The rushing success has helped Hurts settle in as a passer and has taken pressure off the defense. After a slow start on Sunday, the Eagles rolled to an easy 34-10 victory over the Giants, lifting their record to 8-7. Football Outsiders now gives them a 74.3 percent chance of reaching the playoffs.
The Eagles have by no means solved all of their problems. Most of their wins came against stumbling opponents like the Jets, Lions, and Panthers. Hurts still endures slumps and turnover sprees, most recently in his three-interception performance in a Week 12 loss to the Giants. Sirianni still gets carried away with misdirection passing tactics early in games before remembering that the Eagles are at their best when hammering away at the line of scrimmage. The team still faces potential 2022 cap headaches and relies a little too heavily on aging Super Bowl holdovers. Assuming they reach the playoffs, the Eagles will probably be steamrollered by one of the N.F.C. powerhouses.
The Eagles have proved, however, that painful multiyear rebuilding plans are unnecessary if an organization is demanding of its coaches, aggressive on the trade market and proactive about searching for a quarterback before it faces a crisis instead of after. Hurts now looks like a viable long-term starter, Sirianni a flexible, player-friendly coach, and multiple first-round picks will go a long way toward upgrading the Eagles roster next year.
Whatever their fate over the next few weeks, the Eagles made the bold changes they felt were needed, replaced the pressure of trying to repeat success with a more upbeat attitude, dared to try new things, then dared to try newer things when the first new things did not work out. They’re ending the 2021 calendar year with their 2020 woes receding into history and plenty of reasons to feel optimistic for 2022 and beyond.
May we all be so fortunate in the year to come.