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  • Nick Sirianni: Sitting Jalen Hurts ‘ridiculous’? Hardly. Bench him if he struggles Sunday.

    Nick Sirianni: Sitting Jalen Hurts ‘ridiculous’? Hardly. Bench him if he struggles Sunday.

    Early during Nick Sirianni’s weekly interrogation by Eagles flagship station 94-WIP on Wednesday morning, he was asked about Jalen Hurts by host Joe DeCamara: “Is there a possibility later this season, if he continues to struggle, that you could make a change at the quarterback spot?”

    Sirianni replied:

    “I think that’s ridiculous.”

    You know what’s ridiculous?

    Saying you would never replace a quarterback in the middle of a horrible performance — that’s ridiculous. Saying you would never bench a quarterback who’s slumping worse than the economy — that’s ridiculous.

    It’s more than ridiculous. It’s malpractice.

    It’s not as if Sirianni is averse to benching people.

    He benched defensive coordinator Sean Desai late in the 2023 season.

    Hell, he benched himself in 2021, when, as a rookie head coach, he found the burden of play-calling too onerous, and ceded it to then-offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.

    Don’t be afraid to do unto others, Nick.

    There are two reasons a coach has not only the right, but the responsibility, to bench a quarterback who is playing losing football. This is doubly true of a coach whose team has the weapons to make another deep postseason run, which is exactly the sort of team Sirianni has.

    Jalen Hurts’ unrelenting work ethic: From SoCal to his locker stall, the Eagles — and Tony the janitor — tell stories

    First, the coach owes it to the rest of the team to give them the best chance to win. He doesn’t just owe the players. He owes his coaching staff, his support staff, the administrators, the scouts, the janitors — everybody.

    Because everybody’s livelihood suffers when the team doesn’t win, and if Hurts continues to play this poorly, the team cannot win.

    Second, when you’re in a tailspin like Hurts, you’re very unlikely to dig your way out of it. Defensive coordinators are using a very clear formula to beat Hurts: Load the box to stop the run, force the receivers inside, give up nothing deep, and don’t bother with a spy, since Hurts doesn’t want to run anymore, and he has lost a step, anyway. And blitz, blitz, blitz.

    This is the third time since Hurts became the unquestioned starter that he has lost three straight regular-season games. However, it is, by far, his worst performance of any three-game slide, and the first time he has been the biggest reason for the losing. Hurts has a lower passer rating (69.9), more total turnovers (seven), and fewer rushing yards (72) than in previous losing streaks. He’s been bad before, but never this bad.

    The Eagles are 8-5. A loss Sunday to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders combined with a Dallas Cowboys win against the Minnesota Vikings would shrink the Eagles’ lead in the NFC East to a half-game and put even a wild-card berth in peril.

    This is no time to worry about Jalen Hurts’ feelings.

    It might sound heretical to say of the Super Bowl MVP, but if Hurts continues to struggle, he damn well should be benched. He is not sacred.

    Also: Do you believe Sirianni?

    Liar, Liar

    Can you believe Sirianni? He lies all the time to protect players. He admitted this in 2023: “That’s something I’ve always done.”

    With that in mind, if, by halftime Sunday, Hurts has thrown two interceptions, fumbled the ball away, and he’s 3-for-11, I think we‘ll see Tanner McKee.

    I guess Sirianni needs to say that Hurts is untouchable in order to fortify Hurts’ confidence. Sad.

    The Eagles were burned the last time they benched a starter. In 2020, Carson Wentz, who already was angry that the Eagles drafted Hurts in the second round, was benched with 4½ games to play. The benching infuriated Wentz. He first got coach Doug Pederson fired, then forced a trade. The trade hung the Eagles with a then-record $33 million salary-cap hit and left them with Hurts, a talented, raw, flawed quarterback.

    Four years later, Hurts has gone to two Pro Bowls, two Super Bowls, and won a Super Bowl, and signed a $255 million contract. Nevertheless, Hurts remains raw and flawed — less so, but still.

    It’s rare that franchise quarterbacks get benched on merit, but that’s a phenomenon almost exclusive to NFL QBs. Hurts is on a five-game slump, which is about 30% of his season. If Bryce Harper hit .150 over 54 games and made 10 errors or if Tyrese Maxey shot 20% for 27 consecutive games and averaged seven turnovers, you can bet your britches they’d get a day or two off.

    Hurts understands that he’s a big part of the problem. He acknowledged that he’s in a slump, and it’s a granular slump. And when he says he needs to be more “detailed,” it means he needs to get back to the basics in practice so they translate during games.

    “How can I have the right technique?” he said. “How am I playing with the fundamentals? To run the way I want to run? To throw the way I want to throw?”

    It comes. It goes.

    “For whatever reason, that’s a part of the game,” Hurts said. “Success or greatness — those things aren’t linear. You have your ups, you have your downs.”

    When athletes in other sports have their downs, they get sat down.

    But not quarterbacks.

    They’re special.

    Whatever.

    Tradition!

    It’s more than a little ironic that the analytically driven Eagles have, in Sirianni, a pocket-protector spokesman who is essentially telling us that he wouldn’t bench his quarterback because “This is the way it’s always been done.“

    Listen: If you want to go for it on fourth-and-4 from your opponent’s 32-yard line with 3 minutes, 30 seconds to play, when a field goal would put you up seven or eight points, then you don’t get to use the “This is the way it’s always been done” defense.

    I understand the concerns with going to McKee — concerns independent of how it affects Hurts. There are concerns about offensive timing. You know Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will show McKee exotic looks on every snap. McKee will be baited by defensive backs.

    McKee might fail catastrophically, and then, where are you?

    You are no worse off, that’s where.

    What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 15 vs. the Raiders

    It’s not as if Hurts hasn’t been benched before. He lost his job as Alabama’s starter at halftime of the 2018 College Football Playoff national championship, which his replacement, Tua Tagovailoa, won. Instead of transferring, Hurts returned the next season, served as a backup, and, 11 months later, replaced Tagovailoa in the SEC title game and led a comeback win.

    If anybody can handle a benching, it’s Jalen Alexander Hurts.

    There’s no debating that there’s a contingent of folks, especially in the Philadelphia area, who would love to see Hurts fail. You can debate their motives, but he’s not nearly as appreciated as he should be.

    This has led to a cycle of protectionism inside the NovaCare Complex. That’s not good for anybody.

    However, most folks don’t want any scenario to surface in which Hurts gets benched. He has played wonderful football at times.

    But to dismiss his benching out of hand isn’t just ridiculous.

    It’s coaching malpractice.

  • Phillies give the incomparable Kyle Schwarber an incomparable contract, still need another big bat behind him

    Phillies give the incomparable Kyle Schwarber an incomparable contract, still need another big bat behind him

    Kyle Schwarber was going to finish his career in a Phillies uniform. They’d been saying it without saying it since October. On Tuesday, they said it explicitly.

    Five years, $150 million.

    It is a remarkable sum of money on many levels. But, then, Schwarber is a remarkable hitter on many levels. Only three players in major league history have hit more home runs in the first three years of their 30s. Aaron Judge is the only player who has done it since the height of the steroid era. Sammy Sosa and Jim Thome are the other two. Schwarber’s 141 home runs between 30 and 32 years old are nine more than Babe Ruth hit at the same age.

    Source: Phillies, Kyle Schwarber agree to five-year, $150 million contract

    You can bet that Thome was on John Middleton’s mind when the Phillies owner signed off on his latest megabucks deal. Heading into his age-33 season, Schwarber is older than most free agents who sign contracts like his. But he is only one year older than Thome was when the latter signed his six-year, $85 million contract with the Phillies in December 2002.

    That deal aged well. Thome remained one of the game’s elite power bats well into his late 30s. He averaged 28 home runs and 484 plate appearances per season between the ages of 34 and 38. That was a significant drop-off from the 45 and 651 he averaged between 29 and 33. But no matter. The Phillies will be thrilled to be paying Schwarber $30 million in 2030 dollars if they can pencil in 30 home runs from him at the age of 38.

    Mostly, though, that fifth year is the cost of doing business. Schwarber’s elite-elite power would have meant a dramatic upgrade to virtually any lineup in the majors. There was a market for his services. And the Phillies would have been devastated to lose him.

    Middleton surely will tell you that a deal like this is bigger than dollars and cents and on-field statistics.

    Kyle Schwarber hit 56 home runs in an epic 2025 season. Here’s what to know about each one.

    The Phillies feel like they need Schwarber in the middle of their lineup, yes. That much is obvious. He has scored or driven in 21.7% of the 3,105 runs they’ve produced in the last four regular seasons. But the Phillies also feel they need Schwarber in the clubhouse and on the team charter and on the Wall of Fame when all is said and done. Certain players belong with certain franchises. The Phillies were willing to pay to cement that association.

    They also were willing to bear the risk that Schwarber ages like so many sluggers who came before him. There really isn’t a recent comparable for giving a 33-year-old designated hitter a five-year, $150 million deal. Schwarber’s representation probably pointed to the six-year, $162 million contract Freddie Freeman signed with the Dodgers in 2022. Freeman was one year younger than Schwarber, and he plays the field.

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    So, yes, there is plenty of risk. Over the last 15 years, only three players have had more than two seasons of 30-plus home runs between the ages of 33 and 37. Eight had two or more. That’s not exactly a bankable track record. In 2030, the Phillies will be paying a combined $115-plus million to 37-year-old Schwarber, 37-year-old Bryce Harper, 37-year-old Trea Turner, and 37-year-old Aaron Nola.

    Free agent Pete Alonso is an impact bat that could transform the Phillies lineup.

    There also is some risk on the front end. The Phillies have never shown a blatant disregard for luxury tax spending the way the Dodgers and Mets have. All indications are that they live in a world that has limits. Every dollar they pay to someone is a dollar less they can pay to someone else. In such a world, $30 million is a lot to commit each year to a player who is locked into the designated hitter position. If the Phillies intend to match their spending pattern of previous offseasons, they already are running out of disposable funds. Schwarber’s deal puts them at a projected $288 million in payroll commitments for 19 players.

    If ever there was a time to go for broke, that time is now. While Schwarber may have been the biggest question of the offseason, nearly as big is the questions of where he hits and who hits behind him. The Phillies have been missing a third power bat in the middle of the order ever since Rhys Hoskins suffered a torn ACL in 2023 and then left via free agency.

    In Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, there are a couple of marquee free-agent bats available who would push the Phillies lineup much closer to reaching its potential. Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernández is rumored to be available via trade, although at $22 million a year, he wouldn’t offer much of a discount on an annual basis over the top of the free-agent market.

    In short, Schwarber was a given. Only something drastic and unforeseen would have prevented him from wearing red pinstripes in 2026 and beyond. Any judgment of the Phillies’ offseason will depend on what happens next.

  • Forget 2023. The Eagles are in bigger trouble now after their loss to the Chargers.

    Forget 2023. The Eagles are in bigger trouble now after their loss to the Chargers.

    INGLEWOOD, Calif. — So we know what kind of team the Eagles are now. It took 13 games, and to watch most of them was to experience the same amount of pleasure as when you slam your fingers in a door. But they have revealed themselves, and there’s no use disputing the diagnosis.

    The Eagles are an excellent defensive team, and that is all, and that is not enough, not even close. Not with an offense like this. Not with this team’s tendency to commit untimely and inexcusable penalties. Not with so many questions that don’t get answered and so many problems that don’t get solved.

    They lost Monday night to the Los Angeles Chargers, 22-19 in overtime, and we know now that the most basic assessment of their status is deceiving. They still are 8-5, still in first place in the NFC East, still on track to make the playoffs and, in theory, have a shot at winning another Super Bowl in a conference without a dominant team. But anyone who has watched them can see through that spin, that false representation of who they are and how the rest of this season could play out.

    Coach Nick Sirianni complains to the officials after the Eagles were called for holding late in the second quarter at SoFi Stadium.

    They have lost three straight games, and they are poised for a breakdown as bad or worse than their collapse in 2023. That was six losses in seven games and a franchise that faced an inflection point with its head coach. This is different. This disintegration, if it continues, will be harder and graver, because it will mean their season is transforming from an attempt to defend a championship into a referendum on the coach, the quarterback, and any number of players who were presumed to be part of a talented and tested team’s core.

    If you haven’t been paying attention to the Eagles’ troubles, let’s get you up to speed

    “Who said it was going to be easy?” Brandon Graham said. “This year, coming off a Super Bowl, man, all we got to do is make sure we stay together.”

    Easy to say. Challenging to do. The dynamic within the Eagles right now, the divide in performance between one side of the ball and the other, is fertile ground for dissension to bloom. Anyone who has paid attention to them over the last five games could tell you what Monday made clear: that they are regressing on offense, that some of their best and highest-compensated players are letting them down, and that there’s little or no reason to believe that anything about the unit is going to improve in the short term.

    Since their bye five weeks ago, the Eagles have played one good stretch on offense, and that stretch was brief. In their loss to the Cowboys on Nov. 23, they scored 21 points in the game’s first 18½ minutes, then didn’t score again. Those 18½ minutes seem like a mirage now. They marked the only game in a month and a half that the Eagles put up more than 19 points, and the offense’s performance against the Chargers only reinforced the reality that something about it has to change.

    Jalen Hurts was a mess. Kevin Patullo’s play calls are too predictable too often, the offensive line didn’t help Hurts much, and A.J. Brown helped him even less, dropping a deep ball on the game’s first play, then T-Rex-arming an over-the-middle pass in the fourth quarter that led to an interception. But even with those excuses or extenuating circumstances, Hurts was still a mess.

    He threw four interceptions. He failed to see some open receivers and threw wildly to others. His play this season is raising the question of whether, assuming he remains their starting quarterback for several more years, the Eagles will be able to win another Super Bowl, or even come close again, if they don’t surround him with the best roster in the NFL.

    Grading the Eagles’ loss to the Los Angeles Chargers
    Jalen Hurts is sacked by Chargers linebackers Tuli Tuipulotu and Odafe Oweh during the first quarter.

    We’re getting to the point where removing Hurts and inserting Tanner McKee would be helpful, just to create a control in this ugly experiment that is the Eagles offense. It’s unlikely to happen, and it’s possible, even probable, that such a change would do more harm than good. It would create an instant controversy, no doubt. Hurts might take the demotion as an insult, in the same way Carson Wentz viewed the decision to draft Hurts in 2020, and demand to be traded. There are an infinite number of scenarios that could play out from such a seismic move. One of them, though, could be that the Eagles would acquire some certainty about who and what have been the real problems with the offense all along.

    Nick Sirianni defended Kevin Patullo, but it might not matter

    That decision would come with enormous risk for the man who presumably would make it. Nick Sirianni would be acknowledging that he and his handpicked offensive coordinator can’t fix Hurts, can’t help him get back to being someone who at least didn’t hurt the Eagles’ chances of winning. Once Sirianni crosses that bridge, there’s no going back, and there’s nothing Jeffrey Lurie is less willing to forgive than a head coach who fails to allow the franchise quarterback to thrive.

    “The people we have in there have won a lot of football games,” Sirianni said. “Right now, we’ve lost three in a row. Again, I saw a great, great week of preparation, and I’m confident in the coaches that we have, the players that we have, the owner that we have, the front office that we have — that we’re built to overcome. We know how to do that.”

    Then they’d better get to doing it. Fast. No, this wasn’t just another loss for the Eagles, and this is no small slump. This is a test for everyone in that locker room. And let’s be honest here: Have they given anyone any reason to believe that they’re going to pass it?

  • Saquon Barkley’s uncomfortable truths, plus the Eagles rooting for the Lions and another replay fail

    Saquon Barkley’s uncomfortable truths, plus the Eagles rooting for the Lions and another replay fail

    “They wanted it more.” — Saquon Barkley, after the Eagles blew a lead and lost at Dallas.

    “Honestly, I think it’s been awful.” — Saquon Barkley, assessing the Eagles’ game-day juice, after the Eagles lost the following game on Black Friday to the Bears.

    What will Saquon say if the Eagles lose a third straight game when the visit the Chargers on Monday Night Football?

    Whatever it is, believe it. It’s the truth. His truth.

    What we’ve learned in Barkley’s 32 games as an Eagle is he speaks his truth. It is a refreshing and unvarnished truth, and not everyone always agrees with that truth.

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni “saw the effort sky-high” all game long in Dallas and has emphasized that the effort level remains high.

    Lots of folks criticized Barkley in April when he not only attended the Eagles’ White House reception (several teammates, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, conveniently discovered scheduling conflicts), he also golfed and lunched with President Trump the day before, even as Trump advanced his scurrilously racist agenda.

    Saquon Barkley got cozy with Donald Trump. Jalen Hurts declined. So what?

    Barkley didn’t care.

    He didn’t care that Nick clapped back. He didn’t care that I clapped back.

    Barkley is 28. One day he might regret his words or actions. One day he might speak and act with greater discretion.

    For now, even while living as a celebrity in a world of unprecedented scrutiny, he’s saying what he feels and doing what he wants.

    For that, he should be commended.

    Go, kneecap-biters

    In 2021, Sirianni’s disastrous introductory press conference was largely overshadowed by comparisons to Dan Campbell’s outrageous presser, in which he promised his Lions would bite off kneecaps.

    Since their memorable arrivals, Campbell has been nearly as successful as Sirianni. Many Eagles players and coaches expected to face the Lions in the NFC Championship game, and they were quietly pleased as the Lions stumbled through the season.

    Now, they’re rooting for the Lions.

    The Bears’ loss to the Packers on Sunday helped the Eagles’ chances to secure the No. 1 seed and a bye in the NFC. The Packers are 9-3-1 and atop the NFC North. The Bears are 9-4, and the Eagles can move to 9-4 with a win Monday night, through the Bears hold that tiebreaker.

    However, after they play the Browns next week, the Bears face the Packers again, then the 49ers, and finally, Campbell and the Lions to end the season. The Lions blew out the Bears in Week 2.

    The Rams’ win at Arizona put them at 10-3 and they remain atop the conference with the best chance at the bye, but they face the Lions and the Seahawks, who they barely beat at home, as well as the Falcons and Cardinals.

    The Packers face the Broncos, Bears, Ravens, and Vikings.

    The Eagles will face the Raiders, Commanders, Bills, then the Commanders again. The only game they won’t be favored in will be at Buffalo. If they finish 4-1, a 12-5 record could secure the top seed. Don’t scoff: The Chargers, Raiders, and Commanders all have injured starting quarterbacks.

    What’s the Eagles’ most likely path to the No. 1 seed?

    First, they would need the Rams to lose the next two weeks. One of those losses would be to the Lions. That would leave the Rams at 12-5, but the Birds have the tiebreaker since they beat the Rams.

    Second, they would likely need the Bears to beat the Packers, then lose to the 49ers … and Lions. That would leave the Bears at 11-6.

    Third, they would need the Packers to lose to the Broncos and, probably, the Ravens. That would leave the Packers at 11-5-1.

    Where would all of that Lions winning leave the Lions? At 12-5, that’s where. The Eagles beat the Lions on Nov. 17, and so hold that tiebreaker.

    So, go, knee-biters.

    The curse of replay

    Replay stinks.

    My stance: Review every play or review nothing, and do so with replay officials located in the booth rather than forcing coaches to challenge.

    My point: Too often, reviewing plays to the letter of the law robs us of plays that follow the spirit of the game. Just ask the Ravens.

    Leading, 27-22, midway through the fourth quarter Sunday, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to catch his own batted pass — but he also appeared to lose possession as he fell to the ground and to have the ball snatched from him. The initial call awarded the Ravens an interception at the Steelers’ 31-yard line with 6:26 to play. However, upon mandatory turnover review, Rodgers was ruled down by contact, even though his possession seemed far too flimsy to reverse the call. The Steelers kept the ball and punted.

    Certainly, the Rodgers ruling was much more convincing than another play that was reversed upon review four minutes later.

    Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely caught a go-ahead touchdown pass, took one step, took another as he extended the ball away from defender Joey Porter Jr., but before he landed a third step, Porter knocked the ball from his hands. The initial ruling of a touchdown was overturned, and, two plays later, the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.

    Likely didn’t tuck the ball away, and he didn’t get a third step down, so it was ruled incomplete. The call might have been right, but the rule is dumb, and its enforcement Sunday was ridiculous.

    These plays happened minutes apart in the same game that, for the moment, gave the 7-6 Steelers the AFC North lead and bumped the 6-7 Ravens out of the playoff picture.

    Replay slows the game. It also it affords officials the chance to interpret plays in a counterintuitive manner. Officials are terrified to not apply the letter of the law, even when the spirit of the law aligns better with common sense.

    Zach Ertz, humanitarian, might be done

    Zach Ertz, one of the Eagles’ heroes in Super Bowl LII, ended a possible Hall of Fame career when he suffered a torn ACL on Sunday. Ertz planned to retire after this, his 13th season. Ertz only went to three Pro Bowls, from 2017-19, but he ranks in the top 10 in receptions (5th), yards (8th) and TDs (10th) for a tight end.

    Zach Ertz dives over the Patriots’ Devin McCourty to score the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl LII.

    Ertz and his wife, Julie, a soccer star for the U.S. Women’s National Team, spread goodwill wherever they played and lived, be it in Pennsylvania/New Jersey, Arizona, or the Washington, D.C. area. He might never get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he’s become a Hall of Fame person.

    Too tough?

    Before Sunday, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was in the middle of a career resurrection, but he also had played three games with a broken bone in his left leg. He was one of several quarterbacks playing with what appeared to be significant injuries to non-throwing appendages: Aaron Rodgers’ left wrist, Jayden Daniels’ left elbow, and Justin Herbert’s left hand, which was surgically repaired just a week ago but was not expected to keep Herbert out of Monday’s game against the Eagles.

    Daniels played with the aid of a brace from a company called Protect3D, begun by two clever former Duke teammates who helped Jones play in college with a broken collarbone by 3-D printing a similar protective device. It was a cool story.

    On Sunday, however, Jones collapsed with a non-contact injury to his right Achilles tendon. This brings into question whether playing on the broken left leg created stress on the right Achilles, and whether Jones should have been playing at all.

    Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) grabs his leg after an injury during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

    He was anticipating a massive free-agent contract extension in 2026. Now, he’s looking at unemployment and a season lost to rehab.

    Extra points

    On Sunday night, the Chiefs lost to the Texas in Kansas City to fall to 6-7, with possible losses to the Chargers and Broncos on the horizon. After reaching five of the past six Super Bowls and winning three of them, the Chiefs are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. … Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders, who played under Deion Sanders at Colorado before falling to the fifth round of the draft, threw for 364 yards and with three touchdowns, an interception, and a rushing touchdown in a 31-29 loss to the Titans. It was his third start. He’d thrown for 358 yards in his first two starts combined. … The NFL has enjoyed the careers of running quarterbacks like Randall Cunningham, Cam Newton, Steve Young, and Steve McNair, but in less than eight seasons Josh Allen holds the rushing TD record, which he extended Sunday to 77. That’s two more than Newton, who played 11 seasons. Notably, Hurts is in third place with 63 rushing TDs, and he’s played less than six seasons.

  • Eagles need nothing short of domination from Nolan Smith, Jaelan Phillips, and Jalyx Hunt against vulnerable Justin Herbert

    Eagles need nothing short of domination from Nolan Smith, Jaelan Phillips, and Jalyx Hunt against vulnerable Justin Herbert

    It won’t be Jalen Hurts or Saquon Barkley.

    It won’t be Nick Sirianni or Kevin Patullo.

    It won’t even be Jordan Davis or Moro Ojomo.

    All will have plenty to prove against the Chargers. But none will have more than the guys whose primary responsibility is putting the quarterback on his back. The most important players on the field Monday night will be the Eagles edge rushers.

    The pressure is on the pressure.

    Or, rather, the pressure-ers.

    Jaelan Phillips, Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt. These are the names you will need to hear with regularity against the Chargers. We haven’t heard them nearly enough this season.

    Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (right) and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips stop Lions quarterback Jared Goff on Nov. 16.

    Through 12 games, the Eagles have gotten just eight sacks combined out of their edge rushers.

    True, five of them have come in the last five games, a stretch that has seen Smith return from injured reserve and Phillips arrive via trade from the Dolphins. But it still isn’t enough. Three years ago, Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham combined for 38 sacks, an average of more than two per game. That’s the kind of output the Eagles should be expecting on Monday night.

    Eagles vs. Chargers: Predictions, odds, playoff standings, injuries, and what everyone is talking about

    Rarely have the Eagles faced an opponent so ripe for the picking. The Chargers have been a mess up front all season. In late August, they lost starting left tackle Rashawn Slater to a season-ending knee injury. A month ago, they lost All-Pro right tackle Joe Alt to a season-ending ankle injury. In the four games since Alt went down, the Chargers have allowed a remarkable 17 sacks. That included three last week against the Raiders, a game that ended with Justin Herbert nursing a broken non-throwing hand.

    Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is expected to play against the Eagles.

    This should be a get-right game for the Eagles’ most underperforming unit. That’s true regardless of who is under center — or in shotgun, or in the pistol — on the other side of the line of scrimmage. It will be especially true if that player is Herbert, who is reportedly preparing to play despite undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone in his left hand early last week.

    The Eagles have already seen firsthand what Herbert can do when given an ample amount of time to throw. The Chargers veteran shredded them during Sirianni’s first season as coach, completing 32 of 38 passes for 356 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-24 win in Week 9. That afternoon was one of the 11 times in Herbert’s career that he was not sacked. The Chargers are 9-2 with a plus-110 point differential in those 11 games.

    It goes without saying that none of those games has occurred this season. Herbert has been sacked multiple times in 11 of 12 of his starts in 2025, with three-plus sacks in eight. Heading into Sunday, the Chargers were one of five teams in the NFL to allow five-plus sacks in at least four games. At 8-4, they are the only one of those teams with a winning record. The other four have combined to go 10-38.

    Jeff McLane’s keys to Eagles vs. Chargers in Week 14: What you need to know and a prediction

    The Eagles need to take advantage. Whatever the overall numbers say, they have more than enough talent on the edge to be a deciding factor Monday night. We’ve seen flashes of dominance from the group. Apart from maybe the cornerbacks, the Eagles’ edge rushers were the best unit on the field in back-to-back victories over the Packers and Lions. In a 10-7 win over Green Bay in Week 10, the group combined for two sacks, three tackles for losses, and five quarterback hits against Jordan Love. The following week, Phillips and Hunt combined for five hits on Lions quarterback Jared Goff, including Phillips’ first sack in an Eagles uniform. The pressure on Goff was one of the biggest reasons the veteran completed just 14 of 37 passes with an interception.

    But those two wins feel like a distant memory, don’t they? For the first time in the Vic Fangio era, the Eagles are coming off back-to-back games of 400-plus yards of total offense allowed. Two weeks ago, Dak Prescott was way too comfortable while completing 23 of 36 passes for 354 yards. Last week, the Bears gashed them for a ridiculous 281 rushing yards, with running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combining for 255 yards on 40 carries.

    The Bears gained 281 yards on the ground against the Eagles.

    The four truest words in the NFL came out of Jordan Davis’ mouth earlier this week.

    “It’s a copycat league,” the Eagles defensive tackle said.

    With Herbert ailing and the Chargers pass protection in shambles and the Eagles taking the field without All-World defensive tackle Jalen Carter, we should expect to see Greg Roman do as Sean McVay and Ben Johnson did before him.

    “We’ve got to play the run well enough to where they just don’t run it a bunch,” Fangio said. “They run it, and like most teams that run it well, they have a good play-action game, and not give up the shots in the play-action passing game, which they do a good job of.”

    The Chargers are ready for Vic Fangio’s defense — and aren’t worried about Justin Herbert’s hand injury

    But stopping the run can only carry you so far against a quarterback like Herbert. The Eagles need to put themselves in a position to pummel him as thoroughly as the rules allow. They need Smith to be the guy he was down the stretch last season, when he recorded 10½ sacks in his last 16 games, including four in the playoffs. They need Phillips to be the guy he was against the Packers.

    The best offense is a good defense. And the best defense is a great pass rush.

  • Jalen Carter’s injury only increases the pressure on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts

    Jalen Carter’s injury only increases the pressure on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts

    Now that the truth is known, it falls to Jalen No. 1 to compensate for the absence of Jalen No. 2.

    Now that the drop-off in Jalen Carter’s play in 2025 compared with 2024 has been explained by his deteriorating shoulders, the responsibility for a late-season surge falls more squarely on the shoulders of embattled quarterback Jalen Hurts.

    He’s got to throw better passes. He’s got to run the offense more efficiently. He’s got to start using his legs as a weapon, because the main weapon on defense is gone.

    If you haven’t been paying attention to the Eagles’ troubles, let’s get you up to speed

    Carter as an NFL sophomore last season fueled the best defense in the league. That defense allowed an average of 19.3 points to the No. 5, No. 7, No. 15, and No. 17 offenses in four playoff games. Zack Baun, Milton Williams, and Josh Sweat made $231 million in new contracts after that Super Bowl run. They owe about 25% to Carter.

    Now, though, Carter is taking time off to heal his aching shoulders. According to Dr. David Chao, Carter likely received PRP injections — platelet-rich plasma — a procedure that is minimally invasive and intended to have the patient’s own plasma speed healing at the injection site.

    In the best-case scenario for the team, Carter will miss no more than two games. In the best-case scenario for Carter, he will miss the last five games before the playoffs begin. He needs to be pain-free, fit, and strong if the Eagles hope to defend their title.

    To his credit, Carter tried to play through the injury all season. He reported the injury in the offseason and missed time during training camp, but as the games got colder the dam finally broke.

    Carter was bad in the second half at Dallas two weeks ago, when the Cowboys came back and won. He was even worse last Friday, when the visiting Bears rushed for 281 yards. Still, Dallas and Chicago scored just 24 points apiece. Carter is that effective at half-strength.

    That’s about the level at which Jalen Hurts has been playing … for quite a while, to be honest.

    Jalen Hurts’ steely resolve will be tested during a stretch when the Eagles are at less than full strength.

    The Challenge

    As well as Carter played last season he wasn’t the Eagles’ best player, because Saquon Barkley had the best year any running back ever had. This season, however, defenses have sold out to stop Saquon, and it’s working.

    It’s working, in part, because Hurts and his coaches have decided to reduce his designed quarterback runs. Hurts is on pace for only 119 runs, about 47 fewer than his average over the past four seasons.

    Jalen Hurts running more might be the best thing for the Eagles. Is it also hazardous to his career?

    Exacerbating the matter: The poor health, inconsistent play, and key absences on the offensive line, usually an unstoppable force, have diminished that unit’s effectiveness.

    The biggest blow: Right tackle Lane Johnson, one of the best players in franchise history, hurt his foot against the Lions. He missed both the loss at Dallas and Friday’s loss, and he won’t be back for at least two more games, more likely four. Without Johnson, the Eagles wouldn’t have won Super Bowl LII or LIX. Hurts and Barkley wouldn’t be under contracts worth more than $300 million. He’s just that good.

    So, yes, as they enter the homestretch of the season, the 8-4 Eagles will play without their best defensive lineman and their best offensive lineman. With Carter and Johnson either limited or absent, they’ve lost their last two games.

    Still, things aren’t all that bad.

    The Road to the Top

    They hold the No. 3 overall seed in the NFC. They again hold a 2½-game lead in the NFC East over the Cowboys, who lost Thursday night in Detroit. They’ve given themselves a buffer, and they have a runway — as long as Hurts starts playing to his $51 million average annual value.

    First, the Chargers, in Los Angeles, on Monday Night. Right-handed Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will be playing with a surgically repaired left hand, so the balanced attack might be less balanced, and the offense should run exclusively out of shotgun or pistol sets, and adversity along the Chargers’ line has mirrored that of the Eagles’.

    However, the Chargers have the No. 2 passing defense and 11 interceptions, which is tied for eighth. The Eagles have the 24th-ranked offense and the 23rd-ranked passing offense, despite weapons like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. They’re getting open, and they’re running the plays called by first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo.

    Will receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, with the necessary assistance of their quarterback, have a big Monday night in L.A.?

    Hurts has been a problem all season. Hurts can turn that narrative around Monday night, and beyond.

    The two-win Raiders visit the next week, and the season ends with home-and-home games against the three-win Commanders, who have the second-worst defense in the league, sandwiching what likely will be a brutal trip to Buffalo.

    The Eagles can win three of their remaining games, four if they win Monday night. That would give them 12 wins and a chance at the No. 1 seed in the NFC, since they’ve beaten the Rams and Lions, and since the Bears have a much more challenging schedule left to play.

    But no longer can the Eagles expect their defense to win games for them, as Hurts squeezes the football and stares, mystified, into opposing secondaries.

    He’s averaging just 209.5 passing yards. That’s fewer than Geno Smith, Mac Jones, and Jacoby Brissett.

    That has to change.

  • The narrative around A.J. Brown, Tyrese Maxey vs. Allen Iverson, and other thoughts …

    The narrative around A.J. Brown, Tyrese Maxey vs. Allen Iverson, and other thoughts …

    First and final thoughts …

    It has been a few weeks since A.J. Brown has been a major topic of consternation and conversation around the Eagles. The easy explanation for the relative quiet is that Brown hasn’t posted anything on social media lately that would get people to raise their eyebrows. The even easier explanation — and maybe so easy that it’s a cheap shot against Brown — is that he caught 18 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears and the Cowboys, and even though the Eagles lost both of those games, Brown must be content that he’s finally getting his numbers again.

    That narrative — that Brown is only about Brown, and his selfishness damages the Eagles — has never held up under much scrutiny. Should he stay off social media more? Of course he should. But they have a 53-18 record (in regular-season and postseason games), have won a Super Bowl, and reached another since acquiring him. At least 29 other teams in the NFL would sign up for that level of damage.

    An alternate history of 2023, and why the Eagles are preaching the right message

    What’s more, there’s nothing inherently wrong with Brown wanting the ball more in the name of benefiting himself and benefiting the Eagles. The two goals aren’t mutually exclusive, and it’s understandable that Brown would raise a stink with Jalen Hurts, Kevin Patullo, or both if he didn’t believe he was being used properly or frequently enough.

    Think of it like this: Brown is to the Eagles’ offense as an outstanding reporter or writer is to a news organization, and Patullo and Hurts are his editors. If the editors relegated that reporter to the least important and relevant assignments — when he has produced and is capable of producing well-read, Pulitzer-caliber journalism — he would be within his rights to tell them, Hey, you aren’t maximizing my skills, and it’s hurting the whole news operation, too.

    Would that make him selfish? Maybe. Would it make him self-interested? Yeah. Would it make him right? Absolutely.

    Maybe tap the brakes on the Trevor Zegras anointment?

    Have you forgotten Andrew MacDonald?

    Trevor Zegras has been terrific so far, but before anyone starts thinking about making him a Flyer for life, can he get through half a season here first?

    Kyle and the cash register

    The very simple reason to be optimistic that the Phillies will re-sign Kyle Schwarber comes down to three words.

    Butts in seats.

    Yes, Schwarber has improved as a hitter over the last two years, putting the ball in play more often and raising his batting average without sacrificing any of his power. Yes, he’s an outstanding clubhouse leader. And yes, his presence is necessary if the Phillies are to get over their October bugaboos, get back to the World Series, and win it. Those factors make him vital to the franchise.

    Winter meetings preview: The outlook for Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, a potential trade, and more

    But a baseball season, despite the attention and excitement that the playoffs generate, is not the playoffs alone. The 162-game march to the postseason matters too. It matters a lot. And Schwarber has overtaken Bryce Harper as the player on the Phillies roster whose at-bats are true can’t-miss theater. If you’re at Citizens Bank Park on a chilly night in early May, waiting to get your hot dog and beer, the chance to see Schwarber blast one 450 feet is probably one of the reasons you’re at the ballpark in the first place. And if he comes up and you’re still waiting, you might just hop out of that long line to make sure you don’t miss one of his lighting bolts. He’s the guy who makes you stop and watch.

    Sports is still first and foremost an entertainment product, and Schwarber provides more entertainment night to night than any other Phillies player. John Middleton isn’t likely to let someone steal such an asset away, for any price. He’d be a fool if he did.

    Allen Iverson was a 40-plus-minute man before the term “load management” entered the NBA vernacular.

    Maxey and A.I. as iron men

    Ahead of the 76ers’ matchup in Milwaukee against the Bucks on Friday night, Tyrese Maxey was leading the NBA in minutes played per game. His average: 40.0.

    All kudos to Maxey for bringing it every night for as long as he does. But just for some perspective, it’s worth noting that for a 10-year period, from the 1998-99 season through the 2007-08 season, Allen Iverson never averaged fewer than 40.8 minutes. And over his six seasons from 2001 through 2007, he averaged 42.5 minutes and led the league in minutes five times. When the man said he played every game like it was his last, he meant it.

  • The Phillies can’t afford not to re-sign Kyle Schwarber

    The Phillies can’t afford not to re-sign Kyle Schwarber

    What would it mean to keep Kyle Schwarber in a Phillies uniform?

    Just look at the names he is likely to pass on the franchise’s all-time home runs list by the end of 2026, his age-33 season.

    Sitting at 187 dingers since joining the Phillies, Schwarber likely will pass Bobby Abreu (195) and Dick Allen (204) before the All-Star break. A month or two later, he could pass Jimmy Rollins (216) and Cy Williams (217).

    By then, Schwarber will be in striking distance of three of the heaviest hitters in Phillies history, literally and figuratively.

    • Greg Luzinski, 223
    • Chase Utley, 233
    • Chuck Klein, 243

    A repeat of Schwarber’s 56 homers in 2025 would leave him in a tie with Klein for fifth place all-time. Only Del Ennis (259) and Pat Burrell (251) would stand between him and Mike Schmidt (548) and Ryan Howard (382).

    Dave Dombrowski’s biggest offseason headache? The bullpen, not the Phillies’ lineup.

    You can’t let a guy like that walk away. We know it. The Phillies know it. And, yeah, Schwarber’s agent knows it. Which is why we are here, in early December, on the eve of baseball’s annual winter meetings, still waiting for confirmation that the last of the Schwarbombs has yet to fall on South Philadelphia.

    Do not fret, sweet children. Save your angst for the Eagles. The baseball offseason is in its opening laps. The pace car is still on the track. The top of the market has barely begun to percolate. Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman, Cody Bellinger … all have yet to agree to terms. All will remain free agents for the foreseeable future. Exactly one position player has signed a multiyear contract. Schwarber and the Phillies are right where we should have expected them to be.

    The one big deal to date actually bodes well for the Phillies. Josh Naylor’s five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Mariners suggests that the market won’t grow too outlandish for sluggers at nonpremium positions.

    Kyle Schwarber will enter his age-33 season coming off a 56-homer campaign in 2025.

    You can argue that Naylor barely qualifies as a slugger, with 88 home runs over the last four seasons. Whatever the semantics, he clearly is in a different power class. But there is some comparability here. Naylor’s 124 OPS+ from 2022 to 2025 is in a similar tier to Schwarber’s 134. He is also four years younger than Schwarber and has a good glove at first base.

    The logic goes something like this: The same types of teams that would have interest in a hitter like Schwarber probably would have interest in a hitter like Naylor. If Naylor had signed for six years and $120 million or five years and $110 million, we might be sitting here wondering if it really would be wise for the Phillies to shell out the stupid money it would take to retain Schwarber. The answer probably still would be yes. But it’s nice not to have to consider it.

    Three Nick Castellanos trades that show how little the Phillies should expect in return

    It’s fair to assume that the market will look as it has the past several seasons. There is a pretty hard limit on the amount teams are willing to spend on players who don’t add significant value on defense. Besides Juan Soto, the only hitters to sign for more than $95 million over the last three offseasons have played shortstop, center field, or starting pitcher (Shohei Ohtani). The last first baseman or designated hitter to sign for more than five years and $100 million was Freddie Freeman, who landed six years and $162 million from the Dodgers in 2022.

    Schwarber can — and should — argue that he is a different case. A typical designated hitter doesn’t finish second in MVP voting. Schwarber’s power and consistency are transcendent enough to disregard positional archetypes. The only hitter with more home runs than his 187 over the last four seasons is Aaron Judge (210). He, Judge, and Ohtani (also at 187) stand alone. In terms of impact on a contender, Schwarber is much closer to Freeman than he is to Naylor. Six years and $150 million is a defensible ask.

    The Phillies can argue that Schwarber’s age and positional limitations are legitimate factors. Just look at Pete Alonso, who is pretty close to a carbon copy of Schwarber at the plate. The Mets’ first baseman had to settle for a two-year, $54 million contract last offseason. Not only that, Alonso is on the market again after opting out of his deal. Or, consider Teoscar Hernández, who signed with the Dodgers for three years and $69 million last year. Schwarber is better than Hernández. But is he better than two Hernándezes? For the Phillies, four years and $100 million is a justifiable offer.

    Hopefully, we’re just waiting for the two sides to split the difference. Five years and $125 million would be a steep price to pay to lock up the designated hitter position through Schwarber’s age-37 season. But then, Schwarber will be bigger than a 37-year-old designated hitter when that time comes. He will be one of the defining players of an era, one of the franchise’s all-time greats, a fixture in the community and a potential Hall of Famer. He may have passed Howard for second on the franchise home run list. He may be closing in on 500 for his career.

    Can the Phillies afford to sign Schwarber?

    The better question is whether they can afford not to.

  • If you haven’t been paying attention to the Eagles’ troubles, let’s get you up to speed

    If you haven’t been paying attention to the Eagles’ troubles, let’s get you up to speed

    One of the regrettable developments of the modern media age is that, too often, coverage of a particular subject — whether it’s sports, politics, or whatever strange currents were vibrating between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Olivia Nuzzi during the summer of 2024 — presumes that news consumers already are intimately familiar with a story’s background and details.

    The truth is that not everyone, not even most of us, can know the ins and outs of every single news item that pops up, slot-machine-style, on our smartphones and social media scrolls. People are busy and preoccupied, especially this time of year. They have jobs to work, bills to pay, kids to raise, decorations to put up, gifts to buy, and gatherings to plan, and they’re going to spend whatever free time they have left watching the latest episodes of Stranger Things, because holy mother of mercy are those episodes long.

    Nick Sirianni defended Kevin Patullo, but it might not matter if Jeffrey Lurie decides he must act to save the Eagles’ season

    Here at The Inquirer, we’re not about to make that same mistake. Sure, it might seem like everyone in the Philadelphia area has a firm grasp of all the problems plaguing the Eagles these days. But there are plenty of people out there who either don’t follow the Eagles closely or pay just enough attention to wonder why fans and media are making such a fuss about them. Didn’t they just win the Super Bowl? And isn’t their record pretty good? And don’t they still have that cutie-patootie Cooper DeWhatshisname?

    So in the interest of getting everyone up to speed on the big issues around this team ahead of its game Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers, here’s a quick review of what’s been happening. Once you read this summary, you’ll be able to speak with total confidence about the Eagles at any holiday party, even to those insufferable neighbors whose Christmas lights are brighter and redder than a Kenny Rogers Roasters sign.

    Let’s start with Nick Sirianni, the Eagles’ coach. Over his four-plus seasons, Sirianni has pulled off the remarkable feat of leading the team to the playoffs four times, winning one Super Bowl, reaching another, compiling the fifth-highest winning percentage among the 537 head coaches in the 105-year history of the National Football League, and still convincing most Eagles fans that he has no idea what the hell he’s doing. In fact, many Eagles fans wonder exactly what Sirianni does do, since he does not call plays on offense, does not have much to do with the defense, has minimal say-so over personnel matters, and has instilled so much discipline and precision in his players that they have committed the fifth-most penalties in the league this season.

    Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has received a lot of heat from fans because of the offense’s struggles this year.

    The offense has struggled, and coordinator Kevin Patullo has come under fire for his rudimentary play design, his unimaginative play calling, and his inability to persuade quarterback Jalen Hurts to throw to receivers who aren’t already standing alone in an empty cornfield. The public anger at Patullo became so intense that, on the morning after the Eagles’ recent loss to the Chicago Bears, his house was egged — a stupid, childish, and completely indefensible act, especially since there’s no evidence that Patullo gave out apples and black licorice on Halloween this year.

    Hurts has faced his share of criticism, as well, and not merely because wideouts A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith could run their routes, recite the first four stanzas of The Waste Land, then rerun their routes — and Hurts still would be holding the ball, waiting for them to get really open. The Eagles used to have Hurts carry the ball a lot. But not anymore. For a couple of weeks, the Eagles had Hurts take more snaps from under center, which allowed them to use a wider array of plays. But not anymore.

    The general belief is that Hurts isn’t totally comfortable and on board with those tactics, so they have been phased out of the offense, much like the entire running game has. Hurts also has taken to speaking during postgame press conferences as if he were cracking open fortune cookies and reading the messages, and his admiration of Michael Jordan and his affiliation with the Jordan Brand have become such a huge part of his persona that it won’t be long before he starts answering the question, How’s it going, Jalen? by turning to an invisible TV camera and saying, I took that personally.

    Brown himself has been the source of a good bit of controversy for his frequent, cryptic social media posts — an unnecessary distraction, given that retweeting a Mike-Myers-as-Dr.-Evil THROW ME A FRICKIN’ BONE HERE meme would have sufficed. People have been debating whether Brown is a team-first guy who is using extreme means to call attention to the Eagles’ lousy passing game or a me-first diva who is most happy when he gets his. No one seems to accept that the correct position to take on the matter is Yes.

    Numbers and trends that could impact Monday’s Eagles-Chargers game in Los Angeles

    Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley has morphed into DeMarco Murray. The offensive line is beat up, hasn’t been blocking well even when its members were reasonably healthy, and lately has been failing to push Hurts’ tush. The defense just lost its most talented player to a shoulder procedure, still hasn’t solidified its No. 2 cornerback spot, and this week attempted to solidify that spot not by putting Cooper Patootie there but by hoping to bring back a nearly-35-year-old former No. 2 cornerback. And Jeffrey Lurie would like to see if all these issues might be resolved by having someone else pay to build him a domed stadium.

    That about does it. Now you have the skinny on the 2025 Eagles. You wouldn’t know, from this synopsis of their season, that they’re 8-4, in first place in their division, and likely to be favored in four of their remaining five games. But at least you’ll have the requisite information and context to hold your own in any conversation about them. Unless your Kenny Rogers neighbor asks for your thoughts on going for two when you’re down nine. In that case, make a beeline for the bar and don’t look back.

  • Kevin Patullo still loves Eagles fans and Philly as he endures a season of hate

    Kevin Patullo still loves Eagles fans and Philly as he endures a season of hate

    For a husband and father who had just experienced an act of vandalism that impacted his wife and family, Kevin Patullo didn’t just take the high road. He took the highest of all possible roads.

    He complimented the overwhelming majority of fans and media who have called for his dismissal and created an environment that can provoke inexcusable attacks.

    “I’ve been here for five years now, and it’s been awesome,” Patullo said. “We all know that part of our job is to handle criticism. … But when it involves your family, it crosses the line. That happened. At this point, we’ve just got to move on.”

    Patullo is the first-year offensive coordinator for an 8-4 Eagles team that is the reigning Super Bowl champion, occupies first place in the NFC East, and would be the No. 3 seed in the conference if the playoffs began today. After a home loss Friday to Chicago, around 3 a.m. on Saturday, his home in New Jersey was pelted with eggs by what a posted TikTok video indicates was a group of boys. The incident is being investigated by the Moorestown Police Department.

    I asked him Wednesday if he was angry about the incident or fearful for himself, his wife, or his son and daughter. I told him I certainly would be both angry and scared. It’s natural.

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni (right) has stood by offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

    “You want to separate the job from your family,” he replied. “Us, as a family, we know we’ve got to stick together. To be honest, there’s a lot of great people in the community. I have great neighbors. There’s so many people who have reached out to my wife and I. …

    “We’ve just got to move on. No, you’re not uncomfortable … being in that neighborhood. You’re not uncomfortable with sort of continuing with things as they are. … We’ve had a great experience here in Philadelphia. It’s a very special, unique place.”

    You can say that again.

    Perhaps Patullo is being so gracious because, according to one Eagles source, far worse things have happened to people in the Eagles organization in the past four years. I shudder to think what those things might be.

    Perhaps Patullo feels so secure because, as a high-ranking figure in an $8.3 billion franchise that belongs to a league that annually generates more than $20 billion in revenue, those entities take stringent measures to protect their own. Copycats, beware.

    Saquon Barkley and the Eagles running game have struggled this season.

    You might consider the use of “terrorism” overwrought in this case, but consider Merriam-Webster’s definition:

    “The systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion.”

    A single house-egging might not be “systematic,” but, as the Eagles offense continues to sputter, Patullo has, for months, been the most viciously criticized of eligible targets. There have been calls for his dismissal since the Eagles began the season 4-0. No, that’s not a misprint.

    Yes, Jalen Hurts is the ‘problem’ for the Eagles, not Kevin Patullo: So what?

    This, despite the inconsistent play of quarterback Jalen Hurts and the disappearance of running back Saquon Barkley. This, despite the continual injury issues along the offensive line. This, despite A.J. Brown, Hurts, Barkley, and the offensive line saying it’s not Patullo; not primarily, at any rate.

    Patullo might not exactly be Bill Walsh, but he’s not Dana Bible, either.

    Also: Vic Fangio’s defense collapsed in Dallas and got gashed by the Bears, but nobody egged his house. Take one look at Vic. I dare you to vandalize that man’s house.

    Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio during training camp in August.

    You might use the tireless excuse that Patullo’s home was violated by that vague minority of so-called supporters intent on perpetuating the stereotype of Philly fans being venomous cretins who would gladly eat their own. You know, the fans who, in April 1999, booed the drafting of Donovan McNabb, then, that October in Veterans Stadium, cheered when an ambulance drove onto the field to take Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin to the hospital.

    But how many of those fans — your friends and neighbors — dismissed this act of vandalism as “boys being boys”? How many shook their heads and said, “That’s too bad, but fire his butt anyway”?

    How many? Too many.

    I’m a transplant to Philadelphia, but that was 30 years ago, so this is my home. However, I still marvel at how folks choose to revel in sports misery; how many choose to bemoan what is imperfect, and what might go wrong, and the fixation on blaming one particular villain.

    Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo struggle as Eagles lose again due to poor focus, fundamentals

    I take full responsibility for my part in the critical nature of Philadelphia sports coverage, especially in the 15 years I’ve been a columnist, a television panelist, and a radio personality, and I’ve criticized Patullo when it was warranted, but I strive to keep my criticisms impersonal, unless the person in question has acted in a manner that reveals flaws in his character.

    There seem to be few flaws in Patullo’s character.

    “When you look at the big picture, it’s just a piece of who I am, who my family is. Ultimately, you know, it’s fine.”

    No. No, it’s not fine.

    Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is at the helm of an inconsistent offense.

    Objective criticism is fine. Targeted criticism — the sort Patullo is enduring — is not. Not when there are so many other issues.

    There’s a difference between criticism and toxicity. Toxicity can lead to violence. Violence always is abhorrent.

    The Eagles rank 24th in average yardage. They are 23rd in average passing yardage — which is six spots better than 2024 — and 19th in scoring.

    They are 22nd in rushing yardage, which is the real issue, since they were second last season. That can be blamed not only on Patullo’s sometimes clunky sequencing and predictability, but also on teams selling out to stop the run and a clear falloff by both the offensive line and Barkley.

    The offense has health issues, but every team has to deal with injuries. The Eagles spend more than twice as much on the offense as they spend on the defense. Nick Sirianni is a former offensive coordinator with the Colts, and Patullo has been his right-hand man since Sirianni hired him as his receivers coach in Indianapolis eight years ago.

    Hurts has been a Pro Bowl quarterback and a Super Bowl MVP. Barkley, Brown, DeVonta Smith, and several of the linemen have Hall of Fame talent.

    Should the offense be better? Absolutely.

    But if you expect Patullo and the offense to be better, why can’t you?