Ranking the Eagles’ 5 biggest games of the 2023 season

The 2023 schedule is full of intriguing matchups for the Eagles, who will play 11 games against teams that made the playoffs last season, including five of the seven other division winners from last year.

The Eagles, who went 14-3 last season and reached Super Bowl LVII, will face the most difficult strength of schedule this season based on 2022 winning percentage. Their 2023 opponents owned a combined 161-123-4 (.566) record last season. Miami has the second most difficult slate with an opposing winning percentage of .554.

» READ MORE: 2023 Eagles schedule: Beat writers analyze the season game-by-game and make predictions

With that in mind, here are the five biggest Eagles games of the year:

The Eagles face a quick turnaround right out of the gate, but luckily for them, they draw Kirk Cousins in prime time. (Cousins has an 11-18 career record in night games.) There should be extra juice for the home opener, as there typically is when these two teams from the 2017 NFC championship game get together.

Coincidentally, the Eagles hosted the Vikings in their 2022 home opener, a memorable contest that ushered in a dominance level that would continuously burn throughout the entire season. They’ll aim for similar results in mid-September.

For as long as they’re competing, the NFL will always look to capitalize on the Jalen Hurts-Tua Tagovailoa story line. Under the assumption that both former Alabama teammates are healthy, it’ll be their first time matching up against each other as pros. The Eagles and Dolphins held one joint practice session in Miami Gardens, Fla., last summer, but Hurts didn’t suit up for the preseason game, and Tagovailoa played just one quarter.

The Dolphins recently exercised Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option on his rookie deal, while Hurts became one of the highest-paid players in NFL history with a five-year contract extension worth up to $255 million. Both offenses are stacked with plenty of weapons at each quarterback’s disposal.

In his two years as coach, Nick Sirianni has noted that he doesn’t stay up at night worrying about the team’s history against certain opponents. Regardless, Sirianni is 0-2 at Dallas — and the Eagles haven’t won at AT&T Stadium since 2017. Will they finally buck that trend in December? Equally shockingly, there hasn’t been a repeat NFC East champion since the Eagles won four straight division crowns from 2001 to 2004.

As stacked as the Eagles might appear, it’s worth remembering that every team from the division finished with at least a .500 record in 2022. All six division games will be ultra important for playoff positioning, especially the pair of anticipated showdowns against Dak Prescott and Dallas.

» READ MORE: The Eagles’ 2023 schedule includes two Super Bowl rematches and a grueling second-half stretch

There seem to be way more pretenders than contenders in the NFC, but the 49ers remain elite. This rematch of last year’s conference championship game will have no shortage of trash talk after the Eagles easily handled the quarterback-less 49ers back in January, 31-7. No matter who’s under center for San Francisco, the Eagles possess enough pass-rushing prowess to make things difficult. A lot will depend on which other teams emerge across the NFC, but this could be a preview of a potential playoff matchup between two conference heavyweights.

The Eagles will face six straight 2022 playoff teams following their Week 10 bye, starting with the Chiefs on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs also will be coming off their own bye, so both teams should be well rested for this anticipated rematch of Super Bowl LVII.

The last time the spotlight was on, Hurts proved he was ready for his moment even in defeat. Not many defensive coordinators have succeeded against reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, but Sean Desai will have the opportunity to rise to the moment.