Vigilante’s Surprise Playoff Teams for 2021
All across sports, every new season is a fresh start for the franchise. Just because your favorite team has made the playoffs previously, that does not guarantee them a spot the following season. Look no further than the Denver Broncos — they won the Super Bowl in 2015 and have yet to return to the playoffs! Last season, teams such as the Washington Football Team, the Cleveland Browns, and the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did not get into the playoffs the previous season. This upcoming season, I believe that we will see four teams enter the playoffs that were absent from the tournament last year.
The first team I will highlight for Vigilante’s Surprise Teams of 2021 is the Philadelphia Eagles. On FanDuel Sportsbook, the Philadelphia Eagles have +280 odds to make the playoffs and +550 odds to win the NFC East. The NFC East hasn’t had a repeat-division champion, since the Andy Reid led Philadelphia Eagles of the early-2000s — and I expect the trend to continue. The Eagles have a veteran roster that should benefit from the schemes that new head coach — Nick Sirianni — and new defensive coordinator — Jonathan Gannon — will implement. I believe the Eagles will win the division this season, especially with a new coaching staff and the easiest schedule in the league in 2021.
Nick Sirianni was able to have strong rushing attacks during his time as the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, and for the Eagles to have success this season, they will need to run the ball. A run-centric offense will prove to benefit Jalen Hurts. When Hurts was inserted into the lineup, he averaged 60 rushing yards per game and this season I expect Nick Sirianni to expand on that and create a lethal rushing attack with Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders.
Miles Sanders should see a jump in production with Nick Sirianni calling the plays. Sirianni is coming to Philadelphia from Indy, where he had a running back rush for over 900 yards in each of his seasons as the offensive coordinator. Sirianni wasn’t afraid to feed his lead backs during his time with the Colts, during his tenure as the OC, Marlon Mack and Jonathan Taylor had 9 games with over 20 carries, during Miles Sanders’ career, he has yet to have over 20 carries in an NFL game. Sanders will see more carries this season than he has seen during his career, and with a healthy offensive line, I expect Miles Sanders to have a great season in 2021.
The offensive line, which was the weakest link on the team last season, will be a much improved unit this season. Brandon Brooks is returning from his Achilles injury and just a few seasons ago, Brooks had one of the best seasons of his career, after tearing his Achilles, so there are reasons to believe that Brooks will return to his All-Pro form. Lane Johnson is also coming into 2021 healthy, the left tackle position will be solidified with either Andre Dillard or Jordan Mailata, protecting Hurts’ blindside, the Eagles offensive line isn’t as bad as many people think. Landon Dickerson also will provide the Eagles with an offensive lineman who has experience playing at every position on the up-front.
Dallas Goedert is arguably a top-5 tight end and I expect Goedert to break out this season, regardless if Zach Ertz is on the team or not. Travis Fulgham and Quez Watkins showed promise last season, but I believe Jalen Reagor and Devonta Smith will impress Eagles’ fans. Jalen Reagor is going to play much better in an offense that gets him the ball quicker and Devonta Smith will prove to be the true #1 receiver the Eagles have missed since Terrell Owens. (Learn more about the pass-catchers in Sophomore Stars- Jalen Hurts).
The Eagles offense will be exciting this upcoming season and I will not be surprised if the Eagles boast a top-10 offense.
Defense
The Eagles defense will look different in 2021, compared to the defense that Jim Schwartz ran. Schwartz prioritized attacking the passer from the front-7 and that would leave cornerbacks on an island Jonathan Gannon, is coming to Philly after spending the last three seasons as the Cornerbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts. We can expect to see not as much single-high defenses, and more zone coverage with two-high safeties. This will be crucial to the Eagles’ success and provide more turnovers, something this defense has been missing.
The front-7 played well last season and the additions of Ryan Kerrigan and Eric Wilson will prove to be great pickups. Ryan Kerrigan is coming to the City of Brotherly, after spending his entire career in Washington, Kerrigan can be a 10-sack player for the Eagles, this is something that the Eagles have been missing, not having an edge-rusher hit double digit sacks since Conor Barwin in 2014. Eric Wilson is coming from the Minnesota Vikings, where he racked up over 100 tackles and was interchangeable with Pro-Bowler, Eric Kendricks. Wilson had 3 picks last season and he played well in coverage, Wilson can have a good season in 2021.
Eric Wilson Highlights | Welcome To The Philadelphia Eagles — YouTube
The secondary will greatly improve under Jonathan Gannon. Jonathan Gannon was crucial to the success that Xavier Rhodes and Kenny Moore II had last season. Rhodes came to Indy after having a rough season in 2019, but he had a bounce-back year in 2020 playing under Gannon, I expect the same for Darius Slay. According to PFF, Slay has been the 3rd best corner in zone coverage since 2011, so we should expect him to live up to his ‘Big-play Slay’ nickname.
Kenny Moore II had the best season of his career in 2020 and Avonte Maddox can see similar success. Moore excelled in the slot last season in Indy, and Maddox should be much better this season playing in the slot, where he is better suited. Gannon will bring the best out of Maddox this season.
The recent signing of Steven Nelson, solidifies the cornerback position opposite of Darius Slay. Nelson has been a starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers the last two seasons, and it was somewhat of a surprise when the Steelers released Nelson in March. Nelson gives Philly a veteran corner opposite of Slay and someone who has experience playing on the perimeter, PFF ranked the 32 best corners going into the 2021 season and Nelson landed at 13, so he can prove to be a great pickup for the defense.
Steven Nelson Highlights 🔥|| Welcome to the Philadelphia Eagles ! — YouTube
Anthony Harris led the league in interceptions in 2019, and a ball-hawking safety is something that the Eagles have greatly missed. Gannon’s defense will allow Harris and Rodney Mcleod to play deep, and this will result in more interceptions for the entire defense.
Anthony Harris 2019 Season Highlights | Minnesota Vikings — YouTube
My Prediction
Week 1- @ Atlanta- W
Week 2- vs San Francisco- L
Week 3- @ Dallas- W
Week 4- vs Kansas City- L
Week 5- @ Carolina- L
Week 6- vs Tampa Bay- L
Week 7- @ Las Vegas- W
Week 8- @ Detroit- W
Week 9- vs LA Chargers- L
Week 10- @ Denver- W
Week 11- vs New Orleans- W
Week 12- @ NY Giants- W
Week 13- @ NY Jets- W
Week 14- BYE
Week 15- vs Washington- W
Week 16- vs NY Giants- W
Week 17- @ Washington- L
Week 18- vs Dallas- W
The Philadelphia Eagles will have a rough start to their schedule, having to play the two teams from last year’s Super Bowl in the first six weeks of the season. I believe the Eagles will go 2–4 thru the first six weeks, then they will hit their stride, the Eagles have the easiest schedule in the league for a reason. Weeks 7–13, the Eagles play teams such as the Las Vegas Raiders, the Detroit Lions, and the New York Jets, these are games that the Eagles should win and give the team momentum going into the end of the season. One of the things that stands out to me about the Philadelphia Eagles’ schedule, is that they only have one division game thru the first 11 games. Having five division games thru Week 12–18, will be great for the team. They will be in a situation where they can make a strong push to win the division late in the season.
Call me crazy but I predict the Eagles to win at least 10 games and to win the NFC East. With a coaching staff that is more equipped to have success with this current roster, I believe the Eagles will surprise the NFL in 2021. Tanking in Week 17, will prove to benefit the team in 2021. The Eagles finished in last place by losing to Washington in the season finale and this allowed the Eagles to have a last-place schedule in 2021. This resulted in the Eagles having to play the two teams who finished in last place in the NFC North and AFC East, the Eagles will play the Lions and the Jets this year while Washington has to play the Packers and the Bills, the Giants have to play the Bears and the Dolphins, and the Cowboys have to play the Vikings and the Patriots. A $20 bet on the Eagles winning the NFC East this season would win you $110! if you want to make some money this season, trust in the Philadelphia Eagles.
