Eagles 2022 schedule: An easy start, Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson reunions, and then it gets difficult

The Eagles' schedule is out, and they'll look to see Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson early in the 2022 season.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (left) talks with Eagles head coach Doug Pederson (center) after he replaced Carson Wentz in the third quarter as the Philadelphia Eagles play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. on December 6, 2020.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

Published May 12, 2022, 8:00 p.m. ET

NFL schedule makers teed up an easy start for the Eagles, at least based upon last year’s records, in their first four games of the 2022 season.

They will open at the Lions on Sept. 11 in Detroit, host the Vikings the following week on Monday night, and head down I-95 to face Carson Wentz and the newly named Washington Commanders before returning to Lincoln Financial Field for the Jaguars and Doug Pederson’s return to Philly.

The combined marks from last season for the four opponents: 21-46-1 for a .316 winning percentage.

Weeks 5 and 6 present more formidable foes, at least on paper, in the Cardinals and Cowboys, but the Eagles get an early bye week in Week 7.

They return from the break to host the cross-state Steelers at the Linc in Week 8 and fly down to Houston to play the Texans on a Thursday in Week 9. The Eagles then have 11 days off — a mini-bye of sorts — before hosting Washington on a Monday night.

The schedule then apparently gets tougher late in the season, unlike last year. The Eagles face the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 11 and then the Packers and Titans at home — both playoff teams a year ago — in Weeks 12 and 13. They then hit the road for three consecutive weeks in December: at the New York Giants, the Bears, and, lastly, the Cowboys on Christmas Eve.

The Eagles end the season at home with games against the Saints on New Year’s Day and the Giants in the finale.

The Eagles had known for some time their opponents for 2022, but the official release Thursday provided dates, times and the various subplots that often come with the sequencing of games.

The Eagles always stood a chance of having a relatively manageable lift. The strength of their schedule (.464) is 30th in the NFL. But getting the Lions (3-13-1 last season), Vikings (8-9), Commanders (7-10), and Jaguars (3-14) in the first four weeks appears to be advantageous.

It should be noted that the three other NFC East squads also have similar slates and that the Giants (.465), Cowboys (.462), and Commanders (.462) have the 29th, 31st, and 32nd easiest strength of schedules.

The NFL has more annual movement in the standings than most professional sports leagues. As the Bengals showed last season — nearly winning the Super Bowl after going 4-11-1 the previous year — reversals of fortune are achievable within a calendar year.

It helps to have an elite quarterback like Joe Burrow, of course. Jalen Hurts is slated to return under center after leading the Eagles to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth. But questions remain about his long-term viability.

Nevertheless, the division, and at least another postseason berth, are there for the taking, even if the 2022 schedule seemingly gets more difficult after the first month. Second-year coach Nick Sirianni likely welcomes the easier beginning after opening his first season with a 2-5 record.

But the Eagles likely won’t have the benefit of facing a collection of lesser opponents down the stretch as they did last season. After the first four games, the combined 2021 record of their final 13 opponents is 112-108-1 (.509).

Despite last year’s meek first-round playoff exit against the Buccaneers, the Eagles will be featured in five primetime games starting with the Monday night meeting with the Vikings. Their schedule isn’t exactly loaded with marquee opposing quarterbacks — Aaron Rodgers should make his eighth career start against the Eagles — but several notable former Birds are on the slate for the first time.

Eagles fans will get to see Wentz, who was traded by the Colts to Washington in the offseason, and Pederson, who was hired by Jacksonville to be its head coach, at home. But Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz will face his old team in Arizona, and it’s possible 40-year-old left tackle and ex-Eagles great Jason Peters will be with the Bears in Chicago.

As for newly acquired Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, he should be jacked up when the Titans, the team that just traded him, visit the Linc on Dec. 4.