Despite the Eagles not having high expectations heading into the 2021 NFL season, they’ll inevitably have a handful of prime-time matchups. ESPN currently ranks the Eagles’ strength of schedule as one of the easiest in the NFL, facing only four playoff teams from last season — one of them being the Washington Football Team.
Let’s take a look at which Eagles games make the most sense to place in the prime-time slot this upcoming season.
Eagles at Cowboys
It doesn’t matter how well or poor each of these teams are playing at the time, whenever the Eagles and Cowboys face one another it’s sure to be fun game. The Birds and Boys have played against each other in the prime-time slot at least once a year for as long as I can remember.
That won’t change this year. Dak Prescott will be back under center for Dallas, DeVonta Smith will matchup against one of the Cowboys young cornerbacks, and whos knows, these two teams could be fighting for the division title depending on where this game falls on the schedule.
Eagles vs. Chiefs
Since Andy Reid left Philly to be the head coach in Kansas City, he’s faced his former team twice — once in Philly and once in Kansas City. The first matchup when Reid came back to the Lincoln Financial Field sidelines was in the prime-time slot, and I expect it to be the same this time around.
Both teams have won the Super Bowl since Reid’s departure. The Eagles are clearly not on the same level as Kansas City at the moment, but whenever the NFL can spin some sort of ‘revenge’ narrative into a particular matchup, they’ll do it.
Plus, Patrick Mahomes is always a safe bet to get extra prime-time treatment.
Eagles at Giants
Like the Cowboys-Eagles matchup, whenever the Eagles and Giants face off it’s prime-time material, regardless of how good each team is entering the season. This matchup will be the first of the Eagles-Giants games this season, since the first matchup between the two last season was in Philly. And as we know, Giants fans aren’t exactly pleased with our Eagles right now.
In Week 17 of last season, the Eagles pulled their starters against Washington when the game was within reach. Throwing that game and giving Washington the win pushed New York out of the playoffs, and despite only winning six games last season, the Giant faithful felt like they deserved to be in the postseason over Washington.
Not to mention, the Eagles jumped over New York in the NFL Draft just a few weeks ago to snag DeVonta Smith, a player the Giants were clearly targeting with their 11th overall pick.
The Eagles are 21-6 against New York since 2008. With all the bitterness coming from the Giants fan base, I hope that dominant trend continues this season.
Eagles at Raiders
With fans set to be back in NFL stands this year, Las Vegas will surely get several prime-time slots at their new home. For Eagles fans’ sake, I hope one of those matchups is against the Birds.
The Raiders just announced their plans to have a 11,00-square foot night club at the north end zone of Allegiant Stadium, decked out with bottle service booths and a DJ. The next Eagles away game I go to has to be in Vegas.
In terms of this matchup, the Eagles and Raiders don’t have a history of heated battles against one another — with the exception of their Super Bowl 15 matchup in 1980. But both teams could surprise fans this year, they both certainly have potential to be in the playoff race for their respective conferences.
Eagles vs. Buccaneers
I could’ve went Eagles-Saints here, given their track record and history against one another. But Tampa Bay is the defending Super Bowl champs, so they’ll get a lot of prime-time love this season.
The last time Tom Brady played in Philly was during the 2019 season, his last with the New England Patriots. The Eagles almost upset the 8-1 Patriots, but up-and-down play from Carson Wentz, along with a Nelson Agholor drop at the end of the game cost the Birds the win.
Obviously the matchup will be different now that Brady is in Tampa, but it’s clear that he still holds a grudge over Philly for beating him in Super Bowl 52. Hopefully both of these teams are playing well when this game falls on the schedule, it should be a fun matchup regardless.