Every Eagles season is unique, but sometimes parallels between the past and present are too hard to ignore.
Here are some qualities about the 2021 Eagles, but could have easily been said about a different Eagles team not so long ago.
Growing second-year quarterback with outstanding leadership ability.
First-year head coach that took some time to settle into the role.
Convincing Week 1 victory, followed by a nearly two-month malaise. Then, right around the beginning of November, the offense clicked into place.
Following up a four-win season (in which the defense surrendered over 400 points) last-place finish in the NFC East and departure of a legendary Eagles head coach.
Top-10 pick rookie making an impact on offense in a draft in which there was (at least some) speculation that the franchise could use a top pick on a quarterback.
Dominant offensive line play.
A potential win-and-in season finale vs. the Dallas Cowboys.
If that sounds like 2021, well, it should. It all lines up. But it's also an eerily similar script to 2013, the last truly out-of-nowhere Eagles playoff team. Perhaps the 2017 season shocked us all, but playoff talk was alive during that offseason and lead up to the season. The Super Bowl Eagles weren't supposed to be great, but good and playoff-worthy was always possible.
Remember 2013, the year Nick Foles came into his own and the franchise went from looking like it was going to be losing for years to suddenly on the field in a playoff game? Now, Hurts is playing the role of a (very) Mobile Foles. The play is improving. The leadership ability is off the charts. He's on pace for 34 total touchdowns, and weekly debates ensue about just how good he actually is and how viable this all is as a long-term strategy. But just like when Foles was starring as a then-second year quarterback (also off a one-win cameo as a rookie starter), it's impossible not to think about Hurts as a winner. He's got an it factor, just like the young quarterback did eight years ago.
Comparing Sirianni to Chip Kelly could be viewed as an insult, but not in the 2013 context. Kelly's first team wasn't supposed to be good. Seven or so wins would have been accepted, as long as there was growth. But of course restlessness set in during mid-October. The team looked unprepared, poorly coached and going nowhere fast. Then Foles threw seven touchdowns in Oakland and the group never looked back. Maybe running over the Lions will be viewed in a similar context when the story of 2021 is written.
At 5-6, the Eagles suddenly look more than viable. They are running the ball at an historic pace, blowing teams out (something else this group has in common with the 2013 team that just kept winning) and coming together at the right time. After watching this offensive line, running back group and star running quarterback bulldoze the No. 1 ranked rush defense in the NFL why should we expect it to stop anytime soon?
There's going to be a sense that this is all happening too fast, and there's no way the Eagles can suddenly be good again. I remember a similar sentiment in 2013, and that team kept knocking over everything in its path. Often, NFL teams don't follow the pattern we subscribe for them. The 2013 Eagles weren't supposed to be good, but were. Nick Foles wasn't supposed to be anything special, but showed he could be a winner. The team was supposed to be years away, but had young players that were ready to be taken seriously.
Six games remain in the 2021 season, and it's natural to still be skeptical. Sirianni couldn't haven figured it out this fast, right? Hurts can't be this dynamic and take care of the football every week like this, right? They can't go from that bad last year to the playoffs this season, right?
Well, NFL history (and more importantly, Eagles history) says yes. It's a story we've seen before, not too long ago.
