Sunday at 1 PM just cannot arrive quickly enough for the Philadelphia Eagles, coming off of their bye week and preparing to play Cleveland at Lincoln Financial Field. A warm, sunny day awaits, as does the second part of this 2024 regular season.

How will the Eagles kick off things on Sunday? A team looking to start fast and finish strong is playing a Browns team on its third straight road game, losers of three consecutive games, and desperate for a victory at 1-4.

The stage is set, and the storylines are many. Let's get right into them …

1. WR A.J. Brown set to return for first time since opening game

He was a beast in Week 1 against Green Bay, catching 5 passes for 119 yards, including a 67-yard catcn-and-run touchdown. A.J. Brown started his 2024 season off as he finished an All-Pro 2023 campaign, and then he tweaked his hamstring in practice – "a freak accident," he called it -- and missed the following three games.

The offense clearly missed Brown, and he missed playing. He is eager to get back on the field.

"I'm so excited. I'm glad my first game back is in the Linc," Brown said. "I know the place is going to be rocking and we're going to try to get this thing turned around."

The Eagles have had both Brown and fellow standout receiver DeVonta Smith all week in practice, so the receiving corps should be whole against a Browns secondary that has had injury concerns of its own this season – the Browns will be without starting safeties Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman, and top corner Denzel Ward is questionable with a hamstring injury.

2. OT Lane Johnson prepares for "The Best" Myles Garrett

The Eagles will be on high alert for Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett, who has recorded double digits in sacks in each of the last six seasons. He's big, strong, fast, can bend, has great technique, and is, according to Eagles' star right tackle Lane Johnson – back in the lineup after missing much of the New Orleans game and the Tampa Bay game with a concussion – the best in the business.

"I believe he is," Johnson said. "When you look at how he can move, how big he is at 6-4, 288 pounds and like a Micah Parson and like a Von Miller, the way he bends. He's very active in the run game as well. As far as his ability, he's probably one of the most gifted defensive ends I've seen."

So what do you do with Garrett, the leader of a Cleveland defense that has the capability of being really, really good?

"Everybody has to prepare for him because he moves up and down the line," Johnson said. "For him, he's so explosive off the ball that if you don't have a good kick-set, he likes to go high and bend around the edge. He's very good at it. Tremendous power, tremendous speed. He has it all."

Washington last week "chipped the stuff out of him," and shut Garrett out completely. That's the kind of effort required to keep Garrett from turning a blocking scheme upside down and it is something to watch on every play in this game.

3. A fresh start for the defense

It is fair to say that the defense has not yet defined itself. So what is Vic Fangio's group going to provide on Sunday? Everyone is watching. He is challenging his team to tackle better, to execute the defense more effectively, and to create more takeaways.

The goal is to play as the Eagles did in New Orleans, when they dominated the line of scrimmage, limited the big plays, stuffed the running game, and had a big fourth-quarter interception to clinch the victory. Players have talked about that all week in the locker room.

"Just go out and play our game," said defensive end Brandon Graham, playing in his 200th career regular-season game. "Do what we do. We know how we can play when we are at our best, and we have to bring it on every snap."

4. A fast start is the aim for the Eagles

On both sides of the line of scrimmage, the Eagles want to get things cooking early. They haven't produced an offensive point in the first quarter this season and the defense has been slow out of the gates as they've allowed 23 points in the first quarter of four games.

Start fast. Play with a lead. It makes a difference, and it is one of the things the coaching staff talked about during the bye week.

"We know we've got to start faster," Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. "We know we've got to score in the first quarter. Yeah, everything was on the table as far as the style of plays, the players, how we call it, how the defense looks to open things up. And we have some really good thoughts coming out of it (the bye week). Obviously, not going to get into specifics. You'll see how that transpires."

5. The weekly reminder: The turnover ratio means so much

The Eagles continue to do the work during the week to emphasize the importance of ball security on offense and taking the football away on defense. They are at -6 in the turnover department and, obviously, they know that has to turn around for this team to have a successful 2024 season.

Those are the goals as the Eagles start things after their '24 bye week. A new season is upon us as Cleveland comes to town and the Eagles look to start it all off with a strong performance.