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Win expectations for the Eagles and all of their 2020 opponents

Looking at this year’s schedule from the fan perspective.

NFL: DEC 22 Cowboys at Eagles Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans powered by SurveyMonkey. Each week, we send 32 polls to plugged in fans from each team NFL. You can sign up HERE — it’s easy and free to join!


We all have our own expectations for how the Philadelphia Eagles will fare after looking at the recently released 2020 NFL schedule. I have the Birds between nine or 10 wins, which apparently falls in line with the majority of our community:

Of course, this is the time of year when most fans tend to be relatively optimistic about their favorite football teams. And this hope can quickly disappear if/when the harsh reality of regular season losing sets in.

So while these polling results might not be very predictive, I still thought it’d be interesting to compare the Eagles’ win expectations to those of their opponents. What are fans expecting out of the teams that Philly will face this season?

Week 1 - at Washington (Sept. 13, 1:00 PM ET, FOX)

Six-to-eight wins would be a pretty solid season for a Washington team that finished with the No. 2 overall pick last year. I think they’re more likely to be in the zero-to-five range because Dwayne Haskins might not be too good. Not to mention Washington not having a full offseason during Ron Rivera’s first year on the job.

Week 2 - vs. Los Angeles Rams (Sept. 20, 1:00 PM ET, FOX)

Sean McVay is overrated and Jared Goff hasn’t looked good for a long stretch now. The Rams are poised to under-perform these expectations.

Week 3 - vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Sept. 27, 1:00 PM ET, CBS)

A perfect example of how offseason optimism runs wild. Over 30% of polled Bengals fans are really expecting nine-to-10 wins after only seeing Cincy win two games as the worst team in the NFL last year! I do think Joe Burrow can make an immediate impact but this is a bit much.

Week 4 - at San Francisco 49ers (Oct. 4, 8:20 PM ET, NBC)

Niners fans aren’t expecting much of a step back from their 13-3 finish in 2019. Some actually expect a step forward! San Fran is likely at least a playoff team but they might be closer to 10 wins.

Week 5 - at Pittsburgh Steelers (Oct. 11, 1:00 PM ET, FOX)

Ben Roethlisberger is coming off elbow surgery that caused him to miss the entire 2019 season. Steelers fans are clearly expecting him to bounce back despite the fact he turned 38 earlier this year. Considering that Pittsburgh only has one losing season since 2000, it’s hard to say these expectations are out of whack.

Week 6 - vs. Baltimore Ravens (Oct. 18, 1:00 PM ET, CBS)

It’ll obviously be tough for the Ravens to replicate their 14-2 record from last year. Fans are appropriately accounting for some regression. The biggest question is ... to what extent will Lamar Jackson maintain his MVP form?

Week 7 - vs. New York Giants (Oct. 22, 8:20 PM ET, FOX/NFL Network/Amazon)

The majority of Giants fans are expecting at least six wins, which hasn’t happened for New York since 2016. Daniel Jones showed some signs of promise last year and perhaps he can build on that. But Joe Judge is a wild card and Dave Gettleman’s incompetence doesn’t seem likely to lend to the Giants being an actually good team.

Week 8 - vs. Dallas Cowboys (Nov. 1, 8:20 PM ET, NBC)

Cowboys fans are clearly feeling pretty good. They might not be accounting enough for the impact of their free agency losses but their 2020 NFL Draft class is pretty promising on paper. Mike McCarthy could end up being an upgrade on Jason Garrett. Alternatively, we can whip out this poll when the Cowboys hilariously fail to justify the hype this year.

Week 9 - BYE

100% of bye week fans are expecting zero losses, wins, or ties this year.

Week 10 - at New York Giants (Nov. 15, 1:00 PM ET, FOX)

If fans expectations are met, the Eagles have an opportunity to end any serious discussion about the Giants as a playoff contender with a win here.

Week 11 - at Cleveland Browns (Nov. 22, 1:00 PM ET, FOX)

‘This is finally going to be the year where the Browns are good again!’ has been a thing for the past couple seasons now. The hype clearly wasn’t warranted. And yet the majority of Cleveland fans are confident that their team will have their third winning season since 1995. Lol at the 14 to 16 win votes.

Week 12 - vs. Seattle Seahawks (Nov. 30, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN)

The Seahawks have failed to win double digit games in just one of Russell Wilson’s eight seasons and that was a 9-7 finish in 2017. Seattle fans are rightfully confident with him at the helm.

Week 13 - at Green Bay Packers (Dec. 6, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)

The Packers went 13-3 and made it to the NFC Championship Game last season but fans are clearly expecting some kind of step back. Green Bay’s offseason has been criticized due to a failure to better help Aaron Rodgers, who showed signs of declining in 2019.

Week 14 - vs. New Orleans Saints (Dec. 13, 4:25 PM ET, FOX)

Hard to fault expectations here when the Saints are 37-11 over the past three seasons. Fans are feeling optimistic about what could be one last Super Bowl push with Drew Brees. I just wonder how they’ll try to justify their team choking in the playoffs again this year.

Week 15 - at Arizona Cardinals (Dec. 20, 4:05 PM ET, FOX)

I don’t think Cards fans are crazy to be more bullish on their team than the national expectation. Like Carson Wentz and Lamar Jackson before him, Kyler Murray could be the next second-year quarterback to take a big jump. Don’t sleep on Arizona.

Week 16 - at Dallas Cowboys (Dec. 27, 4:25 PM ET, FOX)

This game could easily be for the NFC East crown.

Week 17 - vs. Washington Redskins (Jan. 3, 1:00 PM ET, FOX)

Washington could be looking to play spoiler here ... or the Eagles could be resting players as Jalen Hurts makes his first NFL start.


SUMMARY

Teams expected to be worse than the Eagles — Washington, Bengals, Giants, Cardinals

Teams expected to be similar to the Eagles — Rams, Steelers, Browns, Packers

Teams expected to be better than the Eagles — 49ers, Ravens, Cowboys, Seahawks, Saints


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