The Eagles’ 2020 schedule has stretches of very winnable games and stretches of tough ones. In all, it’s not an unfavorable schedule.
Based on 2019 wins, which isn’t necessarily the best way to judge strength of schedule, the Eagles’ have the 26th-hardest schedule in the league. Their opponents have a combined winning percentage of .486. But it’s important to remember that playing in the NFC East gives the Eagles a built-in advantage right now, especially with the Giants and Redskins in rebuild mode.
After that, the Eagles did win the division last year so they have a first-place schedule. Their out-of-division games aren’t easy.
With all that in mind, here’s how I’d rank the Eagles’ 16 games in 2020 from hardest to easiest:
1. Week 4: at 49ers
Oct. 4 at 8:20 p.m. on NBC
To me, this Sunday Night Football game against the defending NFC champions is the toughest game on the Eagles’ schedule. They’ll have to fly across the country and face a team that won 13 games last season while playing in a tough division. The 49ers have one of the best defenses in the league and have plenty of firepower on offense. The Niners scored the second-most points in the league last year and they gave up the second-fewest yards on defense. They’re a well-rounded test.
2. Week 13: at Packers
Dec. 6 at 4:25 p.m. on CBS
NFL
I know the Eagles were able to go into Lambeau and come away with a great 34-27 win last year, but don’t let that give you an inflated opinion of how easy it is to win this game. The Packers were a 13-win team last season and made it to the NFC Championship Game. And this is the first time in franchise history the Eagles will play in Green Bay in December. The Packers’ two home games in December last season — both wins — came in 37-degree weather and 11-degree weather. And since Aaron Rodgers became Green Bay’s starter in 2008, the Packers have a 21-5 home record in the month of December.
3. Week 6 vs. Ravens
Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. on CBS
This game isn’t as important as the NFC games but it doesn’t mean it’ll be any easier. The Ravens had a NFL-high 14 wins last season and they have the league MVP going into his third season. What Jackson was able to do last season was nothing short of incredible: He threw for over 3,000 yards with 36 touchdowns and then ran for 1,200 and another 7 touchdowns. He’s a true dual threat and it won’t be easy to stop him.
4. Week 14 vs. Saints
Dec. 13 at 4:25 p.m. on FOX
On a positive note, the Eagles will be catching the Saints on their third of three straight road games. They play in Denver and in Atlanta in the two weeks before coming to Philly. That might help. But the Saints are another 13-win team from last year and they still have Drew Brees, Michael Thomas and an offense that can put up huge numbers. As good as the Saints are at the Superdome, they actually had a better road record (7-1) last season. The Eagles have lost both games to the Saints in the Doug Pederson Era — the regular season blowout in 2018 and the close playoff loss in those playoffs. Overall, the Eagles have lost 7 of their last 9 against the Saints.
5. Week 12 vs. Seahawks
Nov. 30 at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN
The bad news is that the Eagles lost the the Seahawks twice last season, amazingly by the same 17-9 score. The good news is that the Eagles really could have won both of those games. And I’m convinced if Carson Wentz doesn’t get knocked out of the wild card game, the Eagles advance to the divisional round. But the Seahawks have just had the Eagles’ number in the last decade. Starting in 2011, Seattle has six straight wins against the Birds. In the Pederson Era, the Eagles are 0-4 against Seattle, including playoffs. Russell Wilson has never lost to Philly.
6. Week 16 at Cowboys
Dec. 27 at 4:25 p.m. on FOX
This matchup in Dallas could very well decide the NFC East and, unfortunately for the Eagles, the game is in Dallas. Pederson is 1-3 in Dallas and the Eagles have lost their last two games in AT&T Stadium, including last year’s 37-10 defeat. The Cowboys have talent but they have failed to live up to expectations in recent seasons; they went 8-8 last year and have a new coach.
7. Week 5 at Steelers
Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. on FOX
Pittsburgh expects to have Ben Roethlisberger back this season after he missed most of the 2019 season. To the Steelers’ credit, they were in the playoff hunt for a lot of last year without their starting quarterback. They finished with an 8-8 record but were 5-3 at home. The Eagles have played the Steelers just once under Pederson, the 34-3 win early in Carson Wentz’s rookie season.
8. Week 15 at Cardinals
ARZ on Dec. 20 at 4:05 p.m. on FOX
This game in Phoenix comes after the Eagles play Seattle, Green Bay and New Orleans, but they can’t afford to overlook the Cardinals, who are definitely on the upswing. Arizona finished last season with a 5-10-1 record but they play in the toughest division in football and took down the Seahawks in December. They have a talented young quarterback in Kyler Murray, who now has DeAndre Hopkins to add to his list of weapons.
9. Week 8 vs. Cowboys
Nov. 11 at 8:20 p.m. on NBC
This game sets up nicely for the Eagles. It’s a really important matchup, their first against the Cowboys and it sets up pretty favorably. The Eagles play on Thursday night football against the Giants in Week 7, so they’ll have a few extra days to prepare for the Cowboys, who have to travel back to the East Coast for the second straight week after playing in Washington the previous Sunday.
10. Week 2 vs. Rams
Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. on FOX
This will be billed a Wentz-Jared Goff showdown for as long as these two guys are on their respective teams, but the Eagles have had success against the Rams. They beat them in 2017 to clinch the NFC East (when Wentz got hurt) and then again in 2018. The won both games by a touchdown. The Rams had a letdown year in 2019, finishing with a 9-7 record.
11. Week 11 at Browns
Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. on FOX
The Browns had a 6-7 record last season before they dropped their last three games to finish at 6-10. It was their 12th straight season with a losing record. They actually went into the 2019 season with high expectations but Baker Mayfield didn’t have a good second NFL season and they finished third in their division. Maybe this is the year the Browns finally get out of the basement, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
12. Week 10 at Giants
Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. on FOX
The Eagles play the Giants two times in three games (four weeks) in the middle of the season. This game follows the Eagles’ Week 9 bye. Believe it or not, the Eagles are actually 1-3 coming off bye weeks under Pederson, but it is still an advantage to get an extra week to prepare and rest. They just can’t come out flat.
13. Week 7 vs. Giants
Oct. 22 at 8:20 p.m. on FOX
The Eagles haven’t lost at home to the Giants since October of 2013. They have beaten them six straight times at the Linc, including all four times they’ve hosted the Giants under Pederson. They needed overtime to win in December of last year, but they pulled off a 23-17 win after they marched down the field after the OT kickoff.
14. Week 1 at Redskins
Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. on FOX
This will be the third time in the last four years that the Eagles will play the Redskins in the season opener. In the last two, the Eagles put up at least 30 points to win. In 2019, they got down 17-0 early but Wentz started throwing bombs to DeSean Jackson and the Eagles came back to win 32-27. Washington is rebuilding with a new head coach and this will be Ron Rivera’s first game at the helm.
15. Week 3 vs. Bengals
Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. on CBS
This will be Joe Burrow’s third career start and he has to come to the Linc and face a defense led by Jim Schwartz, who has traditionally found ways to crush rookie quarterbacks. Getting this game in early is good for the Eagles because Burrow won’t have much time to learn on the fly after a shortened offseason. You can argue the Eagles won’t have much tape on him — which is true — but the positives far outweighs the negatives. They’re seeing a 2-14 team with a rookie quarterback. This better be a win.
16. Week 17 vs. Redskins
Jan. 3 at 1 p.m. on FOX
The Eagles have a six-game winning streak going against Washington and have outscored them by nearly 13 points per game during that winning streak (30.8-18.0). So if the Eagles are in a position where they need to win a game to make the playoffs or for seeding, they should fee very confident playing Washington in the last week of the regular season.
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