The Eagles have the second best odds of NFC East teams to win Super Bowl 55

This year, the Eagles became one of four teams (Patriots, Chiefs and Saints) to reach the playoffs for the third straight season, taking home the NFC East division crown with a 9-7 record, despite a bruised and battered roster.

It was a rough season at times, but Doug Pederson, Carson Wentz, and a helpful end-of-season schedule allowed the Eagles to turn what looked like a lost year into a postseason appearance. That they lost 17-9 to the Seahawks at Lincoln Financial Field in the wild card round was a bummer, and that Wentz got hurt in the game really was a shame. But the team showed heart, and it’s entirely possible that had Wentz not been knocked out of the Seattle game, they could have won.

However, now we look to the 2020 season and the work the Eagles have to do to become the first team in the division to win consecutive titles since the Birds themselves did it last in 2004. CBS Sports’ Senior NFL Writer Will Brinson tweeted out the first look at futures on who will win the 2021 Super Bowl, and the Eagles are in the mix.

Only three teams in the NFC have better odds’ than the Eagles’ 20-1: the 49ers (8-1), Saints (10-1) and Cowboys (16-1), while the Packers and Seahawks have the same odds as Philadelphia, with the Rams, Bears and Vikings all just behind them at 30-1.

The Giants, by the way, are at 80-1, and Washington is tied for the lowest odds to win it all, at 100-1. So the NFC East appears to once again be a two-team race in 2020.

Obviously, this list is premature. Draft classes will be integrated, free agents will be signed and the random trade here and there will be made. The Cowboys have big decisions to make regarding Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper that could radically change their outlook. The Birds have holes at wide receiver, the secondary, at linebacker and even along the defensive line.

On paper, putting Dallas ahead of the Eagles makes sense. They have more talent, and although new head coach Mike McCarthy isn’t a world-beater, he’s certainly better than Jason Garrett. But the Eagles beat them in a must-have Week 16 game for both teams, and the Cowboys have to be questioning whether Prescott and Cooper are the players to lead them to a Super Bowl.

Wentz, meanwhile, proved he could once again play at an MVP-like level, answering a huge question entering 2019. The Eagles also have the better head coach, and the general managers are at least a push. Howie Roseman appears to be ready to get younger and say goodbye to the Super Bowl team of 2017, and understands the team needs an infusion of speed everywhere on the field.

Overall, the Eagles have the 8th-best odds to win the Super Bowl. Last year, just after Super Bowl 53, the Birds were tied for 11th, although their actual odds were the same, 20-1.

There is an entire off-season of transactions to come, but given the holes they need to fill, their 20-1 odds and standing as the NFC team with the 4th-highest odds says a lot about the perception of Wentz, Doug Pederson and the entire organization.