2023 Philadelphia Eagles Season

The 2023 season was the Philadelphia Eagles' 91st season in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Nick Sirianni. The Eagles entered the season as defending NFC Champions.

In Week 15, the Eagles clinched their third consecutive playoff berth, and for the sixth time in seven years due to the Green Bay Packers losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Atlanta Falcons losing to the Carolina Panthers, and the San Francisco 49ers beating the Arizona Cardinals. Despite this, the Eagles failed to equal or improve on their 14–3 record from the previous year after losing to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15. Despite starting with a 10–1 record for the second consecutive season, the Eagles would lose five of their last six games, causing them to lose the first seed in the NFC to the San Francisco 49ers and the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys. These problems were attributed to the team's poor defense, which was ranked 26th out of 32, which contributed to many of their wins falling within one score, and two of their losses, which were to the top 2 seeds in their conference; the 49ers and Cowboys, being blowouts. Due to these issues, the Eagles failed to repeat as NFC East champions. No longer in control of their destiny, Philadelphia needed both a win and a Cowboys loss to the Commanders in Week 18 to end the NFC East's record streak of having new winners every year since 2005. The Cowboys clinched the division as a result of their Week 18 win over the Washington Commanders, and would win the tiebreaker over Philadelphia due to Conference record, even if the Cowboys had lost or if the Eagles had won.

The Eagles' late-season woes continued into the playoffs, in which they were eliminated by the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round, in a 32–9 blowout loss. This late-season collapse is considered by many to be one of the worst in NFL history.

This season would mark the first season since 2010 that the Eagles wore Kelly green uniforms and the first time since 1995 that they would be featured multiple times in a season. In the team’s locker room, immediately after losing to Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs, Center Jason Kelce, who spent his entire 13-year career with the Eagles, announced to his teammates that he was retiring, according to "league sources" as reported by ESPN.

Roster changes

Free agents

Signings

Departures

Trades

* April 29: The Eagles traded a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions for RB D'Andre Swift and a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
* August 29: The Eagles traded a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Denver Broncos for TE Albert Okwuegbunam and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
* October 23: The Eagles traded S Terrell Edmunds, a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Tennessee Titans for S Kevin Byard.
* October 30: The Eagles traded DT Kentavius Street and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Atlanta Falcons for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Draft

Draft Notes
*The Eagles received a 2023 third round selection (66th overall) from the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a 2023 third round selection (94th overall) and a 2024 fifth round selection as settlement for Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort violating the NFL's Anti-Tampering Policy.
*The Eagles received a 2023 first round selection (9th overall) from the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2023 first round selection (10th overall) and a 2024 fourth round selection.
*The Eagles received a 2023 third round selection (65th overall), a 2023 sixth round selection (188th overall), and a 2023 seventh round selection (230 overall) from the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2023 second round selection (62nd overall).
*The Eagles received a 2023 fourth round selection (105th overall) from the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2024 third round selection.
*The Eagles received running back D'Andre Swift from the Detroit Lions in exchange for a 2023 seventh round selection (219th overall) and a 2025 fourth round selection.
*The Eagles received a 2023 sixth round selection (191st overall) from the Houston Texans in exchange for two seventh round selections (230th and 248th overall).
*The Eagles received a 2024 fifth round selection from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a 2023 sixth round selection (191st overall).

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at New England Patriots

On a rainy opening day, the Eagles would come out of the gates strong with 16 unanswered points which included a 32 yard field goal from Jake Elliott, a Darius Slay 70 yard pick 6 and a 5 yard TD pass from Jalen Hurts to DeVonta Smith. New England would rally back with a pair of TD passes from Mac Jones to Hunter Henry and Kendrick Bourne. In the second half, Jake Elliott would kick 3 field goals from 56, 48, and 51. The Patriots would march down the field late in the 4th quarter and score a TD pass from Jones to Bourne again making the score 25-20. A Jalen Hurts fumble and turnover on downs gave the Patriots 2 more shots for the go ahead TD. On 4th-and-11 with 24 seconds left in the game, Jones appeared to complete a pass to Kayshon Boutte to set up 1st-and-goal for the Patriots at the Eagles 7-yard line before Boutte was forced out of bounds by Josh Jobe. However, the pass was ruled incomplete after the replay showed that Boutte did not get both feet inbounds after catching the ball, therefore resulting in a turnover on downs, and the Eagles would win their season opener for the third straight year (all on the road) and their seventh in the last eight seasons.

Week 2: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 2 would be a mirror image of the Birds week 2 match up from a year ago and taking on the Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles would strike first on a 24 yard Jake Elliot field goal. In the second quarter, the Vikings would get on the board with a 5 yard TD pass from Kirk Cousins to T.J. Hockenson. The Eagles would punch back with a Jalen Hurts "tush push" 1 yard TD. The Vikings would march down the field with Cousins hitting a wide open Justin Jefferson. On the play, Jefferson was diving towards the pylon. However, in doing so, the ball would come loose from his hand prior to going over the plain and would go out of bounds in the endzone resulting in a touchback. Under a minute remaining, the Eagles would march down to set up Jake Elliott for a 61 yard field goal. It would tie as his longest career field goal made and put the birds up 13-7 at the half. On the opening second half drive, the Eagles would march down the field again and Jalen Hurts would score his second TD on the day with another "tush push." The Eagles would once again get the ball back on a Vikings turnover and Jalen Hurts would hit DeVonta Smith for a 63 yard TD putting the Eagles up 27-7. The Vikings would fight back on a pair of TDs from the Vikings making the score 27-21. The Eagles would rush their way down the field and would top it off with a 2 yard D'Andre Swift TD. Keeping things interesting, the Vikings would quickly march down field and score a TD of their own from Cousins to Hockenson making the score 34-28. The Vikings would get the ball back one more time in a Hail Mary effort, but would fall short. The game was noted on the 4 Viking turnovers caused by the Eagles defense and the Eagles vicious rushing attack mainly coming from Swift who had 175 yards on the ground. The Eagles would come out 2-0 for the second straight year.

Week 3: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 4: vs. Washington Commanders

In a back-and-forth thriller that featured many lead changes in the fourth quarter, the Eagles defeated their division rival in overtime. This win, along with a Miami Dolphins loss to the Buffalo Bills, allowed Philadelphia to become one of only two unbeaten teams remaining, the other being the San Francisco 49ers, who defeated the Arizona Cardinals later that day.

Week 5: at Los Angeles Rams

Week 6: at New York Jets

The Eagles entered their Week 6 matchup with the New York Jets as the lone remaining undefeated team in the league, thanks to the San Francisco 49ers' loss to the Cleveland Browns just moments after the kickoff. Philadelphia raced out to a 14–3 lead in the second quarter, but the game would quickly fall apart for the Eagles from there as the Jets continued to chip away at the lead over the remainder of the game. With their lead down to 14–12 at the two-minute warning, Jalen Hurts was picked off by Tony Adams, and gave the Jets an opportunity to win the game. Breece Hall scored the go-ahead touchdown for New York on the very next play, and Philadelphia failed to respond on their final drive, allowing the Jets to run the clock out. The Eagles fell to 5–1 on the season with the 20–14 upset loss. It also marked Philadelphia's first ever loss to the New York Jets in thirteen regular-season meetings.

Week 7: vs. Miami Dolphins

Following their first-ever loss to the New York Jets, the Eagles returned to Lincoln Financial Field to face the AFC East-leading Miami Dolphins. Philadelphia wore its Kelly Green alternate uniforms for the first time since 2010. After trading field goals with the Dolphins in the first quarter, the Eagles would jump out to a 17–3 lead on a Dallas Goedert touchdown reception, followed by a Jalen Hurts quarterback sneak. Tyreek Hill would close the gap to seven points before halftime with a 27-yard touchdown reception. The teams traded punts to start the second half, before the Eagles forced a turnover on downs on a controversial play where James Bradberry appeared to grab the face mask of Cedrick Wilson Jr., but no penalty was called. A game-tying 22-yard pick six by Jerome Baker almost immediately after the controversial call seemed to turn the momentum in Miami's favor. However, Baker's pick six proved to be the last Dolphins score, as the Eagles took control of the ball for the rest of the game. On the very next possession, A. J. Brown scored on a 14-yard reception, and Kenneth Gainwell ran 3 yards for the game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter. With the 31–17 win, the Eagles improved to 6–1 on the season, and became the top team in the conference when the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Minnesota Vikings the following night.

Week 8: at Washington Commanders

Week 9: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Despite committing multiple mistakes in the game's closing minutes, the Eagles staved off a late Cowboys rally to preserve a 28–23 win. The Eagles narrowly escaped with the victory when Dak Prescott completed a pass to CeeDee Lamb, who was tackled by Darius Slay two yards short of the end zone as time expired. Philadelphia improved to 8–1 for the second consecutive year with the win, and earned their first victory over a Dak Prescott led Cowboys team for the first time since 2019.

Week 11: at Kansas City Chiefs

In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs took a 17–7 lead at halftime on touchdowns by Justin Watson and Travis Kelce and a field goal by Harrison Butker, while the only Eagles' scoring play of the first half was a touchdown by D'Andre Swift. However, the Eagles held the Chiefs scoreless in the second half and mounted a comeback. In the third quarter, Jalen Hurts rushed for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the Chiefs' lead to 17–14. In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs converted a 4th-and-1 in the Eagles red zone, but on the next play, Bradley Roby stripped the ball from Kelce and Nicholas Morrow recovered the fumble. Two possessions later, Hurts rushed for a 1-yard touchdown, giving the Eagles a 21–17 lead. On the Chiefs' final drive, Patrick Mahomes threw a long pass that was dropped by Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and on the next play, Mahomes was flagged for intentional grounding, setting up 4th-and-25 for the Chiefs. Mahomes' pass to Watson fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs, and allowing the Eagles to run out the clock.

The Eagles improved to 9–1 with their first victory over the Chiefs since 2009. This also marked the first time they ever defeated their old coach, Andy Reid.

Week 12: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers

In a rematch of the 2022 NFC Championship Game, which saw the San Francisco 49ers without their quarterback Brock Purdy, the Eagles took a 6–0 lead in the first quarter buoyed by a poor performance from Purdy and two field goals for Philadelphia by Jake Elliot. However, the next six drives from San Francisco for the remaining three quarters all resulted in touchdowns, with Purdy and Deebo Samuel leading the charge to bring San Francisco to 42 points. Philadelphia could only manage to score on two drives in the second half, both touchdowns from Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith, with the latter touchdown being followed by an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt. Philadelphia scored only 19 points in the loss, falling to 10–2.

Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys

Following the loss, the Cowboys took NFC East control from the Eagles.

Week 15: at Seattle Seahawks

Seattle started their backup quarterback Drew Lock in place of the injured Geno Smith. The first three quarters saw Philadelphia take the lead over Seattle 17-10, from two touchdowns from Jalen Hurts and a field goal from Jake Elliot. In the fourth quarter, with two minutes left in the game and Seattle down 13-17, Lock led his team on a 94-yard drive, culminating in a 29-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the end zone for a touchdown to take the lead with 28 seconds left to play. Philadelphia attempted a last-ditch drive to score, which spanned 20 yards and 22 seconds before Hurts was intercepted by Julian Love, sealing the win for Seattle and handing Philadelphia their third straight loss. Seattle also extended their winning streak over Philadelphia to eight, including the teams' 2019 postseason meeting.

Week 16: vs. New York Giants

Christmas Day games
The Eagles took a 20-3 lead at halftime on touchdowns by Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith and two field goals by Jake Elliott, while the Giants' only scoring play of the half was a field goal by Mason Crosby. However, the Giants started to chip away at the Eagles' lead during the third quarter. During the kickoff at the beginning of the half, Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons threw Eagles wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus into running back Boston Scott, causing a fumble that was recovered by Simmons. Soon after, Saquon Barkley scored on a 7-yard run, and near the end of the third quarter, Hurts threw an interception to cornerback Adoree' Jackson, who returned it 76 yards for a touchdown, during which Hurts was flagged for a horse-collar tackle while trying to chase down Jackson. The Giants elected to enforce that penalty on a two-point conversion attempt, which Barkley scored, cutting the Eagles' lead to 20-18. In the fourth quarter, on the Eagles' next drive, Hurts converted a 3rd-and-20 to wide receiver A.J. Brown, which eventually lead to a 5-yard touchdown run by D'Andre Swift. The Giants turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert a 4th-and-1, leading to Elliott kicking another field goal to increase Philadelphia's lead to 30-18. New York responded with a two-play 75-yard drive, culminating in Darius Slayton scoring on a 69-yard pass from Tyrod Taylor, cutting the Eagles' lead to 30-25. Trying to run out the clock with the ground game, Philadelphia drove to the New York 26-yard line, but could only run the clock down to 1:14, resulting in another field goal by Elliott, keeping it a one-score game at 33-25. The Giants, now needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime, drove to the Philadelphia 26-yard line with three seconds remaining, but Taylor threw a pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Eagles cornerback Kelee Ringo, sealing the victory for the Eagles and snapping their three-game losing streak.

The Eagles improved to 11-4 with the win and regained control of the NFC East following the Dallas Cowboys' loss to the Miami Dolphins the previous night.

Week 17: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Philadelphia took a 21-6 lead at halftime from three touchdowns, two from Julio Jones and one from an interception return by Sydney Brown. Arizona only scored two field goals in the first half, but would make the only scoring plays in the third quarter: touchdowns from Michael Carter and James Conner, with the latter touchdown being followed by a successful two-point conversion to tie the game at 21-21. In the fourth quarter, Philadelphia and Arizona each scored touchdowns, from Dallas Goedert and Michael Wilson respectively, keeping the game tied at 28-28. A poor offense led Philadelphia to do a field goal to take the lead with two minutes left in regulation, during which key receiver DeVonta Smith was injured and withdrew from the game. Kyler Murray led Arizona on a 70-yard drive, with Conner scoring a decisive touchdown in the final minute. With 32 seconds left to play, Jalen Hurts attempted a last-ditch effort to score only to be intercepted by Joey Blount, mirroring Philadelphia's defeat to the Seattle Seahawks two weeks prior, thus sealing the upset for Arizona.Morning Roundup: How did the veterans react to Sunday's bitter defeat?
Philadelphiaeagles.com, December 31, 2023

With the stunning 35–31 loss and the Dallas Cowboys' win over the Detroit Lions the night prior, the Eagles surrendered control of the NFC East and their playoff positioning to Dallas. As the San Francisco 49ers had defeated the Washington Commanders that same day, Philadelphia also lost their chances at clinching the first seed in the conference, as San Francisco clinched the first seed.

Week 18: at New York Giants

New York came out of the gate with an explosive offense that saw them score 24 points in the first half off of three touchdowns and a field goal, with Tyrod Taylor throwing for 229 yards in the first half. Philadelphia failed to score in the first half, during which A. J. Brown, Sydney Brown, and Jalen Hurts withdrew from the game due to injuries. Marcus Mariota entered the game for Hurts and led Philadelphia to a field goal and a touchdown in the second half. Although New York's offense had cooled down by then, the Eagles were unable to overcome the deficit as they ended the regular season with a 27–10 loss.

With the upset loss, the Eagles ended their season 11–6, and clinched the fifth seed in the NFC as the Dallas Cowboys had beaten the Washington Commanders to take the division title. It is the NFC East's 19th consecutive season without a repeat champion.The NFL's Weirdest Streak: Cowboys Title Keeps Alive 19-Year NFC East Oddity
Sports Illustrated, January 7, 2024

Standings

Division

Conference

Postseason

Schedule

Game summaries

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Philadelphia returned to the playoffs coming off a disastrous late-season collapse that saw them fall into the fifth seed, and were hoping to reverse their momentum with a win over NFC South champion Tampa Bay. Wide receiver A. J. Brown, who suffered a knee injury in the regular season finale against the New York Giants, was unable to make it to the game.

Philadelphia's poor defense struggled to tackle Tampa Bay's ball carriers, giving up huge runs down the field; Tampa Bay logged 119 rushing yards on 29 carries and made 6-of-14 third down conversions, with Baker Mayfield throwing for 337 yards and three touchdowns. Most notably, cornerback James Bradberry made contact with Trey Palmer but failed to bring him down, proving costly as it facilitated his 56-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Philadelphia's offensive line failed to perform well as Tampa Bay also employed the blitz defense against Jalen Hurts, leading to him getting sacked three times, with one of them happening within Tampa Bay's end zone for a safety.

On the offensive side, Philadelphia were held to just a field goal and a passing touchdown by Tampa Bay's defense. Following their touchdown, Philadelphia attempted a " tush push" maneuver for a two-point conversion, but Tampa Bay was able to hold them off and pull Hurts away from the end zone. Although Hurts threw for 250 yards and DeVonta Smith caught for 148 yards, not once did Philadelphia convert off of a third down, and they only logged 42 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Their sixth loss in seven games, Philadelphia exited the postseason early with the 9-32 blowout loss, unable to defend their NFC championship.

References

External links

*

{{2023 NFL season by team

Philadelphia
Philadelphia Eagles seasons
Philadelphia Eagles