Philadelphia Eagles fans might be in for one hell of an NFL season…

Football teams’ fortunes constantly wax and wane – it’s just the nature of the sport. However, even by NFL standards, the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2020 season was a real surprise. Tipped as Playoff certainties at the start of the year, they ended up getting nowhere near the postseason.  

The first game set the tone for a dire campaign, with the Eagles crashing to a 17-27 defeat to Washington. The following week things got even worse when they were battered 37-19 by the LA Rams. There was some brief hope when Philly rallied to win three of their next six, as well as tying with the Cincinnati Bengals. 

The Eagles came crashing back down to Earth in Week 10, though, losing to the New York Giants. This started a rut that continued for the rest of the season with Philadelphia winning just one of their remaining eight games. 

This meant they finished with a dire 4-11-1 record. Unsurprisingly this condemned them to the last place in the NFC East. 

Now the dust has settled on this torrid year, the Eagles front and back-office have started preparations for the 2021 season. Can the team return to their best and become favorites of NFL betting fans again? Or, are they destined to struggle? Here is what we think Eagles fans can expect this year. 

Philadelphia Eagles 2021 roster changes

The Eagles have wasted little time gutting their underperforming roster. It has not just been fringe players that have been moved on, several franchise favorites have also gone. 

End of the Carson Wentz era

By far and away the most significant change to the Eagles’ 2021 roster is the departure of star quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz has been the lynchpin of the franchise ever since he was taken as the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. 

During his maiden season in Philadelphia, he set a string of records. Wentz attempted and completed the most passes of any rookie in NFL history and scooped a string of Eagles’ records as well. 

One year later he got even better. In fact, he was one of the contenders to win the 2017 MVP before injury ruled him out. Tragically, this also meant he missed the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl, with backup Nick Foles deputising and helping his team to victory over the New England Patriots. 

He came back from injury strong and had his best-ever season in 2019, throwing a franchise-record 4,039 yards during the 2019 season. Since then, things have gone downhill and towards the end of the last season, he was even benched for rookie Jalen Hurts. 

In March 2021 Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts, marking a definitive changing of the guard in Philadelphia. The pressure is on Hurts now to come up with the goods. Of course, he is still developing, but he does not appear to be anywhere near Wentz’s level yet.

During his rookie season, he recorded a pass completion rate of just 52% – one of the worst in the league. It is likely that Hurts will improve if the offense is built around him and he does at least have more experienced QBs to learn from. 

Joe Flacco and Nick Mullens have both been signed on one-year deals, with the latter even a contender to take the starting spot if Hurts proves himself not up for the task. 

Other key deals 

Although the departure of Wentz has stolen most of the headlines it is not the only piece of business Philly has conducted. Backup defensive lineman, Malik Jackson has joined the Cleveland Browns, while experienced wide receiver DeSean Jackson has also gone, signing for the LA Rams.

These departees have, for the most part, already been replaced either via free agency or the Draft. Two safeties – Adrian Kallis and Andrew Adams – have arrived, as well as a spate of linebackers. 

Philadelphia appears to have picked up a few promising prospects in the Draft as well. Their first selection was a wide receiver, DeVonta Smith. During his final year at Alabama, he recorded more than 1,800 yards and also registered 23 touchdowns. 

For his incredible exploits, he won the 2020 Heisman Trophy, awarded to the outstanding college player in the country every year. The Eagles were not expected to get Smith and his addition is a significant boost. 

Later picks Landon Dickerson and Milton Williams, a center and defensive tackle respectively, could also turn out to be inspired pickups. 

What can Philadelphia Eagles fans expect? 

Put it this way, Philadelphia Eagles fans should not expect to end the 2021 season as NFL champions. Saying that their talented young squad should have enough to at least match if not better their poor record from last season.

The impact that Wentz’s departure could have on the group cannot be overstated, but there are plenty of prospects to get excited about. 

What is likely to give Eagles fans a boost is their return to their home stadium in significant numbers. Spectators were restricted at the Lincoln Financial Field last year, leading to a sterile atmosphere. 

For 2021, though, the stands will be full once again with Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney removing capacity restrictions in May. 

Therefore, although the on-field action will not be perfect, spectators will at least be allowed inside the stadium this year.  

The NFL is back in the UK this October with two games set to be held at the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.

The first matchup sees the New York Jets taking on the Atlanta Falcons at 2:30 pm on October 10. The following Sunday, October 17, again at 2:30 pm, the Jacksonville Jaguars face off against the Miami Dolphins, two teams that are very familiar with the trip over to London. 

This will be the 14th year that the NFL London games have taken place and, along with games hosted in Mexico since 2016, they are a fantastic mechanism to expose new audiences to the NFL.

The London Games have been sell-outs year after year, showing that interest in the NFL in the UK is thriving and future locations for the International Series in Europe look likely given the growth of the game across the Atlantic. 

Jets and Falcons take the NFL to the UK

The first matchup between the Jets and the Falcons sees two teams that struggled in 2020 facing off in what both franchises will see as a great chance to get an important win on the board.

The Jets finished a lowly 2-14 last season, whilst the Falcons only managed a 4-12 record, and both sides will be desperate to improve upon that in 2021 and make a playoff push. 

This will be the 13th matchup between the teams all-time, with the Falcons having won 7 games to the Jets 5 thus far. Their last meeting came back in 2017 with Atlanta claiming a 25-20 win on the back of 254 passing yards and 2 touchdowns from then-reigning MVP Matt Ryan. 

Are the Jets ready to preform in the UK NFL gam?

The Jets drafted former BYU QB Zach Wilson with the second overall pick in April’s draft, filling a position of need for them, and new head coach Robert Saleh will be hoping the dynamic signal-caller lives up to the hype he carries in order to build a winning culture in New York. 

The selection of USC guard Alijah Vera-Tucker with the 14th pick will be a big help in protecting Wilson too, joining an offensive line that already includes 2020 first-round pick, Mekhi Becton.

The Falcons also have a new head coach in 2021, with former Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith taking over from Dan Quinn, and he will be thrilled to have added athletic tight-end, and 4th overall selection in the 2021 draft, Kyle Pitts to his roster.

Pitts joins former Alabama wideout Calvin Ridley as first-round weapons available to Ryan and Smith, and there will be much hope in Atlanta that they can rediscover the kind of high-scoring offense that took them to Super Bowl 51. 

Atlanta will likely enter this game as the favorite, and UK bettors nationwide will be able to bet on the game live and in-play.

Comparatively, US gamblers can only bet on the game in states where gambling is legal such as New Jersey and Michigan where physical sportsbooks, that often don’t have betting apps or websites, are located inside casinos.

Falcons fans in Georgia are therefore unlikely to be able to bet on their team, whereas UK-based Falcons fans can easily access a betting site or app on their smartphone like 888 Sport, where they can place bets anytime, anywhere due to legalization across the board. 

Jaguars and Dolphins face off in NFL London Games

The second NFL London game of the season sees the adopted home team, Jacksonville Jaguars, taking on the Miami Dolphins. Both teams are very familiar with the trip over the pond, with this being the 5th time the Dolphins have featured in London, whilst it will be the 8th time for the Jags, the most of any NFL team. 

The teams had vastly different seasons in 2020, with the Dolphins finishing with a 10-6 record under head coach Brian Flores, their first winning season since 2016. Contrastingly, the Jags held an NFL-worst record of 1-15, struggling throughout the year without a franchise quarterback. 

Things are looking up in Jacksonville though, as they were able to snag highly touted Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence with the 1st overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Lawrence is a prototypical pro-style QB with great size, arm strength, and accuracy, and his winning mentality coming from Clemson, where he won a national championship in 2018 and ended with a 34-2 win-loss record, have made him one of the most anticipated players to come out of college over the last decade.

Incoming head coach Urban Meyer will be hoping Lawrence can adjust quickly to the NFL game and that having former college teammate Travis Etienne, who they selected with the 25th overall pick, alongside him in the backfield will be a big help to kickstart what was a mediocre offense in 2020.

Jacksonville might be stacked…

Jacksonville only managed to post 231.2 passing yards and 19.1 points per game last season, but Lawrence coupled with the addition of Marvin Jones to a receiving corp that already includes pro-bowler DJ Chark, should help to turn that around some this coming year. 

The Dolphins also loaded up in the draft, adding speed to their receiving corps in the form of Jaylen Waddle with the 6th overall pick out of Alabama, reuniting him with QB Tua Tagovailoa.

Miami was also able to add former UCLA line-backer Jaelen Phillips to their already stingy defense that allowed just 21.1 points per game in 2020, with the 18th overall pick. The Dolphins will come into the game as strong favorites and looking to win the AFC East. 

To Conclude…

Two exciting matchups await NFL fans in the UK this year, with another chance to inspire future fans and players of the game, and as ever it will be a fantastic experience for the players from all four franchises to play in an amazing arena in front of passionate fans.

It is especially rare that both the top two draft picks will be traveling over, and UK NFL fans will be in for a treat watching Lawrence and Wilson amongst a myriad of other stars of the game. 

Daniel Jones has been making moves since his rocky start in the NFL.

The clock hit triple zeros in the fourth quarter. The New England Patriots just defeated the New York Giants 35-14 on Thursday Night Football. The Patriots remained victorious through their first six games. Meanwhile, the Giants fell to a record of 2-4.

Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones on his way to the locker room stops. Even though he just lost his second game in a row, he couldn’t help but be happy as he exchanged pleasantries with the G.O.A.T, Tom Brady.

For Jones, his career is just in its infancy. Nobody is going to raise an eyebrow if he was a little giddy about exchanging words with the great and ageless Tom Brady.

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Welcome to New York

Jones was selected in this year’s draft with the sixth overall pick by Giants. The dream moment Daniel Jones had worked towards his whole life– from his childhood in Charlotte to his Collegiate career at Duke– had finally arrived. For Giants fans, including yours truly, the moment felt more like a Jordan Peele nightmare.

I wondered if GM Dave Gettleman was well, was he mentally stable? Gettleman a few months before trading Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns basically said we just paid him $95 million in the summer and didn’t pay him to trade him. Gettleman then proceeded to lose Landon Collins in free agency.

Drafting Daniel Jones in the first round as far as I was concerned was the third strike. Like many fans of the team, I wanted Gettleman out of the front office and put on Shutter Island. To Gettleman’s credit, he stood firmly by his decision. Gettleman firmly believed that Jones was the best player available to him.

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Bye Easy E! Hello Danny Dimes!

After an impressive pre-season, Daniel Jones looked like a guy who deserved to be drafted sixth overall. Many of the critics and I started to shut our mouths as we wondered; could he possibly be the starter now?

The Giants began their season with Eli Manning as the starting quarterback. The team played and lost the first two games. Eli Manning looked like a guy who would soon join his brother and father in retirement.

That’s when head coach Pat Shurmur announced that Daniel Jones will be starting at quarterback on week three, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Flash forward to Thursday Night Football. Daniel Jones is now the successor to the two-time Superbowl MVP, Eli Manning. After four starts Jones is 2-2, but does his record as a starter tell the whole story!?

Here are the pros and cons Daniel Jones has shown us so far.

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Pros

Daniel Jones’ skills have surprised many Giants fans. Something Giants fans didn’t see with Eli Manning is the ability to move and explode for big runs.

In four starts Daniel Jones has 15 run attempts for 86 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging 5.7 yards per attempt. In 16 seasons with the Giants, Eli Manning has only averaged 1.8 yards.

Eli’s best rushing season came in 2005 when he had 29 attempts for 80 yards in a season. Daniel Jones already has more than that in a four-game stretch and only needed half the attempts to get there.

It’s unfair to both Manning and Jones to compare the two quarterbacks but it’s impossible not to highlight these stats. In today’s NFL, it’s not only important but almost a necessity to have a mobile quarterback who can occasionally pick up a first down with his legs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oB5pQH57Mo

But the thing that has Giants fans most excited about Jones is his accuracy. He’s been on target with most of the passes to his receivers.

He puts the ball in places they can only make a play on it. Tight end Evan Engram said this to the New York Post about the rookie QB,

“He can put it on a line, he can put it on a rope that can come at you pretty quick when it has to, and then he definitely has a lot of touch and can put it to where only the receiver can get it.”

When it comes to throwing deep balls downfield he is putting the ball in front of the receivers. Jones is placing the ball in between the receiver and the endzone.

The receiver never comes back to the ball which if they do would cause them to slow him down in their quest to the endzone. On those throws, only the receiver can make the catch and not a player in the defenses secondary.

https://youtu.be/XXp5XdfDbs0

On short or intermediate routes, he’s hitting his receivers in stride and throwing perfect strikes despite defensive traffic.

https://youtu.be/2oB5pQH57Mo

Much like his predecessor, Jones has the respect of his teammates. Rusell Shepard told the New York Post,

“He’s one of the goofiest guys on the team,” Russell Shepard told The Post. “He kinda reminds me of 10 [Manning]. He knows how to be serious, but at the same time, he’s [got] a very dry sense of humor.”

Engram thinks the rookie is ready to take over the big stage that playing New York offers.

“You just don’t see that nervousness or that timidness with him. I don’t think it’s gonna faze him at all”.

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Cons

Turnovers!

In the NFL when you have a quarterback that doesn’t protect the football, that usually leads to a team not winning games. Daniel Jones currently has six interceptions and two lost fumbles. Eight turnovers in four starts.

If the rookie starts the rest of the season, he will be on pace for 28 turnovers. Eli only had 10 in his first 9 starts. He currently has more interceptions than touchdowns.

The turnovers might be a direct effect of Daniel Jones’s next con. His pre-snap reads and decision making. Many times Jones will not recognize when a defense is coming with an all-out blitz. After he snaps the ball, he doesn’t recognize where the pass rush is coming from because he is so focused downfield.

This has led to him being sacked 10 times in four starts. He’s also been prone to not looking off defenders and making bad decisions down the field. There are a lot of balls that should have been intercepted but haven’t because the defenders have dropped them.

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Overall

When it comes down to it, a lot of Jones’ cons will be corrected throughout the year as he gains experience. Giants fans should be patient, after all, he is only 22 years old.

There will be plenty of growing pains along with a lot of highlights, don’t be quick to boo or praise him.

Only time will tell what Daniel Jones will end up being. One thing is for sure, the rookie quarterback has the fanbase that didn’t want him in April, excited in October.

There is a new kind of energy and a fresh feeling of excitement to the Giants team that hasn’t been seen in a while. If the fans of Big Blue are lucky, maybe in 20 years he will be shaking the hand of a rookie quarterback after a victory.

A rookie who doesn’t know Tom Brady, but thinks of Jones as the G.O.A.T.