Eagles represent benchmark games for three legitimate NFL title contenders

USA Today

19-05-2025

For just the second time in their nine-decade-long history, the Philadelphia Eagles enter the pro football season as the reigning and defending Super Bowl champions. This proud organization owns five NFL championships. Three precede the 1966 NFL merger (1948, 1949, 1960). The two most recent have been the most gratifying.
The Lombardi Trophy has become one of the largest representations of organizational excellence. Philadelphia's first will always be special because it was... well... the first. The second was the prize won by delivering one of the most dominant (and surprisingly one-sided) wins in the 59-year history of football's biggest game.
What will the Birds do for an encore? It won't be long before we know the answer.
Three genuine NFL title contenders have, no doubt, circled their games vs. the Eagles.
The NFL's 2025-26 schedule has been released. To no one's surprise, the Eagles face a gauntlet. Things will be different this time around. Last year, when the Birds began their playoff push, they adopted the 'Let's Hunt' mantra. This time around, they'll no doubt be the hunted.
Philly can expect everyone's best shot on their 18-week, 17-game schedule. Much attention has been paid to the games the Eagles should circle. Here's the curveball. Here are a few games where the opponent has, more than likely, circled the champs' name.
Detroit Lions
Amon St. Brown didn't pull any punches while hosting then-Eagles star Darius Slay and stating he wanted his squad to face Philly in the 2025 regular-season opener. Ultimately, the schedule makers determined they had a better plan. That honor was given to the Dallas Cowboys rather than the Detroit Lions.
Philly and Detroit will enjoy their primetime clash on NBC and Peacock ten weeks later in Week 11. The Lions were the top-seeded playoff team in the NFC last season. They would lose their first game at home. They'll want to make a statement vs. an Eagles team that won a Super Bowl that the Lions thought they would conquer. The next team on this list was responsible for crushing their dreams of championship glory.
Washington Commanders
In Week 16, the Washington Commanders rallied to beat the Eagles by scoring 22 fourth-quarter points en route to a 36-33 final score. That's okay. Philly wouldn't lose again. A little over one month later, the Commanders were on the wrong side of a 55-23 final score in the NFC Championship Game.
Washington no doubt sees last season as a failure because they didn't accomplish their goal of winning the Super Bowl. This time, they won't cross paths with the champs until the last three weeks of the regular season (Weeks 16 and 18). Those games could determine an NFC East champion, playoff seeding, and each team's readiness for a serious postseason push.
Kansas City Chiefs
If this one didn't make the cut, the list would have needed to be thrown out. Rather than ushering the Kansas City Chiefs to rare air and an unprecedented three-peat, Philly decided it was their time to be destiny's darling.
The NFL won't make us wait long for a grudge match. A game vs. Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and company in the second game of the season for both teams follows Philadelphia's regular-season opener.
The questions are as follows: Is K.C.'s reign of terror over? How do they even begin to bounce back from the dismantling they were on the wrong side of last February on football's biggest stage?
It felt like the torch was passed during Super Bowl 59. Still, even with that being said, no one should expect the Chiefs to lie down and allow the Eagles to run roughshod over them at Arrowhead Stadium.