The Eagles have gotten off to an 8-1 start, but what does that mean? Here are the last 10 teams to start that hot and how they finished the year
The Philadelphia Eagles have gotten off to a great start, leading the NFL with an 8-1 record through Week 9 of the 2023 campaign.
Of the last 10 teams to start 8-1 or better, there were as many that made it to the Super Bowl and lost as there were who lost in the first round of the playoffs on Wild Card Weekend.
Philly finds themselves on this list twice, once for last year’s Super Bowl-losing squad, and once for their 2017 Super Bowl-winning unit.
The Philadelphia Eagles moved to 8-1 after their win against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9 and are in the hottest form in the NFL. However, not many teams in recent times have started 8-1 and actually gone the distance.
The Eagles will hope they can disprove this by going one better than their Super Bowl LVII loss to cap the 2022 campaign. Here is a breakdown of the last 10 teams to start 8-1 and how their seasons turned out.
The only team on this list to start 8-1 that went on to lift the Lombardi Trophy, the Eagles finally won their first Super Bowl title in franchise history after beating the Patriots 41-33 in Minnesota’s US Bank Stadium in one of the greatest Super Bowls in NFL history.
Their triumph was not seen as possible when MVP favorite Carson Wentz went down with a season-ending injury earlier in the season.
But then Nick Foles, a long-time NFL backup and journeyman, was placed in the starter slot in what was his second spell with the franchise.
That meant that the Eagles became the first ever number one seed to be an underdog for each playoff game, which seemed to inspire the players and fans, with dog masks regularly seen in the stands during their run.
The Eagles were dominant that season, beating the Denver Broncos 51-23, the Cardinals 34-7, and the Cowboys 37-9 in the regular season.
They would then beat the Atlanta Falcons 15-10 and the Vikings 38-7 in the playoffs to reach the big game, before getting revenge on the Patriots for their Super Bowl loss in 2004 with a win that included one of the great Super Bowl moments, the Philly Special.
In his first year as a starter, Patrick Mahomes announced himself to the world with an MVP season, throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns.
They would start 8-1, scoring 27 points or more in each of those first nine games, putting 38 points past both the Chargers and Niners, 42 past the Steelers, and 45 past the Bengals.
They would end up finishing 12-4, with a Week 11 thriller against the Rams, a 54-51 loss, going down as arguably the greatest regular season game of all time.
A win over the Colts saw them face off against the New England Patriots in the AFC title game at Arrowhead.
In an overtime thriller, they would fall short 37-31, but this was just the start of the dynasty, as they have hosted every single AFC Championship game since, reaching three Super Bowls and winning two of them.
Speaking of the Los Angeles Rams, they also started 8-1 that year, with some equally scary numbers, beating the Cardinals 34-0, the 49ers 39-10, and beating the Chiefs in that epic shootout.
K.C. may not have made it to Super Bowl LIII, but the Rams did, in controversial fashion. After a 30-22 win over the Cowboys, they went on to face the Saints in the NFC Championship at the Superdome.
Both Conference Championship games that season went to overtime, and the Rams got a bit of luck, as there was a missed call on Nickell Robey-Coleman, who could have been flagged for pass interference or unnecessary roughness on Tommylee Lewis on a crucial play in the final minutes.
This forced the Saints to kick a field goal and allowed the Rams to come back and win it in overtime to send Sean McVay’s side to a meeting with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
Saints fans would get closure, with the Rams underwhelming in a squib of a performance, losing 13-3 in arguably the biggest snoozer of a Super Bowl the NFL has ever seen.
A 27-24 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks meant that the 49ers lost their unbeaten start to the 2019 season, going 8-1.
This was a far cry from their 2018 season, where they finished with a 4-13 record that resulted in the second overall pick in the next year’s draft.
They used that selection on defensive end Nick Bosa, who has been every bit as good as they thought, going on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. He was excellent from the get-go, with nine sacks in his rookie campaign.
Along with Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Dee Ford, and Fred Warner, their defense tortured opponents as they went on to finish the campaign with a 13-3 record.
Back-to-back playoff wins over the Vikings and Packers saw them play the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
The Niners would fall short despite being up 20-10 in the fourth quarter, eventually losing 31-20 as the Chiefs scored 21 unanswered points to finish off the game. This was seen as a missed opportunity, one they will hope to amend in the 2023 season.
In what would end up being Tom Brady’s last season as a Patriot, the team made an excellent start, going 8-1 after losing their unbeaten run with a defeat to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9.
They bullied teams, with a 33-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a 43-0 win over the Miami Dolphins, and a 33-0 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Further wins over the Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals, and Buffalo Bills saw them end the regular season with a 12-4 record.
However, a final day loss to the Dolphins saw the Patriots miss out on a playoff bye, and they would end up losing to the Titans in the Wild Card round in a rare one-game postseason stay for Brady and company.
The Chiefs went into the 2020 season, one unlike any other, as the defending Super Bowl champions. They showed exactly why with an 8-1 start, going 14-1 before a Week 17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
They had a playoff bye and won both their Divisional Round and Conference Championship games against the Browns and Bills before a meeting with Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.
Just like the 2022 Eagles, the Chiefs fell short, losing to the Bucs 31-9. Tampa Bay ended up being the first team to win a Super Bowl in their own stadium thanks in large part to a defensive line that harried Mahomes all night long.
The Steelers defeated the Jaguars 27-3. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)It was a brilliant start for the Steelers in 2020, who kicked off their campaign by going 11-0. This included wins over the Cowboys, Ravens, and Titans.
They were being called the worst 11-0 team in history by NFL fans, and they would do nothing to dispel those doubters down the stretch of the season, losing four of their final five games as their luck ran out.
They would then lose to the Browns 48-37 in an embarrassing showing in the Wild Card round, one that would be the Browns’ first playoff win since the 1994 season in their first postseason game overall since the 2002 season.
To give the Steelers some credit, they did well to make it as close a scoreline as it was, given the fact they fell to a 28-0 deficit in the first quarter.
Not only did the Arizona Cardinals start 8-1, but they also went on to have a 10-2 record after Week 13. Kyler Murray was playing at an MVP level, and they had beaten the 49ers twice, the Tennessee Titans, and the Los Angeles Rams, who would eventually go on to win the Super Bowl that season.
However, Murray’s form would drop off, and the Cardinals’ would follow. Despite winning eight of their first nine games, they somehow still finished with an 11-6 record, failing to even win their division.
Down the stretch, they would lose four of their final five regular season games before a 34-11 loss to the Rams in the Wild Card round.
This Eagles roster is no stranger to an 8-1 start, having done so last season. With Jalen Hurts playing at an MVP level and A.J. Brown being his trusted sidekick, the Eagles were flying high to start the 2022 campaign. This included a 26-17 win over the division rival Cowboys.
They actually started the season 8-0 before a shock loss to the division rival Washington Commanders and would not lose again until Week 16, as they eventually ended the season 14-3.
That was good enough for the one seed in the NFC and a playoff bye, which was followed up with a dominating 38-7 win over the New York Giants in the Divisional Round before a meeting with the San Francisco 49ers.
They ended up beating Kyle Shanahan’s side 38-7, but the validity of the win was somewhat in question after both Brock Purdy and his backup Josh Johnson went down injured.
This was a team that had Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo out with season-ending injuries at the QB position already.
Running back Christian McCaffrey stepped in at quarterback as the Niners gave in and accepted their fate. The Eagles marched on to the Super Bowl and came agonizingly short, losing 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs in controversial style.
Just like the Eagles, the Vikings also went 8-1 to start the 2022 season. This included wins over the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills.
Their only loss at this point actually came against the aforementioned 2022 Eagles. They would then go 10-3 after two losses in four games before winning three of their final four to finish the regular season 13-4.
This included the biggest comeback in NFL history, beating the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime despite being 33-0 down in the third quarter.
While the Eagles made the Super Bowl after an 8-1 start, the Vikings could not get past the Wild Card Round, disappointingly losing 31-24 to the Daniel Jones-led Giants’
