Eagles 2012 schedule released

We've known for awhile who the Eagles will be facing in 2012 but now we know exactly when they will be playing each opponent:

Week 1: 9/9 Eagles @ Browns, 1 pm
Week 2: 9/16 Ravens @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 3: 9/23 Eagles @ Cardinals, 4:05 pm
Week 4: 9/30 Giants @ Eagles, 8:30 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 5: 10/7 Eagles @ Steelers, 1 pm
Week 6: 10/14 Lions @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: 10/28 Falcons @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 9: 11/5 Eagles @ Saints, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 10: 11/11 Cowboys @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 11: 11/18 Eagles @ Redskins, 1 pm
Week 12: 11/26 Panthers @ Eagles, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 13: 12/2 Eagles @ Cowboys, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 14: 12/9 Eagles @ Bucs, 1 pm
Week 15: 12/13 Bengals @ Eagles, 8:30 pm (Thursday Night)
Week 16: 12/23 Redskins @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 17: 12/30 Eagles @ Giants, 1 pm

Note the Sunday Night games in Weeks 4 and 13, the Monday Night games Weeks 9 and 12 and the Thursday Night game in Week 15.

You can't tell anything about the strength of a schedule in April but the Eagles appear to have a tough road from Weeks 4 through 11 as they play divisional opponents and (presumably) good Steelers, Lions, Falcons and Saints teams.  The division will likely be decided from Week 10 and on as the Eagles play 5 of their 6 divisional games in that stretch.

Eagles 2011 schedule released

We already knew which teams they were going to face but now we know exactly who the Eagles will play each week in the 2011 season:

Week 1: 9/11 Eagles @ Rams, 1 pm
Week 2: 9/18 Eagles @ Falcons, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 3: 9/25 Giants @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 4: 10/2 Niners @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 5: 10/9 Eagles @ Bills, 1 pm
Week 6: 10/16 Eagles @ Redskins, 1 pm
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: 10/30 Cowboys @ Eagles, 8:30 (Sunday Night)
Week 9: 11/7 Bears @ Eagles, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 10: 11/13 Cardinals @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 11: 11/20 Eagles @ Giants, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 12: 11/27 Patriots @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 13: 12/1 Eagles @ Seahawks, 8:20 pm (Thursday Night)
Week 14: 12/11 Eagles @ Dolphins, 1 pm
Week 15: 12/18 Jets @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 16: 12/24 Eagles @ Cowboys, 4:15 pm (Saturday)
Week 17: 1/1 Redskins @ Eagles, 1 pm

Note the Sunday Night games in Weeks 2, 8, 11, the Monday Night game in Week 9 and the Thursday Night game in Week 13.

You can't tell anything about a schedule in April but things look pretty good for the Eagles. It starts off pretty easy with only one 2010 playoff team in the first eight weeks, though they do have to play 4 of their first 6 games on the road. The middle stretch with games against the Bears and Patriots gets a little tougher, though both of those games are at home. For the first time in a long time the Eagles don't end the season against the Cowboys, instead playing them in Week 16 while taking on the Redskins in Week 17.

Of course, the lockout has to be lifted for any of these games to actually be played.

Eagles Week 16 playoff scenarios

In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Eagles are inching closer and closer to winning the division and possibly getting a first round bye. Here are the things that have to happen for the Eagles to clinch a playoff spot in Week 16:

To clinch the division:
1. The Eagles beat the Vikings
2. The Eagles tie the Vikings and the Giants lose or tie to the Packers
3. The Giants lose to the Packers

To clinch a playoff spot:
1. The Eagles tie with the Vikings
2. The Bucs lose or tie against the Seahawks

There is no scenario in Week 16 for the Eagles to clinch a first round bye. If the Eagles win out and the Bears lose one of their last two games, Philly would get the bye over the Bears.

With the Eagles preparing to face a Minnesota team with Joe Webb at the helm, a playoff spot looks nearly guaranteed for the Birds. As we have seen in the past, though, some crazy things can happen in the last few weeks, so we can't assume anything just yet.

Eagles 2010 schedule released

We already knew which teams they were going to face but now we know exactly who the Eagles will play each week in the 2010 season:

Week 1: 9/12 Packers @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 2: 9/19 Eagles @ Lions, 1 pm
Week 3: 9/26 Eagles @ Jaguars, 4:05 pm
Week 4: 10/3 Redskins @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 5: 10/10 Eagles @ Niners, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 6: 10/17 Falcons @ Eagles, 1:00 pm
Week 7: 10/24 Eagles @ Titans, 1:00 pm
Week 8: BYE
Week 9: 11/7 Colts @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 10: 11/15 Eagles @ Redskins, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 11: 11/21 Giants @ Eagles, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 12: 11/28 Eagles @ Bears, 1:00 pm
Week 13: 12/2 Texans @ Eagles, 8:20 pm (Thursday Night)
Week 14: 12/12 Eagles @ Cowboys, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 15: 12/19 Eagles @ Giants, 1:00 pm
Week 16: 12/26 Vikings @ Eagles, 1:00 pm
Week 17: 1/2 Cowboys @ Eagles, 1:00 pm

Note the Sunday Night games in Weeks 5, 11, 14, the Monday Night game in Week 10 and the Thursday Night game in Week 13.

Although you can never judge how good a team will be in April, this schedule appears pretty tough at first glance. Things seem to start pretty easy for the Eagles in the first 7 weeks with the only tough opponent being the Packers. Of course, that Week 4 matchup with the Redskins is also going to be pretty entertaining. After the Week 8 bye, things get much harder for the Birds as they have to play the Colts, Vikings and 5 divisional games, including the traditional season finale against the Cowboys.

We already knew the schedule would look pretty difficult on paper since the Eagles have to face some tough teams from the AFC South and the NFC North. Of course, it all usually comes down to how the Eagles fare in those 6 games against the rest of the NFC East, which have suddenly become even more interesting with Donovan McNabb landing in Washington. How the Eagles do against the Redskins, Cowboys and Giants usually determines whether they are a playoff team.

Eagles 2009 schedule released

We already knew which teams they were going to face, but today we learned the exact order:

Week 1: 9/13 Eagles @ Panthers, 1 pm
Week 2: 9/20 Saints @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 3: 9/27 Chiefs @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 4: BYE
Week 5: 10/11 Bucs @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 6: 10/18 Eagles @ Raiders, 4:05 pm
Week 7: 10/26 Eagles @ Redskins, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 8: 11/1 Giants @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 9: 11/8 Cowboys @ Eagles, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 10: 11/15 Eagles @ Chargers, 4:15 pm
Week 11: 11/22 Eagles @ Bears, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 12: 11/29 Redskins @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 13: 12/6 Eagles @ Falcons, 1 pm
Week 14: 12/13 Eagles @ Giants, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 15: 12/20 Niners @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 16: 12/27 Broncos @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 17: 1/3 Eagles @ Cowboys, 1 pm

Note the Sunday Night games in Weeks 9, 11 and 14 and the Monday Night game in Week 7.

At first glance, the schedule looks pretty easy in the beginning, with three home games and a bye in the first 5 weeks, and at the end, where they finish with the Niners and Broncos at home before the traditional Cowboys game to end the season. The middle weeks (7-14) are much more difficult, where they face all of their divisional rivals and have games in San Diego, Chicago and Atlanta, all tough teams.

We knew the schedule would be more difficult this year, since the Eagles have to face the NFC South, a division that has four solid, playoff contending teams. The Birds do counter that with the easier AFC West, a division that had no team over .500 last year, but the Chargers will still be a tough matchup.

The road to the playoff seems more difficult at first glance this year, although you can never tell how good any of these teams will be in April. What we do know is that there will always be 6 tough games against the NFC East every year and how well the Birds fare in those games is always an indication of whether they will make the playoffs or not.

Eagles 2008 Schedule Released

We already knew which teams they were going to face, but today we learned the exact order:

Week 1: 9/7 Rams @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 2: 9/15 Eagles @ Cowboys, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 3: 9/21 Steelers @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 4: 9/28 Eagles @ Bears, 8:15 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 5: 10/5 Redskins @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 6: 10/12 Eagles @ 49ers, 4:15 pm
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: 10/26 Falcons @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 9: 11/2 Eagles @ Seahawks, 4:15 pm
Week 10: 11/9 Giants @ Eagles, 8:15 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 11: 11/16 Eagles @ Bengals, 1 pm
Week 12: 11/23 Eagles @ Ravens, 1 pm
Week 13: 11/27 Cardinals @ Eagles, 8 pm (Thanksgiving)
Week 14: 12/7 Eagles @ Giants, 1 pm
Week 15: 12/15 Browns @ Eagles, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 16: 12/21 Eagles @ Redskins, 1 pm
Week 17: 12/28 Cowboys @ Eagles, 1 pm

Note the Sunday Night games in Weeks 4 and 10 and the Monday Night games in Weeks 2 and 15 and the Thanksgiving Game in Week 13

At first glance, the most difficult parts of the schedule are the Divisional games. The NFC East figures to be one of the toughest divisions in football, with the Giants, Redskins and Cowboys all coming off playoff appearances and the Eagles loaded up for a return to glory. The Eagles will need to take care of business against their non-division opponents, who appear to be weak on paper. The Eagles will play the entire NFC West and AFC North, two divisions that didn't have a team with more than 10 wins in 2007. They also will play the Bears, who finished 7-9 last season, and the Falcons, who won only 4 games.

The Eagles will also have a tough final four weeks, as they will meet their three division rivals and face the Browns.

The path is now set for the Eagles to return to the playoffs. If they can simply split their divisional games, and not trip up against the weaker non-division opponents, a return to the postseason is likely. What they are able to do once they get there in a wide-open NFC is another story.