2018 Philadelphia Eagles season

2018 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerJeffrey Lurie
General managerHowie Roseman
Head coachDoug Pederson
Home fieldLincoln Financial Field
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(at Bears) 16–15
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Saints) 14–20
Pro BowlersTE Zach Ertz
OG Brandon Brooks
DT Fletcher Cox
SS Malcolm Jenkins
OT Lane Johnson
Uniform

The 2018 season was the Philadelphia Eagles' 86th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Doug Pederson.

The Eagles entered the season as the defending champions of Super Bowl LII, when they defeated the previous defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 41–33 and attempted to become the first team since the 2004 New England Patriots and the first NFC team since division rival 1993 Dallas Cowboys to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. They opened the season with the NFL Kickoff Game on September 6, beating the Atlanta Falcons 18–12. A vast majority of their Super Bowl-winning squad from the 2017 season was retained, although some notable losses included tight end Trey Burton (who contributed to the Philly Special in the Super Bowl), defensive end Vinny Curry, and cornerback Patrick Robinson. Franchise quarterback Carson Wentz, who had been injured late in the 2017 season, returned as a starter in Week 3,[1] but a back injury would bump him down as the number 3 quarterback instead of being placed on injured reserve,[2] and Nick Foles would start in his place for the remainder of the season.

The Eagles struggled through the first three months of the season to a 4–6 record, with inconsistent play and multiple injuries to players such as safety Rodney McLeod and running back Jay Ajayi. With a 21–17 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 7, the Eagles failed to improve or match their 13-3 record from the previous season. The Eagles also made history in Week 11 with a 48–7 loss in New Orleans, the largest loss by a defending Super Bowl champion in league history. Despite this, the Eagles proceeded to win 5 of their last 6 games, including two division wins over the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins to move to 9–7. A three-game win streak to end the season which included upset wins over the Rams, Texans, and Redskins helped the Eagles make the playoffs with a Vikings loss to the Bears. This is the first time the Eagles made the playoffs in back to back seasons since the 200810 seasons.

The Eagles played in their first NFL Kickoff Game and their first game at London's Wembley Stadium in franchise history.

In the playoffs, the Eagles upset the third-seeded Chicago Bears 16–15 in the wild-card round to advance to the Divisional round, where they lost 20-14 to the top-seeded New Orleans Saints, ending their hopes of defending their Super Bowl title. The Eagles were the first defending champions to win a postseason game on the road since the 2004 Patriots.

  1. ^ "Carson Wentz cleared to return, will start Sunday". NFL.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  2. ^ "Carson Wentz will continue to be the Eagles No. 3 quarterback". 247sports.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.