'Worst-To-First Season?' Eagles' Three Outlier Games Highlight NFL's Unbalanced Schedule

The NFC East hasn't had a repeat champion in 21 years.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni / John McMullen/Eagles SI

PHILADELPHIA - Can the Eagles repeat as Super Bowl champions?

Baby steps first. Most Philadelphia fans know the numbers.

There hasn't been a repeat champion in the NFC East in 21 years, when Andy Reid was ruling the division and the Eagles capped off a fourth consecutive division crown in 2004.

The NFL schedule drop is the time of year when you will begin to hear about worst-to-first, the idea that the league’s parity-driven setup will help the lesser teams climb while also putting more hurdles in front of the top-tier clubs.

The difference in schedules could be as simple as home vs. road, but it's best highlighted by the three games that differentiate the Super Bowl champion Eagles' schedule from the rest of the team’s in the division.

Everyone in the NFC East has to play each other and are plugged into conference foes from the NFC North and interconference teams from the AFC West.

What separates the top from everyone else is the so-called first-place schedule, which means Philadelphia has to play three first-place teams from last season -- two conference foes, home vs. the reigning NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 and in Tampa against the South kingpins Buccaneers in Week 4. 

The AFC opponent is at Buffalo in Week 17, when the winter weather could be of big concern in western New York.

Washington’s three games outside the template are against second-place teams from last season: at Atlanta in Week 4, vs. Seattle in Week 9, and what’s designated as a road game in Madrid, Spain, against the Miami Dolphins in Week 11.

Things continue down the chain with Dallas getting a third-place schedule and the New York Giants being matched with three others who struggled last season.

Understand, in what was a dominant season in 2024-25, the Eagles finished 14-3, two games clear of the 12-5 Commanders, so three games can swing a season for any team.

That tweaking of an unbalanced schedule is what helps generate so many worst-to-firsts from year to year in the NFL.

Conversely, the Kansas City Chiefs most recently proved that repeating at the highest level is possible, and dominating at the division level in this era has been a walk in the park for the Chiefs and the Bills.

The Eagles are built to end 21 years in history but the hurdles in between that end game are real.

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