The Eagles are 5-1, their best start since they were 5-1 back in 2014. You’ll hear that phrase a lot for the next week.

I remember the 2014 team peaked at 9-3 after crushing the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. That might have been the peak of the Chip Kelly era. Life seemed so good, but the team went 1-3 down the stretch and didn’t even make the playoffs.

Before that peak, the Eagles had been 5-1 earlier in the season. I was curious to see how that hot start stacked up against the current 5-1 start.

2014

PHI 34, JAX 17

PHI 30, IND 27

PHI 37, WAS 34

SF 26, PHI 21

PHI 34, STL 28

PHI 27, NYG 0

The Eagles fell behind in the opener, 17-0. They woke up and dominated the game after that, but trailing a crappy Jaguars team (3 wins on the year) should have been a sign things wouldn’t be ideal that year.

The next week was a Monday night game that was back and forth. The Eagles scored the final 10 points to win.

The WAS game was another back and forth affair. Both teams led by as many as 10 points. The Skins were in control early, the Eagles late. The Eagles could not put the Skins away and had to hang on for the W.

Things were ugly in San Francisco. Nick Foles was 21-43-195 in the air and Shady McCoy was 10-17 on the ground, raising the question…how the hell was that game so close? Riley Cooper had a chance to catch the winning TD late, but dropped it.

The Eagles built a 34-7 lead over the Rams before QB Austin Davis remember he was Austin Davis and started shredding the Eagles less than ideal secondary. Next thing you know the game is 34-28 and the Eagles are holding on for dear life. Against Austin Davis. Ugly W.

Ah, the glorious shutout. Bill Davis didn’t have a great tenure in Philly, but he gets a lifetime pass from me for delivering a shutout. And of Eli and the Giants no less! What a magical night that was.

Now look at the 2017 games.

PHI 30, WAS 17

KC 27, PHI 20

PHI 27, NYG 24

PHI 26, LAC 24

PHI 34, ARZ 7

PHI 28, CAR 23

The Eagles have been in control for most of those games. They built early leads and controlled the games. That Chargers game looks close, but then you remember the Eagles worked the final 6:44 off the clock. The Carolina game was the one time when the opponent had the ball at the end with the chance to win.

Think about the QBs the Eagles played in the two seasons.

2014: Blake Bortles, Andrew Luck, Kirk Cousins, Colin Kaepernick, Austin Davis, Eli Manning

2017: Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, Cam Newton

I think you can see the group 2017 is tougher. Remember that Cousins had little experience back then and has now established himself as a good starter.

One of the other big differences is that the 2014 played 4 of the first 6 games at home. The current team has been just the opposite, having to win on the road. The current team hasn’t faced great competition, but playing on the road so much helps me to believe in them. That’s always a challenge in the NFL.

Probably the biggest difference is simply Carson Wentz. I think the current team is more talented, but not significantly. The one position where there is absolutely no comparison is Wentz. Shady is worlds better than LeGarrette Blount, but RB isn’t nearly as much of an impact position as QB.

Carson Wentz is a franchise QB. We can argue how good he is or might become, but clearly this is a guy you want starting for your team. Nick Foles had the amazing 2013 season, but came crashing back to Earth in 2014. He got hurt at midseason and finished with 13 TDs, 10 INTs and a rating of 81.4. Wentz already has the same number of TD passes, but hasn’t turned the ball over as much and is an actual weapon as a runner.

Records can be deceiving. Stats can be deceiving. The 2014 team got off to a hot start, but there were always signs that the team had some issues. The 2017 Eagles haven’t come close to peaking, but are playing good football and winning games. This team is 6th in the league in scoring and 9th in points allowed. There are difference-makers on offense, defense and STs.

We’ll have to wait and see how things turn out, but this team feels very different than the 5-1 bunch from 2014.

*****

Source: after LB Jordan Hicks left Thursday's win with an ankle injury, Eagles worked out LBs Donald Butler, Jelani Jenkins & Sean Spence. — Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 16, 2017

Doug Pederson said he expected Jordan Hicks to practice this week so this wouldn’t seem to be a move in regard to him.

Chris Maragos might be done for the season. If so, the team could add a LB to take his spot. That would help the depth at LB if Hicks did miss time in the future.

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