When the Philadelphia Eagles saw their schedule in May, they believed that their title defense would come with a gauntlet at the beginning of the season. It started with a home matchup against their NFC East rival, the Dallas Cowboys. It continued with a Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.
A home matchup against the Los Angeles Rams and a road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers followed, making it seem like the opening month would be a litmus test for a team with high expectations in 2025.
The Eagles began their journey with a 24-20 win over the Cowboys in Week 1. While things looked difficult at first, the opening week of the season may have revealed some truths and given Philadelphia a much easier path to a winning record in September.
Eagles’ September May Have Opened Up After Week 1 Results
The good news for the Eagles came on Friday night when the Chiefs dropped their season opener to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil. The 27-21 loss may have Kansas City feeling chippy when they return to Arrowhead Stadium next weekend, but they suffered a chink in their armor when Xavier Worthy left the game with a dislocated shoulder.
Worthy’s absence would be a huge loss for the Chiefs as they continue to try and piece together their wide receiver room. But KC's defense also struggled in Week 1, allowing 318 yards and three touchdowns to Justin Herbert, with doubted wide receiver Quentin Johnston (five catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns) running amok.
The Rams were able to earn a win over the Houston Texans in Week 1, but they didn’t look much better than Kansas City did. Los Angeles’s offense was out of sorts for most of the afternoon, managing just 296 yards of total offense and a meager output on the scoreboard with 14 points.
While the departure of Puka Nacua in the first half didn’t help matters, that didn’t relate to the Rams' defense managing just three sacks against Houston. This is an arguably worse unit than the one that allowed C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times last season, and they lost center Jake Andrews to injury during Sunday’s game, yet LA remained ineffective.
Then there’s the Buccaneers, who also earned a win but needed a missed 44-yard field goal attempt by Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo as time expired to make it happen. Before the miss, Tampa Bay allowed the Falcons to take the lead on a four-yard touchdown run by Michael Penix Jr. with 2:17 left to play and needed Baker Mayfield to lead a game-winning drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka with 59 seconds remaining.
Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin also proved to be a liability, missing a field goal and the PAT after Egbuka’s touchdown that gave the Falcons a chance to tie the game with a field goal in the closing seconds of regulation.
The Eagles have their own concerns coming out of Week 1 including a possible suspension for Jalen Carter and a lackluster showing on defense against the Cowboys. But it seems a lot smaller compared to what their opponents are going through and could get Philadelphia off to a great start in 2025.