Ranking every opposing quarterback on Eagles’ 2024 schedule

Ranking every opposing quarterback on Eagles’ 2024 schedule originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles are expected to have a much easier schedule in 2024 but they’ll still face some pretty good quarterbacks this year.

Jalen Hurts had a bit of a down season in 2023 but was still a Pro Bowler for the second straight season and led the Eagles to the playoffs for the third straight season as their starting quarterback.

When you look at the list of quarterbacks the Eagles face this season, they avoid Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen but will still see some very good QBs. And you can argue where Hurts belongs on this list right now and where he might be after a good 2024 season.

Here’s a ranking of all 14 quarterbacks the Eagles face this year:

14. Daniel Jones
Week 7 at Giants; Week 18 vs. Giants

Despite having the No. 6 pick in this year’s draft, the Giants elected to skip out on drafting a quarterback and will run it back with Jones in 2024. They instead selected Malik Nabers, a pick that could help Jones. But chances are running out for the 2019 first-round pick. Jones has been with the Giants for five seasons now and has had one winning record in those five years. He has shown flashes here and there but just hasn’t been consistently good enough. His best season came in 2022 when he completed 67.2% of his passes for 15 touchdowns and 5 interceptions and led the Giants to a playoff win before the Eagles demolished them in the divisional round. In his regular season career against the Eagles, Jones is 2-3 with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

13. Bryce Young
Week 14 vs. Panthers

It was a rough rookie season for the No. 1 overall pick from the 2023 draft and now the Panthers have a new head coach in Dave Canales. Young last season played in 16 games and had a 2-14 record, threw for under 3,000 yards and had 11 TDs to 10 interceptions. He was also sacked 62 times for 477 yards. Young wasn’t good as a rookie but he was also in a really tough situation. Things might be getting better in Carolina but it probably won’t happen overnight.

12. Jayden Daniels
Week 11 vs. Commanders; Week 16 at Commanders

It’s aways a bit tricky to slot rookies on lists like these. But Daniels was the No. 2 pick and the Heisman Trophy winner for a reason. Looking forward to seeing how Daniels fits with the Kliff Kingsbury offense under head coach Dan Quinn. It’s not like the Commanders are flush with offensive talent but Daniels will have some help in Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler.

11. Derek Carr
Week 3 at Saints

We’ve reached the middle ground of NFL quarterbacks on this list. Carr is 33 now and it’s not like he’s been a scrub. In fact, he has made four career Pro Bowls and made one in 2022. But his first season in New Orleans was just OK. He threw for 3,878 yards with 25 touchdowns and 8 picks. At this point in his career, Carr is a perfectly average quarterback on a team that’s not exactly built to make a run.

10. Russell Wilson
Week 15 vs. Steelers

The 35-year-old Wilson will get a fresh start with the Steelers in 2024 after a strange two-year stint in Denver. For years in Seattle, Wilson was considered to be one of the best QBs in the league and a no-doubt future Hall of Famer and then in Denver he became a bit of a punching bag. There were still really good moments from Wilson last year and I’m curious to see if he’ll find some more consistency in Pittsburgh or if Justin Fields ends up being the guy the Eagles face in Week 15.

9. Deshaun Watson
Week 6 vs. Browns

There’s no question that Watson has been an immense disappointment in Cleveland. He has managed to play a grand total of 12 games and hasn’t been very impressive when he has been on the field. The Browns are hoping that the 28-year-old can find the form that had him among the league’s best quarterbacks from 2018-20 but four years ago in the NFL is an eternity. Right now, the Watson trade is looking like an all-time bad one. But the Browns have a good roster that made it to the playoffs last year and if Watson can rebound, that could be a good team.

8. Baker Mayfield
Week 4 at Buccaneers

Give Mayfield a ton of credit. He was down to what was perhaps his last chance to prove himself as a starter in the NFL and had his best NFL season in 2023. He threw for over 4,000 yards for the first time in his career with a 28-10 TD-to-INT ratio. Mayfield is 1-1 against the Eagles in the regular season but had a really good game against them in the playoffs last year, throwing for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 32-9 win.

7. Kirk Cousins
Week 2 vs. Falcons

Cousins missed half of the 2023 season with the Vikings but was a good quarterback the last six years in Minnesota. No, he’s not one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL but he’s been consistently good for a long time and was having another good season before tearing his Achilles last year. Now he’s in Atlanta as the stop-gap before rookie Michael Penix Jr. eventually takes over. That’s an awkward situation. Cousins has played 11 career games against the Eagles and is 6-5 in those matchups. Unfortunately for Cousins, this game is a primetime matchup and he’s historically not as good when it’s dark out. The Eagles have beaten Cousins in primetime home openers the last two seasons.

6. Trevor Lawrence
Week 9 vs. Jaguars

Lawrence has settled into good territory but he hasn’t yet become the star many expected to see when the Jaguars drafted him first overall back in 2021. But after three NFL seasons, maybe this is the year where Lawerence takes that huge step forward. Heck, maybe if he was able to be a tad healthier in 2023, we would have seen that jump. This will be Lawrence’s third season with Doug Pederson as his head coach.

5. Matt Stafford
Week 12 at Rams

There’s a good chance Stafford doesn’t finish the 2024 season ranked this high. Because Stafford is 36 now and the 2009 first-round pick is nearing the end of his NFL career. But he was really good in 2023. The Rams were a surprise playoff team last year behind the really impressive season from Stafford, who for nearly 4,000 yards with 24-11. Stafford still has a great arm and can play at a high level. We just have to see how his body will hold up this deep into his career.

4. Jordan Love
Week 1 vs. Packers in Brazil

Love is entering Year 2 as a starter with extremely high expectations. We all saw the way he played in the second half of last year and his incredible playoff win against the Cowboys in the wild card round. Now it’s time to see Love put together another big season like that. Because he’s off to a really good start. In 2023, he ended up throwing for over 4,100 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 picks. He has huge potential.

3. Dak Prescott
Week 10 at Cowboys; Week 17 vs. Cowboys

The Cowboys have had a weird offseason and Prescott is about to enter the final year of his contract. It should be time for an extension but that hasn’t come yet. It should. Because while there are certainly some hurdles for Prescott to clear, he’s been very good and in 2023 had his best NFL season, finishing second in MVP voting. Against the Eagles, Prescott is 9-4 in his career. Prescott has been a great regular season QB but it’s understandable for Cowboys fans to want to see it in the postseason.

2. Joe Burrow
Week 8 at Bengals

The Bengals’ franchise quarterback rushed back from a calf injury at the start of the 2023 season and then tore a ligament in his wrist, which ended his season far too early. But as far as Burrow is healthy entering 2024, there’s no reason to expect any type of real dip in his play. His previous two years were tremendous and he’s already in his prime as one of the best quarterbacks (and playoff quarterbacks) in the NFL.

1. Lamar Jackson
Week 13 at Ravens

The MVP — Jackson won the award for the second time in a five-year span. He was tremendous in 2023, passing for over 3,600 yards and rushing for another 821. He also accounted for 29 touchdowns. Jackson is one of the toughest players to defend in the entire league when he’s healthy. Jackson had a rough game in the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs but he still earned this spot because of his high level play over the last several seasons.

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