with you, or if I missed your favorite one!

Saquon Barkley
No surprise this one is at the very top of the list. Saquon’s historic season with the Eagles (2,005 yards and 13 TDs in the regular season alone) is one of the greatest ever by a running back in NFL history. He left a franchise that neglected to build him a strong offensive line and devalued him in free agency. He had one playoff appearance with the Giants in the six years he spent there, left for Philadelphia, and won a Super Bowl in his first season with the team. All it took was one season for him to make his impact.

While his individual stats are impressive, it’s become clear that he is the ultimate team guy. “How about those boys up front” was his constant refrain when asked about his historic season. He put his helmet on and ran down the field to celebrate with Will Shipley when he scored in the NFC Championship game. And in a game against his former team, he needed just 14 yards to break his personal high of 189 yards rushing in a game, and just 43 to break the Eagles’ franchise record of 217 yards set by LeSean McCoy in 2013. Instead, with a lofty lead, he chose to sit out and “let the young guys eat.”

“You can’t be great without the greatness of others.”

The Defense
At the end of the 2023 season, the Eagles defense ranked 26 overall, 31 in passing defense, 10 in rushing defense, 30 in scoring defense, 30 in red zone defense, and 31 in third down defense. These rankings are the result of the colossal collapse after starting 10-1. But offseason changes, like hiring Vic Fangio, signing Zack Baun and drafting Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell spurred a remarkable defensive comeback in 2024. This defense ranked in the top 10 for nearly every metric all season and then, on the NFL’s biggest stage, forced three turnovers and sacked Patrick Mahomes six times, generating pressure without blitzing one single time. This defensive unit earned its spot as one of the best in NFL history, and for me the best part is that it’s also one of the youngest in the league – two of its cornerbacks earned Defensive Rookie of the Year nominations.

Jalen Hurts / Nick Sirianni
Remember when the Eagles started 2-2 and fans were calling for Jalen to be benched and Nick Sirianni to be fired? I remember. I was never firmly in either of those camps, but I was growing skeptical of Nick Sirianni. I was sure that there was a growing divide between coach and QB 1. I thought that Sirianni’s sideline antics were indicative of a coach who had low confidence and that his issues with Jalen were going to deeply impact the rest of the season.

But Jalen and Nick led this team from a 2-2 start to a 12-1 record after the early bye week. The leadership of this team deserves all the credit for making crucial changes to the offense after a week five bye. Jalen won the Super Bowl and was named Super Bowl MVP, avenging the Super Bowl loss from two years ago when he had the best game of his career but still lost the game. He became the first QB in 50 years to win a Super Bowl after losing his first. He went from 15 interceptions and 89.1 rating in the 2023 season to just five interceptions and 103.7 rating in the 2024 season. All season he made good decisions under pressure, was efficient in getting the ball out of his hands quickly, and showed better command of the game than in any season he’s been the starter. As for Nick? He beat the coach who fired him, has led his team to the fifth-best winning percentage in the league since he was hired in 2021, and joins elite company (Vince Lombardi and John Madden) as the only coaches in NFL history to have a .700 winning percentage in the regular season AND a Super Bowl title.

The way these two smiled at each other when hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after one of the most dominant performances in Super Bowl history? *chef’s kiss*

A.J. Brown
A.J.’s relationship with his best friend, Jalen Hurts, was under the media spotlight all season. The media tried desperately to send Eagles fans into a spiral over whether on-field struggles with the passing game were bleeding into their years-long friendship and affecting them off the field. But A.J. and Jalen proved them wrong when it mattered the most. Down the stretch, the passing game performed well when it needed to, especially in the Super Bowl when the Chiefs stacked the box against Saquon Barkley and forced the Eagles to beat them with a strong passing performance. Let’s not forget that A.J. Brown’s regular season stats were 67 receptions for 1,079 yards and seven TDs – despite a historic season for the running game.

In the Wild Card game against the Packers, A.J. was spotted on the sidelines reading Inner Excellence, essentially a self-help book. Sure, it’s strange to see a player reading a book on the sidelines of an NFL game, but when has A.J. Brown ever cared what other people thought of him? And he took this opportunity to remind us that he is an outspoken advocate for mental health, having previously revealed he thought about taking his own life during the 2020 season. I don’t care if A.J. decides to crack open a book on the sidelines of a playoff game. I care if A.J. is healthy and well. And I love that he got the last laugh on his critics with his Super Bowl parade speech:

“They said I was a diva. They said all I care about was stats. If you’re going to get all those things wrong about me, but there’s one thing you can get right: I’m an ‘expletive’ champion.”

Brandon Graham
#55 has been with the Eagles since they drafted him in 2010. Arguably his most memorable play was when he strip sacked Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII. But Brandon has always come in clutch and has consistently elevated the Eagles defense year after year. After the historic collapse last year, Brandon made the decision to stay with the team for one more season because he thought his veteran presence could help lift them from the rut and inspire them to greatness. He wasn’t wrong. But when BG went down with a triceps injury, he was out for the season. That was, until the Eagles won the NFC Championship game and were Super Bowl-bound. BG completed a remarkable comeback from an injury that probably should have sidelined him for longer and came back to play in the biggest game of the season. I don’t know what’s next for him; he has all but confirmed that he would be retiring. But regardless, BG’s drive to rehab his injury and come back to close out a historic season with his team is one of my favorite storylines from 2024.

Jake Elliott
“Jake the Make” frustrated Eagles fans all season by missing chip shot field goals and extra points that should have been automatic. It was a shock for fans, given that Jake had been one of the most consistent kickers in the league heading into this season. He made 28 FGs on 36 attempts for a 77.8 percentage. To put that in perspective, in 2023 he made 30/32 (93.8), in 2022 he made 20/23 (87.0), and in 2021 he made 30/33 (90.9). We were not used to seeing Jake miss so many kicks in a single season. But when it came to the biggest game of his career, he was 4/4 in field goals and 4/4 in extra points; absolutely perfect when it mattered the most. In fact, combined with the five FGs he made in Super Bowl LII, he has the most career FGs made without a miss in the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Champs
The Eagles didn’t just beat the Chiefs – they decimated them. They completely outplayed them on both sides of the ball for the entire 60 minutes of game time. The Chiefs went scoreless for nearly three whole quarters and didn’t even cross the 50-yard line until the second half. They had 11 total first downs compared to the Eagles’ 21. The Eagles had 70 total plays compared to the Chiefs’ 49 and 345 total yards compared to the Chiefs’ 275 (most of which they gained in garbage time). Jalen Hurts threw one interception when he was forced to make a bad throw. The Chiefs had three turnovers, including one pick six that was Cooper DeJean’s very first interception in his NFL career. The pressure brought by the Eagles defense was constant and relentless. The Chiefs haven’t played this badly in a long time. The final score, 40-22, makes the game seem so much closer than it actually was. Mahomes scored for the first time when they were down 34-0, for the second time when they were down 40-6, and for the third time after Nick Sirianni’s Gatorade bath.

For the two weeks leading up to the game, I kept saying that the Eagles were going to beat the Chiefs by scoring early and often, putting the game out of reach. That’s exactly what they did.

What a team, what a season.

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