Roob's game-by-game Eagles 2022 predictions

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Roob's game-by-game Eagles 2022 predictions

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

I was on the right track last year. I had the Eagles opening the season 1-3 and 4-7 and then finishing 5-1 to go 9-8 and make the playoffs.

As it turned out, they opened the season 1-3 and 5-7 before finishing 4-1 to finish 9-8 and make the playoffs.

If I’m on the right track again this year, there’s going to be a lot of happy Eagles fans in Philadelphia.

Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 11, Eagles at Lions

Weird things always happen on opening day. Every team is still healthy, every team is still confident, every team still has Super Bowl dreams. Teams don’t know who they are yet and play like it. There are always wild upsets in Week 1. Heck, just last year the Eagles went into Atlanta for the opener as 3 ½-point underdogs and won by 26 points. I don’t think the Eagles will lose this one, but I do expect it to be a heck of a lot more competitive than last year’s 44-6 blowout. The Eagles are 13-4 in their last 17 openers, and I expect them to be 14-4 by Sunday afternoon. Win (1-0).

Week 2: Monday, Sept. 19, Vikings at Eagles

This falls under the category of, "I don’t think the Eagles can open the season 4-0, and I don’t think the Lions, Commanders or Jaguars are going to beat them.” The Eagles have only been 4-0 five times in 89 years and just once in the last 30 years (2004). Kirk Cousins has always played well against the Eagles – he’s 6-3 with 21 TD passes, 6 INTs and a 104.9 passer rating, 5th-highest all-time vs. the Eagles (behind Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Milt Plum and Aaron Rodgers). And I can’t help but think about what’s happened when the Eagles have had their home openers on a Monday night – the 17-0 loss to the Bucs in 2003, the 20-12 loss to Washington in 2007. And don’t forget, the Eagles lost in Week 2 in 2017 so not the end of the world. Loss (1-1).

Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 25, Eagles at Commanders

These Washington games are so hard to predict simply because their quarterback is so hard to predict. He’s not terrible, he’s just all over the place. And he’s terrible in the biggest moments. From Week 3 through Week 16 last year, Carson Wentz had the third-highest passer rating in the entire NFL at 99.8 (behind only Rodgers and Joe Burrow). He’s just as capable of beating good teams as losing horribly to bad teams. But there’s a reason the Eagles are 14-7 in Washington since 2001. The place will be jammed with Eagles fans and whatever Commanders fans do show up will be walking to the Morgan Boulevard Metro Station by halftime. Win (2-1).

Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 2, Jaguars at Eagles

The Eagles will play a heart-warming video honoring Doug Pederson and all his remarkable achievements as Eagles head coach, and he’ll get a much-deserved ovation from the 67,000 fans at the Linc and then the Eagles will crush Pederson and his overmatched Jaguars. Win (3-1).

Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 9, Eagles at Cards

This is a tough one. I don’t think the Cards are anything special, and the way they finished last year – 11-6 after a 7-0 start – really makes you wonder about their direction. The Cards are 24-24-1 with no playoff wins in three years under Kliff Kingsbury, and Kyler Murray, for all his ability, has a lifetime losing record without a postseason victory. But the Eagles have lost their last five in the Valley of the Sun, and they haven’t won there since 2001 at Sun Devil Stadium on two Donovan McNabb TD passes to James Thrash. They’re 0-4 at University of Phoenix Stadium, including the 2008 NFC Championship Game. This one feels like an Arizona win. Loss (3-2).

Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 16, Cowboys at Eagles

The first huge game of the year. If the Eagles are serious about winning the division and getting a decent playoff seed and making a legit postseason run, they’ve got to find a way to get past a Cowboys team that has had their number recently. The Cowboys are 9-4 in their last 13 games at the Linc, and although a couple of those were meaningless year-enders, you never want to lose home-field advantage against your fiercest rival. This game will really give us a sense of where the Eagles are. Win (4-2).

Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 23, Bye Week

Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 30, Steelers at Eagles

It’s been 22 years since the Eagles faced the Steelers, and Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t their quarterback. That was back in 2000, Pittsburgh’s QB was Kordell Stewart, and the Eagles won in overtime after scoring three times in a row without the Steelers getting the ball (Brian Mitchell TD catch from McNabb, onside kick recovered by Tim Hauck, David Akers field goal, overtime coin toss win, Akers field goal). Mitch Trubisky isn’t bad, but this is a Steelers team in transition, and coming off a bye I’m marking this one down in the W column. Win (5-2).

Week 9: Thursday, Nov. 3, Eagles at Texans

The Texans are 8-25 over the last couple years and 4-13 on the road. They’re not coming into the Linc and winning a football game. Interesting note that if Davis Mills and Jalen Hurts both start, this game will feature the two lowest-paid starting quarterbacks in the league. My money is on Hurts to put up 40 on a defense that was ranked 31st in the league last year (and 30th and 28th the two previous years). Win (6-2).

Week 10: Monday, Nov. 14, Commanders at Eagles

The Eagles have swept Washington four of the last five years, and at first I was a little hesitant to pick another sweep just because Wentz is so unpredictable he might just whip up a masterpiece in his return to the Linc. But then I thought … nah. And even if he does, the Eagles are just a better team. Washington has some talent on defense, but this is a Monday night in November at the Linc, and the Eagles will find a way. Win (7-2).

Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 20, Eagles at Colts

A five-game winning streak? Really, Roob? Yeah, here’s the thing. I think the Eagles are going to split these next two, I don’t think they’re ready to beat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers yet, and even on a short week on the road in a dome, I like the Eagles in Indy. And you know what else? I think Carson Wentz is better than 37-year-old Matt Ryan, who hasn’t had a winning season since 2017 and is 25-39 over the last four years – that’s the most losses of any quarterback in the NFL since 2018. Did you know the last five times Ryan has faced the Eagles, he’s put up an average of 13 points? And he’s lost to the Eagles more than any active QB? The Eagles aren’t losing to Matt Ryan. Win (8-2).

Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 27, Packers at Eagles

Here’s a scary number: Aaron Rodgers has faced the Eagles six times and put up an average of 31 points. He’s 5-1 in those six starts with 15 TDs and 3 INTs (two of them in 2010). He’s also 39-9 over the last three years, two-time reigning MVP and since opening day 2018 has a ridiculous 136 TD passes and 15 INTs. If the Eagles win this one, they can start thinking about No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage. But I don’t see it happening. Lose (8-3).

Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 4, Titans at Eagles

Another tough one. Two of the best teams the Eagles will face this year back-to-back weeks, but at least both are home. The Packers (13-4) and Titans (12-5) were 25-9 combined last year, and both should be among the best in the league again this year. This will be a fun one, with A.J. Brown facing his former team, and that’s a very good Tennessee defense the Eagles will have to contend with. But the Titans will be coming off games against the Packers and Bengals themselves, so they’ll be going through a tough stretch as well. I’m thinking Brown comes up huge in this one, and the Eagles win their sixth in their last seven. Win (9-3).

Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 11, Eagles at Giants

There’s always that one game. The one you don’t see coming. The one that makes you question everything. The one you just can’t explain. The Eagles haven’t played well at MetLife Stadium the last couple years, losing 27-17 in 2020 and 13-7 last year. They’re still 22-6 in their last 28 games against the Giants and 11-4 in their last 15 in East Rutherford, but I guess I’m just going with a hunch here. At some point, there’s going to be a slip-up when you least expect it. An improbable dropped pass. A terrible turnover. A costly missed tackle. And next thing you know we’re all trying to figure out what just happened. Loss (9-4).

Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 18, Eagles at Bears

The Bears are going to be one of the worst teams in football. And the Eagles always beat ‘em anyway. Not only have the Eagles won five straight over the Bears – and seven of the last nine at Soldier Field – they’ve held them to 15 or fewer points in all five. The Eagles have won those five by an average of 30-11. Including double-doink. From 1933 through 1993, the Eagles won only four of 30 meetings with the Bears. So they’ve still got some catching to do. Win (10-4).

Week 16: Saturday, Dec. 24, Eagles at Cowboys

The Eagles haven’t swept the Cowboys since 2011, and I’ve got them splitting again. I don’t think the Cowboys are as good as they have been, and I still think the Eagles win the division, I just don’t think they’re ready to beat ‘em twice in a season. The last time the Eagles beat the same Cowboys QB twice in a season was 2004 with Vinny Testaverde. Dak Prescott has just always been very good against the Eagles – 7-1 in his last eight starts with 14 TDs and 3 INTs and 71 percent accuracy. This is a different defense, and maybe they’ll prove me wrong, but I’m putting the Eagles down for a fifth straight loss in North Texas. Loss (10-5).

Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 1, Saints at Eagles

I actually think the Saints might be half-decent, and I’ve always liked Jameis Winston more than most people. How do you not love a QB who once had 30 touchdown passes, 30 interceptions and 5,000 yards in the same season? The dude just wings it every snap. But coming off two losses in their last three games, on a freezing, wintry, maybe snowy January afternoon against a dome team playing on the road? I like the Eagles’ chances. Win (11-5).

Week 18: Saturday or Sunday, Jan. 7-8, Giants at Eagles

I figure the Eagles go into this one needing a win to lock up the NFC East, and you couldn’t ask for a better opponent than a Giants team that hasn’t won in South Philly since Chip Kelly’s first year as head coach. The Eagles have won eight straight at the Linc over the Giants, and the last time the Giants won here was 2013, when Michael Vick got hurt early and rookie 4th-round pick Matt Barkley – who we last saw punting in a preseason game for the Bills – played most of the game. The last time the Giants won in Philly and the Eagles’ starting QB didn’t get hurt was 2008. The last three times the Eagles finished a season against the Giants – 2014, 2015 and 2019 – they won. We’ll make it four straight. Win (12-5).

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/roobs-game-game-eagles-2022-predictions