Now nearing the midpoint of the regular season, the Eagles enter a pivotal stretch well-positioned for their upcoming playoff push, but with a lot to prove.

What could serve as the determining factor in how the team fares going forward? Here are the five biggest questions facing the Eagles in the second half of the regular season and beyond:

Can pass catching affect high leverage plays?

While the Eagles’ pass rush has had some dominant games this season, the group has lacked overall consistency in a way that leaves a question about tougher matchups.

Through eight games, the Eagles rank 29th in total quarterback pressures and 22nd in pressure rate, according to Next Gen Stats. Josh Sweat and Jalen Carter were the most effective — Pro Football Focus credits Sweat with 30 pressures and Carter with 28 — but production drops significantly after those two. Brandon Graham is third on the team with 12 pressures, with Moro Ojomo and Bryce Huff 11 apiece.

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Huff’s lack of contribution stands out the most considering the Eagles signed the edge rusher to a three-year, $51.1 million deal this offseason as the apparent eventual replacement for the Pro Bowler. Haason Reddick. Instead, Nolan Smith took the most snaps from Sweat this week at guard and has 10 pressures and 2½ sacks to show for it.

The Eagles did well against Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals last month, which is cause for optimism. As is their 10th ranking in ESPN’s Passing Win Rate Index, which tracks how often a player gets off a block within 2.5 seconds of the snap.

Still, the most effective formula for landing the league’s elite quarterbacks — the ones teams are most likely to see in the postseason — is to have an effective four-man rush without having to send in extra help. The Eagles haven’t shown the ability to do that consistently enough in the first eight games to be sure the pass rush will happen in the next nine and beyond.

Can Jalen Hurts win a shootout — and will he really have to?

One of the most obvious changes stemming from last month’s bye week was the shift in offensive approach from a group that threw the ball early and often to one that leans heavily on a dominant running game.

The Eagles entered the bye week ranked 16th in early pass rush RBSDM.com. Since the Week 6 matchup against the Cleveland Browns, however, no team has called for fewer passing plays on early kickoffs than they have.

The formula is both obvious and understandable. Saquon Barkley leads the NFL in rushing for more than 10 yards, meaning the offense doesn’t have to throw the ball to be explosive. It’s hard to argue with the change, which also opened up the game action for Hurts and helped him go four straight games without committing a turnover while also connecting on downs each Sunday.

But can this formula, although effective, be an absolute every week? The Eagles should be able to skip a few of the remaining games in their current form, but there hasn’t been much evidence that Hurts has retired in high volume with success when compared to a similarly potent offense. The season opener against the Green Bay Packers may be the best example, but even that game featured three Hurts fumble recoveries. He had one of his most effective games against the Bengals in a game that could have turned into a shootout if not for an impressive second half from the Eagles defense, but Hurts finished that game with only 22 dropbacks.

It’s reasonable to suggest that Hurts is capable of dropping back 40 times and delivering an efficient performance given the levels he’s reached in his career, but it’s also fair to point out that he hasn’t demonstrated that still this season.

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Can Barkley sustain his elite production?

What’s also fair to point out is that the Eagles may not need the answer to our second question often, if ever, as long as Barkley continues to be one of the most reliable rushers volume of the league.

Barkley enters Week 10 ranked in the top five in several statistical categories, from total yards and yards per carry to more advanced metrics like yardage above expectations or explosive carries per game.

The 27-year-old has become the centerpiece of the Eagles’ attack, but his usage begs the question: can he keep up this pace without problems? Barkley averaged 22 touches per game, putting him on track to finish the season with a career-high 376 touches. For context, he had 352 touches both as a rookie in 2018 and again in the 2022 season.

A turnover or two could help the Eagles reduce their current usage, but it’s important to recognize that there have already been a few plays when the team has rested its starters in the fourth quarter, which has contributed to its pace current should not be even higher than it is.

For what it’s worth, Barkley said he’s not worried about that. However, the Eagles will need him at or near his prime by the end of the season.

Which way will the Eagles’ turnover differential go?

After a nightmare start to the season that saw them among the league’s worst teams in turnover differential, the Eagles have slowly crept closer to the middle of the pack since the bye week.

It’s no coincidence that the team’s four-game winning streak lines up perfectly with a stretch in which the offense committed just one turnover on all four drives. And while Eagles coach Nick Sirianni will argue the idea that turnovers can be a coachable thing, the only offer the team committed to came from a bubble from Barkley affirming the idea that luck is a primary factor in a team’s difference by the end of the year .

So will the Eagles stay lucky – or disciplined? Hurts’ streak of four games without a turnover, the longest of his career, is an encouraging sign.

Whether they are able to keep up could very well be a determining factor in how this season ends, especially considering the Eagles are 17-0 since the 2022 season in games where they win turnover differential.

Will Sirianni’s approach to game management work?

Sirianni’s decisions both late in games and on fourth down they gave back at various times this season, although the coach deserves credit for his aggressive approach at times.

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True, that approach led the Eagles to just 28 points despite gaining 447 total yards last week, and it was a contributing factor to the team. Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons also. However, the Eagles have converted on 11 of their 17 fourth-down attempts this year, giving them the seventh-highest conversion rate, thanks in large part to the consistent desire of Tush Push and Sirianni to take risks in situations with short distances.

Beyond the variations in win probability for a single call, it’s hard to quantify the overall long-term impact a coach’s decision-making in these situations has on a team. Still, it won’t be that hard to quantify if it comes up at a big time later this year.

Eagles reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith will preview the Week 10 matchup between the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys on Gameday Central beginning Sunday at 2:55 p.m.