As Eagles eye return trip to Super Bowl, past 30 years of NFL history suggest they’re in just the right place

PHILADELPHIA — A season and a Super Bowl stage later, the Philadelphia Eagles find themselves in the same place.

Nine games. Eight wins.

It’s a good place to be in NFL history.

With a 28-23 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Eagles became the fourth team in the past 30 years to start consecutive seasons with at least eight wins in nine tries.

Each of the other three teams won the Super Bowl in their second year of early season dominance, according to a Yahoo Sports analysis of Pro Football Reference data.

“What did Bill Parcells say? ‘You are what your record says you are,’” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Sunday night. “So we’re in a good spot right now.”

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles head into the bye week 8-1. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) (Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)

No team has won at least eight games in nine weeks to start the season since the 2005 and 2006 seasons, when the Indianapolis Colts started 9-0 each year. The Colts lost in the divisional round of the 2005 season playoffs before trumping the Chicago Bears, 29-17, in the 2006 season’s Super Bowl.

Before them, the Denver Broncos opened 8-1 in 1995 and 1996 each, followed by a 9-0 start to the 1997 season. They claimed titles following each of the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

And the Dallas Cowboys began 8-1 in 1994 and 1995. The Cowboys won the 1995 season Super Bowl for their third title in four years.

So forget concern over teams peaking too early. Forget any claims that true runs come in December and extend into January for the teams who power that momentum and hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Parcells isn’t the only one who should believe the Eagles’ 8-1 repeat means something.

Already, the Eagles showed last year that their dominance wasn’t merely a regular-season mirage. Philadelphia won eight straight games to start last season, lost their ninth to the Washington Commanders, and then rebounded to claim the NFC championship and come three points short of the Kansas…

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