December 11, 2025
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have faced plenty of adversity in the past. Sometimes they recover, and sometimes they don't.
With the Philadelphia Eagles having lost each of their last three games and the fan base having lost confidence that they will repeat as Super Bowl champions, I thought I'd take a look at what was "rock bottom" for each Eagles team over the last 10 seasons, and whether or not each team made any sort of reasonable recovery.
Disclaimer: That's not to say that this current moment is rock bottom for the 2025 team, as it can certainly get worse.
The Eagles got trounced 45-14 in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving in Detroit, with Matthew Stafford throwing for 5 TDs, bringing the Eagles' record to 4-7. I remember that I had the Lions' fight song memorized by the end the game.
The week prior to that, the Eagles were beaten 45-17 by the Buccaneers, with Jameis Winston throwing for 5 TDs. Chip Kelly's offense had long since been figured out, and the extreme tempo with which it was operated required the defense to play an abnormally high number of snaps. Chip would be fired in-season a month later.
Did they recover? The Eagles would actually go on to win three of their final five games, finishing 7-9, and wrecking their draft position, but their season was already cooked by the time they had hit their bottom.
During Doug Pederson's first season as the head coach, the Eagles were down 29-0 at one point late in the third quarter against the Bengals. But worse than the score was the effort (or lack thereof) on several occasions throughout the game, most notably by Zach Ertz, who jumped out of the way of linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who was trying to track down Carson Wentz.
That was an inconsequential play during that game, but people noticed it, and Pederson was peppered by questions about the team's effort the following day in his press conference. Pederson would admit that "not everybody" played hard.
The Eagles had actually started this season with promise, going 3-0 with Wentz, then a rookie. But this game dropped the Birds to 5-7, and they were basically done.
Did they recover? They did play competitively thereafter, winning two of their final four games and finishing 7-9.
Wentz was the MVP frontrunner when he shredded his knee in a win over the Rams in L.A. Week 14. Nick Foles took over as the starter, and after one encouraging performance against the Giants, he looked alarmingly bad in a 19-10 home win over the Raiders, so much so that there were people calling for him to be benched for Nate Sudfeld.
Foles was bad enough that even though the Eagles had clinched the 1 seed in the NFC, Pederson opted to play starters Week 17 against the Cowboys to see if Foles could get jumpstarted. But all that did was create more doubt, as Foles completed 4 of 11 passes for 39 yards, with 1 INT. The Eagles entered the playoffs as long shots to win the Super Bowl, and they would be underdogs in all three of their playoff games.
Did they recover? They sure did! The Eagles would win a defensive battle in the Divisional Round against the Falcons, before Foles got red hot in the NFC Championship Game against the Vikings and in the Super Bowl against the Patriots, bringing home the franchise's first ever Lombardi Trophy.
After losing at home to the division-leading Cowboys, the Eagles headed to New Orleans, where they got obliterated by Drew Brees and the Saints, 48-7. That brought their record to 4-6, and unlikely to make the playoffs.
Did they recover? Yes. They won five of the last six regular season games, followed by an upset win in Chicago in the "Double Doink Game," and a near upset of the Saints back in New Orleans in the Divisional Round.
After consecutive home losses to the Patriots and Seahawks, the Eagles traveled to Miami for what seemed like a "get right" game against the 2-9 Dolphins. However, the Eagles' corners made DeVante Parker look like Randy Moss in a 37-31 loss, bringing the Eagles' record to 5-7.
Did they recover? Meh, sort of, but not really. The Eagles would run the table in their final four games, all against NFC East rivals and win the division with a 9-7 record. They were one-and-done in the Wild Card round after Jadeveon Clowney concussed Wentz with a cheap shot. The late-season run did little more than convince the team's brass that significant change wasn't necessary.
Wentz just wasn't the same player anymore, as he was often turning the ball over multiple times per game. With the Eagles down 20-3 in the second half and facing their fourth straight loss in Green Bay, Wentz was benched in favor of Jalen Hurts. The Eagles fell to 3-8-1, and it would become clear soon enough that the Wentz era in Philly was over.
Did they recover? No. Hurts won his first game as a starter at home against the Saints, but the Eagles then meekly faded into the offseason after three straight losses to close the season.
The Eagles' defense was a mess, as Derek Carr became the fourth opposing quarterback in the Eagles' first seven games to complete 80 percent or better of his passes, as the Raiders easily beat the Eagles 33-22. That brought the Eagles to 2-5 in Nick Sirianni's first season as the head coach. In the aftermath, reporters and fans locally and nationally goofed on Sirianni for his infamous flower analogy.
Did they recover? Yes. They routed the Lions the following week, 44-6, and went 7-3 the rest of the season with Shane Steichen taking over play calling duties and the offense finding a run-heavy identity. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Buccaneers, but a foundation for success had been established.
2022 was basically a season-long party. The closest the Eagles came to facing any real adversity was when they dropped two straight games with Gardner Minshew at quarterback after Hurts injured his shoulder in Chicago Week 15. Those two losses put the 1 seed at risk.
Did they recover? Yes. They beat the Giants Week 18, wrapped up the 1 seed, and then in the playoff they beat the Giants and 49ers by a combined score of 69-14 on their way to their loss in the Super Bowl to the Chiefs.
The week before in Week 17, the Eagles lost to a 3-12 Cardinals team that had 15 more first downs and 174 more yards. They ran 25 more plays, held the ball for for almost 20 more minutes of game clock, they didn't punt, and they scored touchdowns on all four of their second-half possessions. That felt at the time like rock bottom, but it would actually get worse.
In Week 18, potentially being able to improve their playoff seeding, the Eagles played their starters to begin the game. But the then-5-11 Giants kicked their asses in the first half, and Sirianni conceded defeat before halftime, replacing Hurts and the rest of the starters with backups. In my opinion, that game was even more pathetic than the loss to the Cardinals.
Did they recover? God no. They got blown out by the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round. Both coordinators were fired, and Sirianni almost was as well.
The 2024 season started out with a win over the Packers in Brazil, followed by a bad late-game defensive collapse loss to the Falcons, and a win over the Saints in a game that the Eagles were being shut out into the fourth quarter. In Week 4, the Eagles got blown out in Tampa, much like they did in the playoffs the previous season. They looked nothing like Super Bowl contenders.
Did they recover? Yes! The bye came at an opportune time Week 5, as the Eagles were able to regroup after the disappointing start, and finish the season on a 12-1 run, followed by a romp through the playoffs and the franchise's second Super Bowl win.
• Never recovered: 2015, 2020, 2023
• Recovered and made a little noise, probably to the detriment of the next offseason plan: 2018, 2019
• No real adversity: 2022
• Looked better, set foundation for following season: 2016, 2021
• Recovered and did great things: 2017, 2024
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