Will the Eagles have a Super Bowl hangover?

Or maybe in better terms, will they be an early exit from the playoffs this winter or miss the playoff entirely? It has happened to Super Bowl champs. Yes, it’s early, but you’ve probably thought about it a few times. The opening odds are in the Eagles’ favor.

On paper and at the beginning of camp, the Eagles look pretty solid on both sides of the ball, possibly having some depth issues on the defensive and offensive lines and their pass rush. They did lose Milton Williams and Josh Sweat, but No. 1 pick Jihan Campbell and a new cast can solve the issues.

In this version of my Inside the Huddle column, I’ll look back at the previous Eagles’ seasons after their Super Bowl wins as well as some winners who didn’t make it back to the postseason.

Also, do you know the Lehighton-born quarterback who was a second-round pick?

See Rob Run ... It was the 1981 season, and the Eagles loomed as a favorite to bring another Super Bowl back to South Philly.

The Eagles began the season with an impressive six-game winning streak in which they outscored their opponents, 140-67. From there, the Eagles experienced some turbulence, going 3-2 over their next five.

Philly then went into a tailspin dropping their next four games, and scoring 43 overall points in the process. They did manage to win the final game, a 10-6 win over the Cardinals.

There was hope the victory would send the Birds back in flight, and they would face the Giants in the Wild Card round.

Enter Rob Carpenter. Every Eagles’ fan flinches when they hear his name.

Carpenter ran for 161 yards on 33 carries, and Scott Brunner made the most of his 9-for-14, 96-yard performance with three touchdown passes in a 27-21 victory.

The Eagles fell to 3-6 during the 1982 strike-shortened season, and they didn’t have a winning season again until Buddy Ryan’s 1998 campaign when they went 10-6.

No Golden Slippers ... Remember wide receiver Golden Tate? The Eagles acquired him from the Rams in October of 2018 as insurance. In March, the Eagles acquired three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett from Seattle, a move then seen as a potential season changer.

Heading into the season, the Eagles appeared to be in good shape to become the first NFC East team to win consecutive Super Bowls. Unfortunately, they never found their groove under Doug Pederson.

The Birds slugged through a 2-3 start before they rebounded to thrash the Giants, 34-13, behind Carson Wentz’s three touchdowns. However, they dropped a 21-17 decision to Carolina the following week that dipped them to 3-4, and the thoughts of another 13-3 season drifted away like the faint smell of a cheesesteak.

Things appeared to hit rock bottom in Week 10 during mid-November when the Saints slammed them, 48-7, in New Orleans. Drew Brees lit up the Eagles for four touchdowns passes and 373 yards, and Wentz threw three interceptions and was sacked twice.

Fortunately, the Eagles would reverse their flight and went 5-1 down the stretch to save a postseason berth. Carson Wentz left with a back injury Dec. 9, and Nick Foles guided the team the final three games.

The Birds then upset the Bears, 16-15, when Foles hit Tate with the winning touchdown pass with 56 seconds remaining in the Wild Card round. But the Birds would fall the following week again in New Orleans, this time in a 20-14 defeat in the divisional playoffs.

Tate was a free agent and left to sign a three-year deal with the Giants, but his career fizzled after he was suspended for performance-enhancing drugs. Bennett was a flop and traded to the Patriots in March. Like Tate, he never regained his former status.

The Birds finished 9-7 the next season, but they missed the playoffs. Any Super Bowl ambers were quickly extinguished. Head coach Doug Pederson was gone after the 2020 season in which they went 4-11.

Help Is on the Way ... On their first day of camp, the Eagles signed 30-year-old defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, and 25-year-old defensive tackle Jacob Sykes.

Over eight seasons, Okoronkwo has recorded 24 sacks with his stops at the Rams, Texans and Browns, the latter team that recently released him.

Sykes spent the last two seasons with San Antonio of the UFL before he was in the Seahawks’ camp.

Okoronkwo could turn into a steal, while Sykes looks more like a project. Still, they provide depth.

An Initial Appraisal ... Along with opening against the Cowboys, the Eagles have a loaded schedule with the Chiefs, Rams, Bucs, Broncos, Vikings, Packers, Lions, Chargers and Bills.

Some opening AI predictions have the Birds winning as many as 12 games. Like everything else at this stage, though, there is a long to go. Yet, the Birds appear to be highly regarded and respected.

Where Have You Gone, Ray Handley? ... If you’re a lifelong Giants’ fan, the name Ray Handley can cause you to grad the Pepto Bismol bottle. The Giants certainly still regret the move.

They could have easily handed the key to then defensive guru Bill Belichick — see seven Super Bowl rings — but instead they handed it over to Handley, a running backs coach, viewed as a great football mind.

Handley often looked befuddled on the sidelines, yet his team managed an overall 8-8 record but missed the playoffs. The following season, the Giants slipped to 6-10, and Handley was gone at the end of the season.

Dan Reeves was hired and resurrected the team to a 11-5 record and a berth in the playoffs. But Reeves was fired three years later.

Who Else Went Home Early? ... Besides the Eagles and Giants premature exits, here’s a list of the other teams that didn’t make it back to the Lombardi Luau:

1998 Broncos: John Elway retired after Denver won its second straight Super Bowl. They went 6-10 the following season under Brian Griese.

2001 Patriots: The Pats went 9-7 and missed the playoffs, but they won the Super Bowl over the Carolina Panthers the following season.

2002 Buccaneers: Tampa Bay slipped to 7-9 in 2003 under Brad Johnson, whose touchdowns and yardage rose, but his interceptions did, too.

2005 Steelers: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had an offseason appendectomy, suffered a concussion in season, and didn’t play well. It led to an overall 8-8 record.

2008 Steelers: In 2009, Pittsburgh battled through numerous injuries and Roethlisberger suffered another concussion. They finished 9-7 overall.

2011 Giants: New York matched their regular season mark of 9-7 from the previous season, but they couldn’t reach the playoffs.

2012 Ravens: Baltimore lost eight starters from its Super Bowl team, mainly linebacker Ray Lewis, and they ended the year 8-8.

2015 Broncos: Peyton Manning called it quits after the Super Bowl. Denver went 9-7 under Trevor Siemian.

Yes, He Once Was Golden ... Tate had a banner career with Notre Dame from 2007-09.

He had a breakout year as a sophomore when he set season marks in receptions (58), yards (1,080) and average yards (18.6), receiving touchdowns (10), and overall touchdowns (11).

The following season, Tate caught 93 passes for 1,496 yards with 15 touchdowns. He also amassed 2,707 all-purpose yards.

Tate was Seattle’s second-round pick in the 2010 draft. He is second on the Irish’s all-time receiving list with 157 receptions for 2,707 yards with 26 touchdowns.

Who’s first? Michael Floyd tops the list with 271 catches for 3,686 yards, and 37 touchdowns.

Scrapbook ... Each week, I’ll peel back the pages to find a former standout player from our coverage area. This time around, it’s an athlete who was born in the area, but never played high school football here.

Penn State alum Christian Hackenberg was born in Lehighton, but he played his high school ball at Fork Union Military Academy (Va). At Penn State, Hackenberg threw for 8,457 yards with 48 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. During his time, the Nittany Lions went 21-17 with a bowl win.

Hackenberg was a second-round pick by the Jets in the 2016 draft. However, he didn’t appear in an NFL game, and the Jets traded him to the Raiders in 2018, but he soon was released.

He was signed by the Eagles for 2018, but he was cut in the preseason. Hackenberg had a final stint on the Bengals’ practice squad before he was released in November 2018.

Hackenberg signed with the Memphis Express of the Association of American Football in 2019, but he was benched after three games, completing 32 of 62 passes for 277 yards with three interceptions.

He is the only drafted quarterback not to appear in an NFL game.

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