Eagles-Dolphins marks start of tough schedule for Philly

PHILADELPHIA -- Ready or not, here comes the tough part of the Philadelphia Eagles schedule.

Tough might be underselling it. The upcoming stretch -- which starts on Sunday night against the 5-1 Miami Dolphins and extends all the way to mid-December -- looks downright daunting, even for a team as well-equipped as the defending NFC champs.

Their next seven opponents have a combined record of 29-12 and includes a number of Super Bowl hopefuls in the Buffalo Bills (4-2), San Francisco 49ers (5-1), Kansas City Chiefs (5-1), Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys (4-2). Six of those teams have winning records, the lone exception being the 3-3 Washington Commanders who nearly upset the Eagles and pushed them to overtime in Week 4.

Their remaining strength of schedule is the second-most difficult in the league behind the Cincinnati Bengals, according to ESPN's Football Power Index.

The 5-1 Eagles largely took advantage of a kinder opening portion of their calendar, though they are coming off their first loss of the season -- and a bad one -- at the hands of the New York Jets.

"It was a good time to lose a game and reset and kind of look at what we were doing and find out the reasons why things weren't working," tight end Dallas Goedert said during a recent appearance on 94.1 WIP. "It was definitely a game that we're going to learn a lot from and be better because of it."

Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw three interceptions and the offense looked out of whack -- not an ideal outing heading into Sunday's tilt against a high-powered Miami team that ranks first in total yards (498.7 per game), points (37.2) and passing yards (316.8).

"We're going to have a challenge because good players, good coaching and we're going to have to be on our stuff," coach Nick Sirianni said.

The Eagles are trying to bolster their roster for the stretch run. They signed veteran receiver Julio Jones to a one-year deal on Tuesday to help offset the loss of Quez Watkins (hamstring), who is on injured reserve. And they agreed to terms with corner Josiah Scott, according to his agency, to add much-needed depth to a secondary that has been hit hard with injuries.

The Eagles had good fortune on a couple different fronts during their 2022 Super Bowl run. They had one of the easiest schedules in the league and stayed relatively healthy throughout the campaign, with all 22 original starters suiting up against the Kansas City Chiefs in the title game.

This year has taken on a different shape. Only one member of the starting secondary, James Bradberry, was on the field at the end of the Jets game, and they were missing both starters on the right side of their offensive line after standout right tackle Lane Johnson (ankle) exited in the first quarter.

The Eagles are signaling that Johnson avoided significant injury and should be back in the lineup soon.

"Lane is doing everything he can do to get ready to play [against Miami]," Sirianni said. "I would never count Lane Johnson out, that's for sure. He's tough."

But signs point to a bumpier ride this year. The Eagles are banged up in some key areas, and now enter a portion of their schedule that has virtually no give. The next handful of weeks will tell the world plenty about this team.