What Are Realistic Expectations For The Eagles?

By Denny Basens, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

Through three weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles have exceeded expectations. They are not only undefeated, but in sole possession of the NFC East.

The Eagles have proven that they can contend with good teams just as well as they can blow out bad ones. Last weekend's victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers showed the league that Doug Pederson's group is a threat to defeat any team on a weekly basis, and clubs that circled their match against the Eagles as a winnable game must show Philadelphia considerable respect.

The question now, as the Birds head into their bye week, is what are reasonable and realistic expectations for the Eagles for the rest of the season? 

Is the division title a much stronger possibility than it was before? 

The rest of the NFC East hasn’t been nearly as impressive as the Eagles. The Giants and Redskins are full of mistakes and turnovers, and both teams have apparent flaws throughout the roster. The Cowboys have had success with Dak Prescott, but their defense remains suspect.

The Eagles look like the most complete team through three weeks, with the offense averaging over 30 points per game, and the defense allowing just 20 points — not counting the punt return for a touchdown that the Bears scored in garbage time of Week 2 — through three games. 

If most experts believed that a 10-6 record would be enough to win the NFC East, is it unreasonable to think that the Birds, at minimum, can go 7-6 the rest of the way to get to 10-6?

At this point, it's still hard to tell exactly what the Eagles’ ceiling is, but I think a 10-win season is a very realistic possibility. 

The five-game stretch following the team's bye will be crucial in determining what the season outlook will look like. The team opens up with a road game against a Lions team that is talented, but erratic and inconsistent, and then three of the next four games will be against the division rivals, with a home game against Sam Bradford and the Minnesota Vikings mixed in between. 

The following four weeks offers a brutal four-game stretch against Atlanta, Seattle, Green Bay and Cincinnati. If the Eagles could find a way to go 2-2 in those matchups, it'd have to be considered a success. 

The season winds down with three division games at home, and a trip to Baltimore. A 3-1, or 2-2 mark here isn't out of the question at all. 

With those things considered, I have the Eagles with eight winnable matchups. If they win only seven on them, they will get to 10 for the season. 

If the Eagles can pick up at least three wins in that stretch, with two of them against the NFC East, they should be in very good position to make the playoffs. 

The team already has three victories, and they haven’t begun division play as of yet. If they take care of business against their rivals, there’s a strong chance that we see this club back in the playoffs.