ESPN analyst tabs Eagles as NFL team most likely to decline in 2024

Ryan OLeary

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ESPN analyst tabs Eagles as NFL team most likely to decline in 2024 image

After a 10-1 start, the Philadelphia Eagles failed miserably down the stretch run of the 2023 season, dropping six of their final seven games, including a 32-9 drubbing by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild-Card round of the NFL playoffs.

The team made a considerable amount of changes in the offseason, but one NFL analyst sees the arrow pointing down on the Eagles entering 2024. 

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell predicted 5 NFL teams most likely to decline this season, and the Eagles unceremoniously made his list.

“After the second half of last season, changes had to be made,” Barnwell wrote. “A team that had looked like the best in the league during the winter of 2022 looked old, overmatched and out of ideas.”

The Eagles are banking on the fresh approach of new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who has built a solid rapport with QB Jalen Hurts during their first offseason together. Veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, another newbie on the Eagles’ staff, will try to flip a defense that was among the worst in the NFL at defending the pass in 2023. New additions to the roster, like star running back Saquon Barkley and rising pass rusher Bryce Huff, are other reasons for optimism. 

As Barnwell points out, the Eagles are a difficult team to predict. They came a play or two shy of winning the Super Bowl in 2022. The ending last season was ugly, with losses to backup QB Drew Lock and the Seattle Seahawks, and a bad Arizona Cardinals team at home down the stretch; but the Eagles did secure close wins over the Chiefs, Bills and Cowboys in 2023. 

After crunching the numbers, Barnwell remains skeptical that the Eagles can improve upon last year’s 11-win season.

“I like most of the moves (GM Howie) Roseman made during the offseason, and I'm open-minded about the impact the new coordinators will have on the coaching staff,” he wrote. “I also know that trusting the best indicators of underlying performance often leads to the right answers about what a team will do in the upcoming season, and those don't look great for the Eagles.”

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Ryan OLeary

Ryan OLeary Photo

Ryan O'Leary has spent his entire professional career in sports multimedia, working as journalist, editor, podcaster, and in live events as a content manager and show emcee. His career highlights include working as a podcast host and audio editor for USA TODAY Sports Media Group, where he led a series of NFL podcasts for the company’s top-performing NFL sites. A born and raised New Englander, Ryan’s career kicked-off in newspapers after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in journalism. He developed an affinity for small-town youth, high school and college sports, while also realizing his childhood dream of covering the Patriots in multiple AFC Championship Games. Ryan enjoys kicking it with family and friends, beating his dad and brother in chess, and arguing with anyone crazy enough to insist that Tom Brady isn’t the GOAT.