Philadelphia Eagles Schedule 2015: Breaking down the third quarter

Philadelphia Eagles training camp begins in a little over two weeks. With nothing else better to do, let's look ahead to the upcoming season. I'm going to spend the next couple of days breaking down the team's 2015 schedule into four quarters. As a reminder, here's the entire 2015 Eagles schedule. We reviewed Philadelphia's first four games on Tuesday and the ones after that on Wednesday. Now let's look at the next four.

10) Miami Dolphins (Nov. 15, 1:00 PM)

Much was made of how former Eagles quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor implemented parts of Chip Kelly's offense in Miami last season. The Dolphins ranked eighth overall in offensive DVOA last season. Now the copycat will face the master head on. It'll be interesting to see how these teams game-plan against each other.

Lazor isn't the only assistant coach going up against his former team in this game. Eagles special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spent time with the Dolphins before being hired in Philadelphia. If the Dolphins are as terrible as they were on special teams last year (dead last in special teams DVOA), then this could be a big mismatch given the Eagles' special teams prowess.

Overall, the Dolphins should provide a decent challenge to the Eagles.

11) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Nov. 22, 1:00 PM)

This one has a weird feel to it, just like the Eagles-Titans game prior to last year's Dallas game on Thanksgiving. There might be some trap game potential. It'll be interesting to see how Jameis Winston adjusts to the NFL.

The Eagles' investment in tall/long defensive backs could pay off here. Philadelphia will have to deal with big pass catchers such as Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, and Austin Seferian-Jenkins.

12) at Detroit Lions (Nov. 26, 12:30 PM)

Another Thanksgiving game! Last year the Eagles traveled to Dallas to beat up the Cowboys on Turkey Day. Can they do the same with Detroit?

It won't be easy. The Lions' defense looked really strong last year under defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, though losing Ndamukong Suh will hurt. Head coach Jim Caldwell did a lot better of a job than most expected last season. We'll see if the Lions can keep it up.

Oh, and I'd be remiss not to mention this is a rematch of the epic Snow Bowl game from 2013. Sadly, this time the dome at Ford Field will prevent that from happening again.

13) at New England Patriots (Dec. 6, 4:25 PM)

Yikes. Traveling to New England to and beating Tom Brady in his house is no easy task. This will be a major test for Philadelphia.

After seeing the Eagles and Patriots square off in preseason the last two years, the Chip Kelly versus Bill Belichick regular season matchup is finally going to happen. Despite being good friends, I can't help but think these guys really want to stick it to each other. Who is the REAL genius?!

The good news for the Eagles here is that they will have a few extra days of rest heading into this matchup since they play on Thanksgiving.

Is a 4-0 record possible?

No, probably not. This isn't an easy stretch, especially with two tough road games in a row. 2-2 seems like the most realistic outcome here. On the bright side, AFC losses are the least damaging kind of defeat. Based on our previous breakdowns, a 2-2 record puts the Eagles at about 8-4 or 7-5 at this point.

Tomorrow I'll preview the fourth and final quarter of the Eagles schedule. For now, what say you about these four games? Where will the Eagles stand after the twelve games of the season?