When the Eagles looked at their schedule ahead of the 2024 season, it sure seemed as if the bye week was arriving a lot sooner than most NFL teams would like.
It turned out, of course, that it came exactly when they needed it.
After a 2-2 start, which included a lopsided Week 4 loss to the Buccaneers down in Tampa Bay that reminded everyone of their first-round playoff exit eight months earlier, the Eagles reinvented themselves on offense and fortified the defense during their Week 5 bye.
Saquon Barkley, at the urging of the offensive line, became the focal point of the offense and takeaways became the trademark of the defense.
We all know about the happy ending.
This year, the Eagles have a Week 9 bye, which would seem to be the preferred date for every team.
It’s not only as close as you can get to being in the middle of a 17-game season, it’s also the week before the trade deadline. General manager Howie Roseman has until next Tuesday to weigh his options and he’s armed with 17 picks in the next two drafts if he decides to make a move.
“This week will be about finding ways to get better, identifying issues that we know we have, identifying strengths that we know we have, and tendencies, and looking for ways to improve on those things,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Monday when asked about the bye.
The prevailing opinion at the moment is that the Eagles need to improve at cornerback and edge rusher if they want to make another Super Bowl run this season. If forced to choose between the two, cornerback would get the nod.
Regardless, the Eagles are going to come out of the bye week a better team than they were through the first eight weeks of the season.
The primary reasons why are that they will be healthier and deeper.
It could be argued that the Eagles need for help at edge rusher isn’t nearly as pressing as it appeared to be three weeks ago.
The defense, according to Pro Football Focus, had 22 pressures, two sacks and two takeaways in Week 7 against the Vikings and followed that up with 24 pressures and a season-high five sacks against the Giants.
Second-year rusher Jalyx Hunt, one week after returning an interception for a touchdown against the Vikings, had a career-high seven pressures and a sack against New York. He is tied for the team lead with defensive tackle Moro Ojomo with 28 pressures. Josh Uche contributed four pressures and a sack Sunday. He has 20 pressures this season, six more than he had all of last season with New England and Kansas City.
The Eagles will also likely be getting reinforcements after the bye week. Nolan Smith, who went into the season as the team’s No. 1 edge rusher, appears to be ready to return from a torn triceps injury that has kept him out since Week 3 and the recently unretired Brandon Graham is expected to make his 2025 debut when the Eagles play at Green Bay in Week 10.
Cornerback is definitely the biggest need, but even Kelee Ringo is coming off his best performance of the season after returning to the starting lineup in place of the injured Adoree’ Jackson. According to PFF, Ringo was targeted three times by the Giants’ Jaxson Dart and he did not allow a reception. Ringo’s 78.9 PFF grade for the week was the best among the team’s defensive players.
Rest assured that Roseman is still going to be looking for help over the next eight days because that’s what he always does.
“They’re always active, they’re always aggressive and they’re going to be that way again,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on ESPN’s Get Up Monday. “I’ll be surprised if in the next two weeks the Eagles haven’t pulled off at least one trade.”
It’s possible that Roseman surprises us all and brings in help a position other than cornerback or edge rusher. He’s not going to surprise, however, by trading star receiver A.J. Brown, who is also likely to return against the Packers from the hamstring injury that kept him out of Sunday’s game against the Giants.
“They’re not going to trade A.J. Brown,” Schefter said. “Here’s the deal: they’re trying to repeat as a Super Bowl champion. They’re in the business of acquiring talent and not giving it away. Whatever they can get back for A.J. Brown, they can get back in February or March before the draft.”
With Brown and Nolan Smith and Graham and whoever else is added at the trade deadline, the Eagles are going to come out of the bye as a better team and, at 6-2, they are already one of the best teams in the league.
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