Three Reasons The Eagles Will Three-Peat As NFC East Champions For First Time in 22 Years

The NFC East was the longest division to hold a repeat champion, as the Philadelphia Eagles were the lone team to repeat as division champions since the league realignment in 2002.

The 21-season drought between a repeat division champion was the longest in NFL history. The Eagles ended that drought in 2025 when they repeated as NFC East champions -- the first time the NFC East had a repeat winner since the Eagles won four straight division crowns from 2001 to 2004.

While the 2025 season may have been disappointing for Eagles fans, winning the division and repeating as NFC East champions is impressive considering how difficult its been to repeat as division champions.

So why can't the Eagles do it again in 2026? They are primed for a three-peat, no matter how much the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Washington Commanders have improved.

Why can the Eagles three-peat? There are three reasons why they'll be able to win the NFC East for a third straight year.

Fitting right?

The defense is a top-5 unit

Defense is typically ahead of the offense in minicamp (and the Eagles are learning a new offense), but the Eagles defense was significantly better than the Eagles offense this spring.

This is Vic Fangio's third season as defensive coordinator and his unit has already been elite in each of the past two seasons -- which is how the Eagles won a Super Bowl two years ago. The defense already appears to take things up another notch this year.

The Eagles defense has been elite over the past two seasons, ranking second in yards per game (296.3), second in yards per play (4.8), first in pass yards per game (182.0), first in net yards per pass attempt (5.7), and second in points per game allowed (18.5).

This is a unit that already had Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Zack Baun -- and added Jonathan Greenard and Tariq Woolen to the mix. This group may even be better than last year, which should carry Philadelphia to the NFC East title.

The offensive line is healthy

This may be the underrated storyline of the Eagles heading into 2026. The offensive line wasn't close to elite last season with Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens battling season-long injuries -- and getting stem-cell treatment this offseason.

The treatment appears to have worked, as Jurgens looks like the Pro Bowl center he was in 2024 -- the one that played at an elite level. Dickerson is entering the season healthy too, and Lane Johnson is recovered from his LisFranc injury.

A healthy offensive line of Jordan Mailata, Lane Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, and Lane Johnson is one of the best in the NFL (if not the best). The Eagles rode the offensive line to a Super Bowl championship two years ago and the injuries on that unit affected the offensive performance last year.

If the offensive line is healthy, Sean Mannion will have a significantly easier time making his offense work.

Saquon Barkley is back to being Saquon Barkley

Whether this is the final year of Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia is up in the air, but the Eagles have to get him performing at an elite level. The offensive line being healthy will help, but Barkley will also have to play his part too.

Barkley had a success rate of 45.0% on his 280 carries, 41st amongst NFL running backs last season. He was 24th in yards before contact per rush (1.36), and 38th in yards after contract per rush (2.71). This is out of 49 qualified rushers.

Barkley wasn't the same player that rushed for 2,504 yards in 2024 (regular season and postseason), which was to be expected after such an historic season. There was always going to be a dropoff from 2024 to 2025, but not that massive.

As Barkley goes, so does the Eagles offense. This whole thing runs through Barkley, and if he can be consistently dominant -- the Eagles offense will control the ball and win games.

Mannion's offense is going to look different, but the Eagles still run through Barkley. The formula to success is elite defense and controlling the ball, which is how the Eagles won the Super Bowl in the first place.

If Barkley can play at his level again, the Eagles should have little issues claiming the division.

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