The Eagles got their wish. Sort of.
Last month at the NFL owners meetings, head coach Doug Pederson revealed that the team had asked the NFL to put two of their West Coast trips back-to-back. The best-case scenario would have been to have their games against the Rams and Chargers in back-to-back weeks.
That didn't happen.
But the Eagles will still have two weeks out west in early December. The NFL schedule, released on Thursday night, has the Eagles playing at Seattle against the Seahawks on Dec. 3 and then facing the Rams in Los Angeles on Dec. 10 (see schedule).
The back-to-back West Coast games will allow the Eagles to spend a week likely in L.A. instead of making an extra couple cross-country trips. The last time the Eagles spent a week away before a game was in 1995. The Eagles will still need to head to L.A. to face the Chargers in Week 2. The Eagles haven't played in the Los Angeles metropolitan area since 1990 against the Rams in Anaheim.
While the NFL gave the Eagles a little gift, the league is also making them work on Christmas.
The Eagles will host the Oakland Raiders at the Linc on Christmas night for a Monday Night Football matchup. The Eagles have played on Christmas Day only once before, back in 2006. The Eagles beat the Cowboys in North Texas, 23-7.
NFL
Perhaps the Eagles deserve the Christmas game this year after the 2016 schedule. In 2016, the Eagles had a Thursday night game on Dec. 22 that gave them an extended break through the Christmas weekend, something many players in the locker room really enjoyed. Christmas Day was on a Sunday last year.
The Christmas game is one of five primetime games for the Eagles in 2017. The others are Oct. 12 at Carolina (Thursday night), Oct. 23 vs. Washington (Monday night), Nov. 19 at Dallas (Sunday night), and Dec. 3 at Seattle (Sunday night).
This is the third straight year the Eagles will face the Cowboys on the road in a Sunday Night Football contest. It's the fifth time since 2012 that's happened.
Between Weeks 6 and 7, the Eagles will have an extremely long time to prepare to face Washington on Monday night (Oct. 23) after facing the Panthers on a Thursday night game the previous week (Oct. 12). It's almost like another bye week.
After a Week 4 bye in 2016, the Eagles' bye in 2017 comes at Week 10.
The Eagles will kick off their 2017 season on the road to face Washington on Sept. 10. The Eagles lost both games to Washington last season and have lost their last five contests against it. They haven't won at FedExField since the 2013 opener. Coincidentally, that was the last time the Eagles opened their season on the road against an NFC East team.
Including the opener, the Eagles will be on the road for three of their first four games to start the season (see Roob's full breakdown).
The home opener is in Week 3, when the Eagles welcome the Giants to town.
For the second straight year, the Eagles will host the Cowboys to finish off the season.
The NFC East faces the AFC West in 2017, setting up a battle with Andy Reid's Chiefs in Kansas City in Week 2. The Eagles, who lost to Reid's Chiefs, 26-16, in 2013, will face Reid for the second time since his firing in 2012. The Birds went 1-3 vs. the AFC West that year, with their only win in the division coming courtesy of Nick Foles' seven-touchdown game vs. the Raiders.
Also on the 2017 docket is the NFC West. The Eagles will again travel to Seattle, where they lost, 26-15, in 2016. The 49ers will come to the Linc in 2017. It's just too bad that Chip Kelly won't be with them.
Six of the Eagles' 13 opponents had losing records in 2016, but five of those 13 opponents were playoff teams in 2016.
This year, the Eagles face off against the NFC West, the AFC West and the Panthers and Bears, who were both the last place finishers of their respective divisions, thus matching up with the Eagles, who finished last in the NFC East in 2016.
Here's the full schedule:
Week 1 -- at WAS on Sept. 10 (1 p.m.)
Week 2 -- at KC on Sept. 17 (1 p.m.)
Week 3 -- vs. NYG on Sept. 24 (1 p.m.)
Week 4 -- at LAC on Oct. 1 (4:05 p.m.)
Week 5 -- vs. ARZ on Oct. 8 (1 p.m.)
Week 6 -- at CAR on Oct. 12 (8:25 p.m.)
Week 7 -- vs. WAS on Oct. 23 (8:30 p.m.)
Week 8 -- vs. SF on Oct. 29 (1 p.m.)
Week 9 -- vs. DEN on Nov. 5 (1 p.m.)
Week 10 -- BYE
Week 11 -- at DAL on Nov. 19 (8:30 p.m.)
Week 12 -- vs. CHI on Nov. 26 (1 p.m.)
Week 13 -- at SEA on Dec. 3 (8:30 p.m.)
Week 14 -- at LAR on Dec. 10 (4:25 p.m.)
Week 15 -- at NYG on Dec. 17 (1 p.m.)
Week 16 -- vs. OAK on Dec. 25 (8:30 p.m.)
Week 17 -- vs. DAL on Dec. 31 (1 p.m.)