Before the Eagles Schedule Gets Released, Here Are Some Things We Hope to See On It


One of the most hyped up days in the NFL calendar year has arrived and not a single game will be played today. Give credit where credit is due, the NFL has made it so there is no offseason and that is most evident in schedule release day. Come tonight, we will be flipping channels from Joel Embiid’s return (he’s playing, I can feel it) to the NFL Schedule release. The road to Back to Back titles starts now. Here are some things we hope to see on the schedule when it is released later tonight:



1) The Minnesota Vikings at the Home Opener
 I want that pathetic, sad sack franchise to have to come back here and watch us raise the Super Bowl champion banner. Watch us raise a banner for a title we won in their stadium. A banner we got by obliterating them in the NFC Championship. I don’t care who the quarterback is that Thursday night, I hope beating the Vikings 38-7 last year made it look like we were taking it easy on them. I’ve hated a lot of teams and players in my day as a Philly fan. Right now, a lot of that hate is going towards Kelly Olynyk, but there will always be a special place in my heart for the Minnesota Vikings after that fan debacle last year.




2) A Thanksgiving Day Game
 I’m just a sucker for holiday games. You eat with your family, you arise from a food coma and then the Eagles come out right after dessert. I have zero analytical data to back this up but I feel like we always win on holidays too. For instance, Christmas last year we got a great double dip! The Sixers won at Madison Square Garden, catapulting them to uncharted levels of success in the second half of the season and the Eagles (barely) won in the brick cold. If you would’ve asked me during that magical stretch of laziness that is the week between Christmas and New Years if the Eagles were going to win the Super Bowl, I’m afraid of my answer. But, it all works out in the end. Give us the Cowboys on Thanksgiving (a Thursday) this year.




  3) A Well Placed Bye Week
We kind of already have an idea where the bye week will fall since the team announced the London Game against the Jaguars will be October 28th. You have to figure the bye will either be the week before (Oct. 21st) or the week after (Nov. 4th). I’m okay with that. Sometimes the difference between 7-9 and 13-3 is the details. Two years ago, we had the earliest bye week possible and had to rip off 13 straight games. Last year, we had our bye week very late in the year, week 10 to be exact, almost halfway through. Everything worked out well for us last year (the Wentz injury aside) down to the smallest details.




4) Sunday Night Football Match-Up With the Rams
I’d be a little concerned as a Rams with the dream team approach (a lot of short term contracts) but I am intrigued. Last season’s battle with the Los Angeles Rams will always be marred by the injury to Carson Wentz, but it was easily the most entertaining game of the season aside from the Super Bowl. This year, we head back to The Coliseum for the same marquee match-up. Put this one in primetime for the whole nation to see. Who knows, maybe some Rams fans will show up this time.




By Aidan Powers | April 19, 2018