Predicting when the Eagles will suffer their first loss

The Philadelphia Eagles are undefeated through eight weeks of the NFL season, the last team to say they have a goose egg in the loss column.

The Philadelphia Eagles are still rolling. After defeating Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-13, the Eagles have tallied their seventh win, and remain the only undefeated team in the NFL.

QB Jalen Hurts completed 19 of his 28 passes for 285 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions in perhaps his best performance of the season.

A.J. Brown, traded to the Eagles at the Draft from the Tennessee Titans, caught 6 of those passes for 156 yards and 3 TDs despite lining up against Minkah Fitzpatrick for much of the game. With these stellar offensive performances, it’s no surprise that the Eagles are off to a great start, but few would’ve predicted that they’d be undefeated this late into the season.

Approaching the halfway mark, it’s challenging to say when the Eagles’ first loss could come. The remainder of their schedule isn’t stacked with competitive games. But with 10 games left in the season, the following three teams could pose the biggest roadblocks for an undefeated Eagles campaign.

Possible Eagles loss in Week 12: Green Bay Packers

Sure, Green Bay has not been the Packers of recent years.

Aaron Rodgers is having one of the least productive seasons of his career, and the loss of Davante Adams has hit harder than many would’ve predicted. Between the Packers’ dropped balls and the locker room drama, the Eagles should be a reasonably heavy favorite to win.

The game is also being played in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field. But it’s still Aaron Rodgers, and at any moment, no one would be surprised to see a breakout game.

Possible Eagles loss in Week 14: New York Giants

Fellow NFC East rival, the New York Giants (6-1) have outplayed even the most optimistic preseason predictions. Debut head coach Brian Daboll is making a strong case for Coach of the Year, and Saquon Barkley is one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL in a long time.

Daniel Jones, despite the past several years of criticism, has shown poise and managerial prowess that few thought he possessed. While the Giants overall team offense has been middling, they have the second-best rushing attack in the league, averaging 173 yards per game.

Their defense has been good enough to keep them in games, but their rushing defense has been one of the worst in the league, giving up about 144 yards per game. And the Eagles, though not quite as productive as the Giants, are one of the better rushing teams in the NFL.

Despite the Eagles matching up well against the Giants, divisional rivalry games tend to bring out the best in NFC East teams. Since the game is at MetLife Stadium in NJ, this late-season away matchup is one of the toughest remaining dates on the Eagles’ schedule.’

Possible Eagles loss in Week 16: Dallas Cowboys

If the Eagles get past the Packers, and survive the Giants, then the toughest game left on the calendar is on Christmas Eve at Jerry World. While the Eagles won the first game this season against the Cowboys — one that pitted two of the league’s best defenses against each other — the Cowboys didn’t have Dak Prescott. Early season NFL darling, Cooper Rush, threw three interceptions, helping seal the deal for Philadelphia.

Whether it’s traveling around the holidays, going on the road, or having to face a more potent Cowboys offense, this will likely be the toughest matchup the Eagles face all season.

If they are still undefeated at this point in the season, however, there is a chance they will have already clinched the top spot in the NFC. If that’s the case, there’ll be a strong argument to make that the Eagles ought to rest their best players at points during the game in preparation for the playoffs.

Either way, the moral of the story is that winning NFL games is difficult, and winning seventeen is nearly impossible. Though the Eagles have been playing near-perfect football, it’s unlikely it’ll continue indefinitely. And if they’re going to lose a game at some point this season, chances are it’ll be to one of these three teams.