Three great things about the Eagles’ 2017 schedule

Now that there’s been some time to digest the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2017 schedule (click here), there are three great things about it that stick out to me. It’s not the easiest schedule, no, and there are definitely some downsides. But for now I’m focusing on the positives.

The Eagles don’t play a single team coming off a bye

No team will have extra time to prepare for the Eagles. That’s pretty awesome considering how last year the Eagles got screwed by playing three teams coming off bye weeks ... in a row. And two of those games were divisional matchups on the road. Unsurprisingly, Philadelphia lost those two games.

No early bye week

The Eagles were on a roll before that dumb Week 4 bye last season. Thankfully they won’t have to deal with that this year. Their bye is in week 10. In fact, no NFL team will have to deal with the early bye this year.

Oh, so the NFL takes away Week 4 byes AFTER the Eagles got screwed by it last year. Thanks a lot.

Extra rest against division opponents

Last year the Eagles were at a disadvantage against division teams coming off their bye weeks. This year, the tables have turned. Philadelphia comes off their Week 10 bye to play the Cowboys in Week 11. The Eagles also get to play Washington in Week 7 after playing the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football in Week 6. That means the Eagles will have 11 days of rest before playing at home against Washington.

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Alright, so if you think I’m too much of an optimist and want to see some negatives about the Eagles schedule, well, here you go.