Through 10 weeks of the 2022 season, the NFL has a team in clear pole position: the 8-0 Philadelphia Eagles.
While it’s certainly not without flaws, Philadelphia has consistently proven to be the one team that has overcome all of its shortcomings thus far. As pro football’s lone undefeated team in mid-November, Philadelphia has also sat at the top of For The Win’s power rankings for most of the 2022 campaign for good reason.
This is a loaded Eagles squad with multiple game-breakers on both sides of the ball and a head coach in Nick Sirianni pushing all the right buttons. It’ll be hard to see anyone in the NFC trip them up in a potential journey to Super Bowl 57.
But as everyone knows, winning the Super Bowl is one thing. Finishing the entire season undefeated — especially with one extra contest in the still relatively new 17-game schedule — is an entirely different story.
This isn’t to say the Eagles can’t do it. The NFC is horrendous conference-wide, and Philadelphia has a relatively soft schedule the rest of the way. But maintaining focus and bringing your best every week, as the conversation and media attention around your undefeated campaign magnifies in scope by the week, is one tall mountain to climb successfully.
The Eagles might go undefeated in the regular season, becoming only the second team ever to do so and the first to do it in the 17-game format. But it’s more likely they let their guard down. Or a team on their remaining schedule lands a heck of a haymaker while trying to end history.
Let’s break down the five most likely regular season matchups left on the Eagles’ schedule where they could finally fall short and lose.
5
Week 10: Vs. Commanders
The Eagles already bodied the Commanders 24-8 in their home digs earlier this season. While the absence of Carson Wentz and the presence of Taylor “I’m Always Playing Just Slightly Beyond My Means” Heinicke might factor into a potential upset this time, I don’t see D.C. ending Philadelphia’s hopes for 17-0.
4
Week 11: At Colts
While an unfathomable hire on the surface, Jeff Saturday might actually do an admirable job as the Colts’ interim head coach. Plus, there’s more talent on this roster than an underachieving current 3-5-1 record suggests. But the Eagles aren’t at the stage of overlooking Sam Ehlinger, who’s led the Indy offense to a paltry 19 total points in his first two career starts. The Colts will still give Philly a surprising fight, but the dark-green juggernaut survives.
3
Week 12: Vs. Packers
The only reason I consider the Packers ending the Eagles’ undefeated run more seriously than the previous two teams is that if there’s anything left in Aaron Rodgers’ tank (let’s be honest, there probably isn’t), he saves that mojo to slay the NFL’s dragon.
That said, I almost couldn’t say that with a straight face about a likely washed-up QB.
2
Week 14: At Giants
The 6-2 Giants would be one of the NFL’s more obvious paper tigers in a normal year. That’s still mostly the case this season, as the fellow upstart Seahawks smacked them around easily before a bye week. It’s just that the rest of the NFC is, again, so, so putrid.
With that in mind, I’m not sure New York has the offensive horses (meaning, quarterback) to beat its rivals. However, the Giants have Wink Martindale’s stout defense, a revitalized Saquon Barkley, and the perfect brand of bully ball that can stymie a heavy favorite. Factor in the cold air on the road in the Meadowlands, and I wouldn’t put it past the Giants to ruin a perfect campaign for the hated Eagles.
1
Week 15: Vs. Titans
The Titans just got finished almost beating Patrick Mahomes in his stadium with no discernible passing game. They have one of the NFL’s best pure pass-rushing defensive fronts, led by Jeffery Simmons, a secondary spearheaded by Kevin Byard designed to curb big plays, and the NFL’s premier bruising workhorse tailback in Derrick Henry.
Tennessee isn’t a perfect football team. In fact, it’s very flawed. But the Titans play the exact style of an “old-school” version of the game tailor-made to counter the modern wave of dynamic quarterbacks, innovative offenses, and defenses built to play from ahead but never from behind. Really, they’re probably the torch-bearers for countering the 2022 NFL by traveling back in time to 2006.
If there’s one team I would put a lot of money on tripping the Eagles up, it would be Mike Vrabel’s well-coached, disciplined, and incredibly physical Titans.
