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  • Free-agent moves? Stars moving on? Answering all of the Eagles’ biggest offseason questions

    Free-agent moves? Stars moving on? Answering all of the Eagles’ biggest offseason questions

    The Eagles’ 2025 season came to an end sooner than many expected Sunday night, with an underwhelming 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers ending the dream of a Super Bowl repeat.

    With the offseason officially here, The Inquirer has identified the most significant questions the team will face as it attempts to avoid the sting of a premature exit at this time next year.

    Do you expect a change with embattled offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo?

    (Editor’s note: Patullo was removed from his position on Tuesday).

    The offense’s performance this season did not reflect well on Patullo. The unit finished the year 19th in the league in scoring, 24th in total yards, and 13th in expected points added per play, which measures the average points added by the offense on each play.

    For comparison’s sake, here’s how the 2023 Eagles offense fared under former offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, who was fired in the offseason: No. 7 in scoring, No. 8 in yards, and No. 9 in EPA per play.

    The Eagles seem certain to move on from Kevin Patullo as the play caller.

    Yes, that season was different, as the Eagles lost six of their last seven games. But both the 2023 and 2025 offenses regressed substantially following Super Bowl appearances. The 2025 Eagles returned 10 of 11 offensive starters from the Super Bowl-winning team, and yet the most expensive offense in football couldn’t make it past the wild-card round.

    While all of the offense’s shortcomings this season can’t be pinned exclusively on Patullo, something has to change. If the Eagles fire a coordinator and decide to hire an external replacement, there’s always a chance that person would want to handpick his own assistants. In 2024, Kellen Moore brought in former quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier. Vic Fangio overhauled the defensive staff. — Olivia Reiner

    Is there any reason to expect changes with A.J. Brown or any of the other skill-position stars?

    Four of the offense’s big five skill players — Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, Brown, and DeVonta Smith — are under contract through at least 2028. Brown is under contract through 2029. Dallas Goedert, meanwhile, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year.

    Given Goedert’s status as a pending free agent, his future as an Eagle is in question. The 31-year-old tight end had a career year with 11 touchdowns, plus two more in the postseason. After an injury-riddled 2024 season, he stayed mostly healthy and started 15 games in 2025. But he’s an aging — and potentially expensive, given his touchdown output — tight end who took a step back as a run blocker this year.

    It would be expensive for the Eagles to move on from A.J. Brown.

    Then, there’s the elephant in the room. Will Brown be back in 2026, let alone finish out his contract in Philadelphia? He voiced his frustration with the offense’s inconsistency earlier in the season. While he made an impact on paper during the regular season and eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for a fourth straight year, he also was part of the problem at times, especially in the wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He finished with three receptions on seven targets for 25 yards.

    Brown’s contract would be very difficult to move. Cutting him before June 1 would incur $72 million in dead money in 2026. The Eagles would still be on the hook for $43 million in 2026 if they traded him, too. But, as our colleague Jeff McLane wrote, would a change of scenery benefit the 28-year-old wide receiver, send a message to the locker room, and eventually clear some salary-cap space? — Reiner

    Besides Goedert, which Eagles are scheduled to become free agents? Which members of that group will be the highest priorities for the team to re-sign?

    As Reed Blankenship noted Sunday in the locker room: “It’s not going to be the same.”

    “Who knows where we all end up?” the safety said. “That’s just part of the business side of it. They can’t keep us all. I wish they could.”

    Blankenship is one of the Eagles’ nearly two dozen free agents. Like Blankenship, a few are notable players who may not be back.

    Will the Eagles be willing to pay 31-year-old Dallas Goedert?

    Let’s start with Goedert, who had a career year — the most prolific touchdown season in the history of Eagles tight ends. There are zero tight ends on next season’s roster as it stands. Along the offensive line, reserves Fred Johnson, Brett Toth, and Matt Pryor are free agents. So is wide receiver Jahan Dotson. Deeper reserves like running back AJ Dillon, quarterback Sam Howell, and injured fullback Ben VanSumeren are set to hit the market, too.

    Blankenship, linebacker Nakobe Dean, and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips are the marquee names among the defensive free agents. Two more starters from Sunday’s game are also scheduled to be free agents: safety Marcus Epps and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. Other free agents include edge rushers Brandon Graham, Joshua Uche, Azeez Ojulari, and Ogbo Okoronkwo. Punter Braden Mann’s contract also is up.

    As for which players the Eagles will prioritize, it’s not hard to imagine them wanting to rework something with Goedert before they look elsewhere for a tight end. Phillips will be at or near the top of the priority list, too. The Eagles are thin at edge rusher and could use an impact player like Phillips at the top of the depth chart to pair with Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith. Blankenship’s position is a priority, but it remains to be seen what his market looks like and what the Eagles decide to do at safety. Rookie Drew Mukuba will be coming off a season-ending injury at one of the safety spots.

    As for Dean, he may be the most expendable among the top free-agents-to-be with Jihaad Campbell waiting in the wings. — Jeff Neiburg

    Howie Roseman has a reputation for being aggressive in all aspects of the Eagles’ business.

    What is the Eagles’ salary-cap situation heading into the offseason? What does history say about their willingness to be aggressive on the free-agent front?

    According to Over the Cap, the Eagles have $20.3 million in cap space for 2026. It is not a lot, partially because some Eagles have increases in their cap hit. Jalen Hurts’ cap number, for example, jumps from $21.87 million this past season to $31.97 million next season.

    The Eagles have 40 players under contract and have eight draft picks. As it stands, they again will have a high-priced offense. Seven of the eight players with cap hits of at least $9 million are offensive players.

    While there isn’t a ton of money available for Howie Roseman to play with, history shows us he is willing to be aggressive to create more room and to improve his roster to compete for a Super Bowl. He also has mastered the art of structuring contracts to game the NFL’s salary-cap system. — Neiburg

    The Eagles moved up to select Jihaad Campbell in the 2025 draft.

    How many draft picks are the Eagles scheduled to have in 2026? How aggressive do you expect them to be in moving draft capital to address other needs (or to move up in the draft)?

    The Eagles are set to have eight draft picks, including three projected compensatory picks, in 2026:

    • Round 1
    • Round 2
    • Round 3 (from the New York Jets in the Haason Reddick trade)
    • Round 3 (projected compensatory pick for Milton Williams)
    • Round 4
    • Round 4 (projected compensatory pick for Josh Sweat)
    • Round 5
    • Round 5 (projected compensatory pick for Mekhi Becton)

    Roseman has a track record of moving up in the draft, even if it’s just a couple of spots, to go get a player on the team’s short list. His most significant jump came in 2016 when he moved up six spots from No. 8 to No. 2 to select Carson Wentz. Last year, Roseman moved up one spot from No. 32 to No. 31 to get Campbell.

    He goes after what he wants in veterans, too, with his most prominent example occurring in 2022 with his draft-day acquisition of Brown from the Tennessee Titans. Given that the Eagles have eight picks, Roseman has plenty of ammo to make moves and address the team’s needs. — Reiner

    The limited availability of tackle Lane Johnson this season means the Eagles must consider the future along the offensive line.

    Which personnel groups do you expect Howie Roseman to concentrate most on upgrading heading into 2026?

    Where to begin? The Eagles still have a pretty solid roster, but they do have some flaws and are set to have a few holes.

    They have no tight ends. They have no obvious answer yet for a Lane Johnson replacement. How long is Landon Dickerson going to hold up? They went heavy at offensive line toward the end of the draft last season, but they could soon need top-end talent.

    They are in the market for wide receiver help, regardless of where the Brown saga leads them. They need edge rushers. They need cornerbacks. They may need a new kicker.

    A high-impact edge rusher, like Phillips, should be high on the list of most important personnel groups to upgrade the talent level, and it will be interesting to see how the Eagles go about addressing tight end. They obviously will sign a few in free agency and could draft one. Could Goedert return?

    There are a lot of unanswered questions right now. It’s that time of year.

    The Johnson replacement is a tricky one, too. He still is very good when he’s on the field, but the clock is ticking. Same for Dickerson, who has had multiple surgeries and has played through plenty of pain. — Neiburg

    Will another NFL team lead the charge to ban the Tush Push, as the Packers did last offseason?

    Will the Tush Push be in the spotlight again this offseason? What are the mechanics of a potential rule change from a league/competition committee standpoint?

    Earlier in the season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Tush Push was getting banned in the spring. This year, instead of detractors fixating on its aesthetics and its player safety risks, its officiating was called into question.

    But false-start penalties mounted on the Eagles as the season progressed. Defenses improved at stopping the play, too. The Eagles grew less effective on the Tush Push and eventually, in short-yardage situations, stopped running it entirely. The last Tush Push the Eagles ran in the regular season occurred in Week 16 against the Washington Commanders. It failed, just like four of their previous six attempts.

    The public outcry against the Tush Push seems to have dissipated with the Eagles’ waning efficiency. In fact, fans seemed to love the Buffalo Bills’ 10-yard push sneak for a touchdown in their wild-card win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bills were among the teams that voted to effectively ban it in the offseason, too.

    Unless there is new injury data that suggests the play is dangerous, the path to a ban is unclear. The officiating of the play still would be an issue on a traditional quarterback sneak. Perhaps the league again would seek to eradicate an offensive player pushing the runner downfield on any play, which was illegal in the NFL before 2005. Ironically, it was legalized because it was difficult to officiate.

    A rule proposal, either submitted by the competition committee or by one of the 32 clubs, would be the first step to getting rid of the play. That proposal would need at least 24 “yes” votes from the 32 owners at the spring league meeting to pass. Last year, the Green Bay Packers submitted an assisting-the-runner proposal, but it didn’t garner the requisite support. — Reiner

    The Rams’ return trip to Philly next season should be among the highlights of the 2026 home schedule.

    Who are the Eagles’ 2026 opponents?

    In addition to their six division games, the Eagles will face the 2025 winners of the NFC North (Chicago Bears on the road), NFC South (Carolina Panthers at the Linc) and AFC North (Pittsburgh Steelers at the Linc); they’ll face the entire NFC West (Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks at the Linc, 49ers and Arizona Cardinals on the road) and the entire AFC South (Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts at the Linc, Jaguars and Tennessee Titans on the road).

    The Eagles are scheduled to play nine home games in 2026. Dates are expected to be announced as part of the NFL schedule release in May.

    Compiled by The Inquirer staff.

  • Nick Sirianni had a worse year than Kevin Patullo, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, or anyone on the Eagles

    Nick Sirianni had a worse year than Kevin Patullo, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, or anyone on the Eagles

    Nick Sirianni had a very bad year.

    He hired an overmatched offensive coordinator, watched his franchise quarterback regress, and did nothing to curtail the serial insubordination of A.J. Brown, then oversaw an offense that delivered the Eagles’ worst playoff loss in 22 years.

    “At the end of the day, we didn’t do a good enough job,” Sirianni said, “and that starts with me.”

    Yes, it does.

    Kevin Patullo’s offense wastes two Quinyon Mitchell interceptions in crushing Eagles playoff loss

    How impotent was Sirianni?

    For the last two seasons, Brown frequently has criticized the passing game both in person and on social media. This came to a head when Brown called the offensive issues a “[expletive]-show” on Nov. 11.

    Later that week, owner Jeffrey Lurie had to step in and muzzle the wide receiver. At practice. In public.

    Some folks consider Sirianni to be a brilliant coach. Really? Do you think Andy Reid or Bill Belichick would have needed Clark Hunt or Robert Kraft to come to practice to muzzle Tyreek Hill or Randy Moss?

    The enduring image of the offseason surely will be Sirianni, Patullo, and Hurts on the sideline during a timeout discussing the final play of the final drive on Sunday. As Patullo spoke to what appeared to be a befuddled and reluctant Hurts, Sirianni stood there, mostly silent, looking like a cross between a deer in headlights and a dog hearing a high-pitched whistle.

    You know what he didn’t look like?

    A confident head coach.

    More and more, Sirianni seems less a coaching savant and more a dude who happens to be in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the best rosters in Eagles history.

    Culture creatures

    Since Lurie’s admonishment to Brown, and in violation of league rules, Brown has boycotted the media. That included Sunday’s game and Monday’s locker clean-out. As he did so often this season, he left his teammates to clean up his mess.

    ‘It’s too soon to think about that’: Jalen Hurts puts off talking about Kevin Patullo’s future

    It was unprofessional — but then, unprofessionalism always has been an issue during Sirianni’s five-year tenure. He sets that tone and creates that culture.

    When the Eagles won in Kansas City in 2023, he taunted Chiefs fans as he walked up the tunnel.

    When the Eagles beat the Browns at home in the middle of the 2024 season, Sirianni taunted Eagles fans as he left the field, then, incredibly, brought his three young children to what was certain to be a fractious postgame news conference.

    Sirianni issued an apology after that incident, but, two weeks ago, after the Eagles won in Buffalo, Sirianni taunted Bills fans as he walked up the tunnel — a taunt that drew a side-eye eye roll from Brown, who was walking beside him.

    On Sunday, he charged down the sideline to hurry Brown off the field, then had a few choice words for Brown, who barked back at him, then, a few moments later, tried to get after Sirianni again.

    This ended the lost season nicely, considering it began when defensive tackle Jalen Carter, having walked toward the Cowboys huddle to taunt a young lineman, then spat on Dak Prescott and was ejected.

    It’s hard to blame the players. After all, why should they be expected to control themselves if their coach can’t control himself?

    Focus

    Left tackle Jordan Mailata, the team’s de facto spokesman and often the adult in the room, was asked both at midseason and after Sunday’s loss about the Eagles’ biggest issue. Each time, his answer was the same:

    “Focus.”

    Another clear measurable of a lack of discipline: penalties.

    In 2024, the Eagles committed 103 penalties for 793 yards, 37 of them pre-snap penalties. In 2025, they committed 117 penalties for 1,073 yards, 42 of them pre-snap calls. Those are increases of 14%, 35%, and 14%, respectively.

    This is a team that was expected to defend a Super Bowl title.

    This was a disaster.

    Sirianni’s disaster.

    That’s why it’s amazing how little culpability has fallen at Sirianni’s feet.

    Nakobe Dean and Jaelan Phillips want to be back with the Eagles, but one has a greater chance than the other

    Granted, Patullo didn’t take advantage of his first OC opportunity … but, after losing at home to the Bears in Game 13, Sirianni inserted himself into the game-planning process. After Sirianni’s insertion, the Eagles played three playoff teams. They averaged just 17 points.

    Hurts, mired in self-preservation mode, ran the ball 33% less often this season than his previous three seasons and scored only eight rushing touchdowns after averaging 14 the three previous seasons. Patullo makes the calls, but the buck stops with Nick.

    Brown dropped two passes in Sunday’s wild-card loss to the visiting 49ers and, during the regular season, too often seemed … indifferent? Disengaged?

    “I have a special relationship with him,” Sirianni said after Sunday’s dustup.

    Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown had a critical drop in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s NFC wild-card game.

    If that’s true, then Sirianni needed to mobilize that connection, because Brown just had the worst of his four seasons as an Eagle.

    There were other issues.

    Saquon Barkley’s rushing total dropped from 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns to 1,140 yards (865 fewer yards), and seven touchdowns (six fewer scores). For context, only 21 backs gained at least 865 yards this season and/or scored more than six touchdowns.

    The offensive line regressed, and while injuries to Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, and Cam Jurgens limited their performance and availability, the performance of their backups left much to be desired.

    At any rate, now that it’s over and the distractions have faded, we can better assess Sirianni’s role in the lost season of 2025. The football world will zoom out to the “30,000-foot view,” as Sirianni likes to call his CEO style of coaching.

    What they see will not be pretty.

    None of this is irredeemable. Sirianni is still a newish head coach, only five years in, and, at 44, he’s a relatively young man.

    It’s the first time he’s been in a situation dealing with overpaid divas who won him a Super Bowl.

    Maybe, if he’s in this situation again, he’ll act the way a head coach should act.

    With backbone.

    And conviction.

    What now for Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after the Eagles offense went belly-up again in the playoff loss to the 49ers?
  • Time for the Eagles to answer to their true bosses: angry Philadelphians

    Time for the Eagles to answer to their true bosses: angry Philadelphians

    With less than a minute remaining in Sunday’s game against the 49ers, with the Eagles down 23-19 and their back-to-back Super Bowl aspirations on the line, fans crowded together in McGillin’s Olde Ale House erupted into E-A-G-L-E-S chants as a way to keep hope alive.

    Unfortunately, Jalen Hurts was sacked and threw three straight incompletions to end their playoff run early. The Birds’ journey had ended, and with it, the hopes of the region.

    Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown is unable to make the catch as 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir defends during the second half Sunday.

    Brandon LaSalata, 24, made the drive from Richmond, Va., to watch Sunday’s wild-card matchup surrounded by Eagles fans.

    “I don’t know what happened,” LaSalata said. “We need to get rid of Kevin Patullo. I think that hopefully next year we’ll be a better playoff contender. We should have gotten through this round. I don’t know what happened. I’m very upset.”

    On the other side of the pub, 27-year-old Lancaster native Dominic Polidoro sat with his head hanging low in defeat.

    “I feel pretty deflated,” Polidoro said. “This team was probably the most talented team in the league. It’s really disappointing to see them fall short. We had higher hopes.”

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni speaks during a news conference after the loss.

    Somber morning commute for Eagles fans

    On Monday morning, the air in Center City was dry, stiff, and unforgiving. And so were the Eagles fans cussing out their favorite team after the season-ending loss.

    “I don’t mind losing, but give me an effort. A.J. Brown has to get traded. [Nick] Sirianni has to get fired. Offensive coordinator, fired,” said 73-year-old North Philadelphian Rodney Yatt. “And then we’ll go from there.”

    Sunday’s game was marred by incomplete passes, a sideline argument between Sirianni and star wide receiver Brown, and, according to fans, tough calls from referees.

    Clay Marsh, 35, of Manayunk, doesn’t think a loss falls to one player.

    “I don’t think it was A.J.’s fault,” Marsh said. He saw the offense as disjointed and questioned offensive coordinator Patullo’s strategy, which Marsh said was an overreliance on “running it up the middle” with Saquon Barkley.

    “Even if we won, it felt like we were going to go into Chicago and probably get spanked anyway,” Marsh said. “Maybe we saved ourselves some real embarrassment.”

    Patullo has been at the center of fans’ ire, not only after last night’s loss but throughout the season. That agita hit a new low when someone egged Patullo’s family home in November after a 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears.

    The latest Patullo roasting comes in the form of a Bucks County golf simulator that allows players to drive balls directly into a digital fairway featuring Patullo’s face. The Golf Place co-owners Justin Hepler and Killian Lennon shared a video of themselves relieving their frustrations and honing their swings.

    West Philadelphian James Booker, 49, said the small mistakes in the game added up to the loss. He pointed to Brown’s dropped passes and a missed extra point by kicker Jake Elliott that could have brought the Birds into tie-game territory later on.

    Despite the hard loss, Booker doesn’t think Sirianni should be canned.

    “You can’t just say you want to up and fire him, even though fans like to do that a lot — Sirianni got us to this point,” Booker said. “I only hope for a better season next year.”

  • Eagles receiver A.J. Brown remains silent one day after playoff loss

    Eagles receiver A.J. Brown remains silent one day after playoff loss

    Reporters spent more than an hour inside the Eagles’ locker room at the NovaCare Complex on Monday afternoon before the team closed the doors to media for the day.

    During that span, A.J. Brown was not seen in the room. The wide receiver’s locker had not been cleaned out, but Brown was not made available to talk to reporters. He declined to be interviewed after the game Sunday and left the locker room shortly after it opened to the media.

    The last time Brown made himself available for interviews was after the Eagles’ Week 14 road loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 8. Brown took accountability that night for dropping multiple passes.

    It was an interesting year for Brown with the Eagles. The receiver wasn’t shy about his feelings on the direction of the offense, especially early in the season. He expressed himself in the form of cryptic social media posts and postgame interviews, like when he pleaded for the Eagles to “let their killers do their thing” after a Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

    Brown finished the season with 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns.

    A.J. Brown’s happiness within the offense and his relationship with Jalen Hurts were subject to scrutiny throughout the season.

    What happens next with Brown will certainly be the subject of much speculation in the coming days and weeks and even months. Brown remains under contract through the 2029 season and has $113 million remaining on his deal. Trading him would be costly for the Eagles, who would be on the hook for $43.5 million in dead salary cap space if they traded him before June 1, according to Spotrac.

    Waiting until after June 1 would free up $7 million in cap space. But any trade of Brown would have the Eagles taking on the fourth-largest single-season dead cap hit in NFL history, according to Spotrac.

    Brown’s relationship with Jalen Hurts also has been the subject of speculation.

    “A.J. and I will talk,” Hurts said Monday. “We’re in a good, great place. Maybe y’all can talk to him and ask.”

    That chance was never offered.

  • Will A.J. Brown be traded? Kevin Patullo fired? Is Jalen Hurts holding Eagles back? Here’s what they’re saying.

    Will A.J. Brown be traded? Kevin Patullo fired? Is Jalen Hurts holding Eagles back? Here’s what they’re saying.

    The Eagles’ road to repeating as Super Bowl champions ended abruptly Sunday with a 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field. Following their early exit in the playoffs, most of the national discussion centered around who’s to blame and potential offseason changes surrounding the Eagles coaching staff — and A.J. Brown, after his sideline spat with Nick Sirianni and several key drops.

    Here’s what they’re saying about the Birds following their wild-card loss to the Niners …

    ‘That was a total embarrassment’

    The Eagles offense came up short — again — continuing the theme of this year’s inconsistent unit. Despite a strong first-half performance, Kevin Patullo’s group was more conservative in the second half and mustered just a pair of Jake Elliott field goals.

    What now for Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after the Eagles offense went belly up again?

    The regression of the Birds offense has been a main topic of discussion throughout the season. So, for ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, it wasn’t surprising to see the team’s downfall on Sunday night.

    “That was a total embarrassment from Philly, offensively,” Orlovsky said Monday on Get Up. “And we all saw it coming. We talked about it all season long. The fact that they didn’t see it coming is concerning. Yes, there’s going to be changes. But, Howie Roseman, their general manager, has got to be sitting back going, ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait, this is a roster that I put together that should no question have contended for another Super Bowl.’ …

    “We all saw this embarrassing performance coming and it still happened. And it was allowed to happen.”

    On X, Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, also broke down the Eagles’ final drive Sunday night, posting the video with a one-word caption: “Ugly.”

    To former NFL quarterback Cam Newton, Sunday’s performance revealed all the flaws the Birds “tried to mask” throughout the season.

    “The Philadelphia Eagles were who we thought they were,” said Newton on First Take. “And yesterday’s performance was a microcosm of that. We’ve seen insufficient play. We’ve seen ups and downs and the downs and the ups. … What we’ve seen is nothing new. They tried to mask it. They tried to put lip balm. They tried to put eyeliner. They tried to put mascara on it and they tried to challenge the status quo of you’ve been doing this all year.”

    Shell-shocked Eagles locker room emotional after losing to the 49ers: ‘It’ll never be the same team again’
    Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown can’t pull in a deep pass from Jalen Hurts during the second quarter. He dropped several passes in the loss.

    Will the Eagles trade A.J. Brown?

    The most action Brown saw all night was when the broadcast caught Nick Sirianni yelling at him on the sideline. The receiver recorded three receptions for 25 yards; he missed a potentially big first-half reception and had a costly third-down drop later in the game. After the loss, Brown didn’t speak to media.

    Former tight end Shannon Sharpe believes it’s time for the Eagles to move on.

    “Me, personally, I think it’s the best if the Eagles just go their separate ways,” Sharpe told Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson on the Nightcap podcast. “He needs to go somewhere where he feels like he’s going to get — he’s looking at it, Ocho, like I need to be getting the Puka Nacua type targets.”

    Former NFL safety Ryan Clark also believes Brown won’t be in Philly next season.

    “A.J. Brown is getting traded,” Clark said on ESPN’s First Take. “He wants out and they need to want him out. That relationship is over. That relationship is done and part of it is the Philadelphia Eagles, but a lot of it is on A.J. Brown. … A.J. Brown this year was more problems than he was worth.”

    The 2025 Eagles played not to lose. In the end, that’s why they did. | Mike Sielski

    If the Eagles do move on from Brown, however, it might not happen until later in the year. According to Spotrac, trading him before June 1 would cost the Birds a fortune.

    “If the Eagles were to bite the bullet and trade Brown early this offseason,” Michael Ginnitti writes, “they’d be taking on the 4th largest single season dead cap hit in NFL history (and making a heck of a lot more financial trouble for themselves as well).”

    Jalen Hurts and the Eagles scored a pair of touchdowns in the first half, but settled for just two field goals in the second.

    ‘Jalen Hurts is holding them back’

    Although most of the finger pointing has been directed at Patullo, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy said a lot of the Eagles offensive struggles could be because of the team’s starting quarterback, Jalen Hurts.

    “Jalen Hurts, I need you to be special, make plays,” McCoy said on The Speakeasy show. “I did a lot of digging, man, and I won’t throw them under the bus here. But I know some people, right. And the problem is, we can’t do different exotic looks, different formations, different motions because I’m hearing that [Hurts] can’t really do it. So, we get to a game like this, we got to have it. We’re playing against the Niners. They’re with their second unit. …

    “I look at the quarterback, like, if we have all these special players, Hall of Fame-type running back, Hall of Fame-type wide receiver, top three dual wide receivers with A.J. [Brown] and [DeVonta Smith] and a really solid tight end with Dallas [Goedert] and we can’t move the ball? … We got to make some big decisions next year.”

    McCoy wasn’t alone.

    “They certainly could be more creative on the offensive side and we know that. But, Jalen Hurts is holding them back in that department,” Chris Simms, a longtime Hurts detractor, said on Pro Football Talk Live. “I know these things. He doesn’t want the offense expanded, to a degree. So, that kind of handcuffs them a little bit.

    “And then, when you’re an offense, you can’t go to do advanced geometry when you brought up a minute ago that you can watch the film and go here’s a basic play and the guy’s open and he doesn’t throw it. That doesn’t give the coaches the confidence to go, ‘Let’s go deeper into the playbook.’”

    The Eagles need to ask themselves some hard questions. Jalen Hurts should face a few of them. | David Murphy
    Nick Sirianni lost a home playoff game for the first time Sunday.

    ‘There’s enough blame for everybody’

    Former Eagles linebacker Seth Joyner believes Sunday’s loss was a team effort.

    “There’s enough blame for everybody,” he said on The Seth Joyner Show. “Wide receivers dropping balls, not catching balls, not giving maximum effort. Players on the defensive side standing around not necessarily ready. … They got out-coached, out-played, and they got out-willed today.”

    However, another former Eagles linebacker, Emmanuel Acho, narrowed it down to three individuals he would like to blame for the loss — and perhaps there’s no surprise that it’s Brown, Patullo, and Hurts.

    “A.J. Brown given how talented you are and how much dust you kicked up throughout the course of the season, you have to show up in the biggest moments,” Acho on The Speakeasy talk show. “So, A.J, first person I’m looking at is you because you’re capable. Second person I’m looking at is Kevin Patullo.

    “And then lastly, Jalen Hurts. I just need you to be more special. … So, really if I’m going to look at three people: A.J. Brown, got to look at you in the eye. Kevin Patullo, got to look at you in the eye. Jalen Hurts, got to look at you in the eye. Those are the three people that start with the blame.”

  • What now for Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after the Eagles offense went belly-up again in the playoff loss to the 49ers?

    What now for Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after the Eagles offense went belly-up again in the playoff loss to the 49ers?

    Kevin Patullo is as good as done. A.J. Brown’s future is murkier.

    But whatever happens to the offensive coordinator and the team’s top receiver, some form of significant change is coming to the Eagles offense after a season of frustration ended fittingly with another bipolar performance on Sunday.

    Patullo will be the easiest to cut off, not because he was solely responsible for the regression or even for the substandard play calling that doomed the Eagles in their 23-19 loss to the 49ers in the playoffs, just as it had throughout most of the 2025 regular season.

    The Eagles need to ask themselves some hard questions. Jalen Hurts should face a few of them.

    Most players, including tackle Jordan Mailata, publicly supported the first-year coordinator on Sunday. They pointed the finger at themselves and their execution, or lack thereof. But the powers that be, as Mailata noted, can’t just wipe out the bulk of the highest-paid offense in the NFL.

    “It’s easier to blame somebody who gets paid less than your starting people, right?” Mailata said. “And everybody knows that. Everyone in this [expletive] locker room — even you [reporters] know that. But the story makes better sense if we’re pointing to somebody else than not the players.”

    Brown might seem the logical piece to move considering how his drops against San Francisco seemed indicative of an apathetic season by his standards. General manager Howie Roseman isn’t normally fond of trading Hall of Fame talent, and Brown’s contract may make it difficult to move the 28-year old.

    But the Eagles will need to find ways to clear salary-cap space with salaries for quarterback Jalen Hurts and others on offense increasing and young homegrown players on defense, including defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, slated for extensions.

    Getting rid of Brown may send a message. But for as great as fellow receiver DeVonta Smith can be, most defenses still spent each week in 2025 devising coverages to cloud Brown. He didn’t have his best season by any stretch, and sometimes ran poor routes and couldn’t pull in grabs he normally makes.

    He let two of Hurts’ downfield throws slip off his hands on Sunday.

    The defense propped the Eagles up all season. On Sunday, it bent, broke and the 49ers advanced.

    “He’s got the best hands I’ve ever seen,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “The way he catches the ball, the amount of different types of catches that he’s made. When you get as many targets as he does, you’re going to have some drops. Not ever using an excuse, but the ball moves differently in the wind.”

    Brown declined interview requests after the game, much like he has for the last month. He got into a brief altercation with Sirianni on the sideline in the second quarter when the coach yelled for him to get off the field after a three-and-out.

    “I love A.J. I think he knows how I feel about him,” Sirianni said. “I have a special relationship with him. We’ve probably [gone] through every emotion you can possibly have together. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together, we’ve yelled at each other. We’re both emotional.”

    Brown’s emotions have sometimes gotten the best of him. He’s admitted to mistakes he’s made when using social media to voice frustrations with the offense. He’s among the most-liked players in the locker room. But a change of scenery may be best as he enters the latter stage of his career.

    A.J. Brown logged another 1,000-yard season, but it was a tumultuous year for the star wide receiver.

    Sirianni and Hurts aren’t going anywhere, nor should they. But they face another crossroads just two years after the Eagles offense underwent its first facelift. Sirianni fired coordinator Brian Johnson, certainly with input from owner Jeffrey Lurie and Roseman, and Kellen Moore was brought in to spiff up the system.

    Johnson was more of a Hurts guy, not that Sirianni took pleasure in ending his tenure in Philly. But Patullo has been with the coach since their days with the Colts. They’re kindred spirits in football and friends away from it. But even Sirianni can’t deny that Patullo was in over his head.

    “There will be time to evaluate everybody’s performance,” Sirianni said when asked about his coordinator’s future.

    If the Eagles weren’t coming off a Super Bowl, maybe Patullo could have been given more time to learn on the job. Maybe Sirianni has built up enough clout to hold off Lurie/Roseman. But precedent suggests that the Eagles will move fast, and that they already have possible replacements lined up.

    Who could be next? Mike McDaniel? Kliff Kingsbury? Brian Daboll? Nate Scheelhaase? Todd Monken? Frank Reich? Whoever it is, it should be someone with a pedigree of improving quarterbacks, and preferably one who actually played the position.

    Hurts didn’t evolve this season. He ran less and it not only made him less dynamic, but it gave defenses one less option to worry about in the running game. And it made his deficiencies in the drop-back passing game more glaring.

    “I think I’m always growing,” Hurts said when asked about working with Patullo. “I’m always taking in my experiences and learning from everything that we go through. I think it’s tough to single out one individual, especially in a moment like this.

    “We’ve all got to improve and that’s how I look at everything that we go through.”

    Hurts didn’t play poorly in windy conditions at Lincoln Financial Field. In fact, it was a very Hurtsian performance. He made some good throws. He didn’t turn the ball over while his counterpart, Brock Purdy, tossed two interceptions.

    But Hurts’ arm lacked the velocity to cut through the breeze at times. He left clean pockets far too early. And he failed again to deliver a game-winning drive. He may play by far the most important position on the field, but the Eagles’ struggles Sunday and all season weren’t all on his shoulders.

    The 2025 Eagles played not to lose. In the end, that’s why they did.

    And the same applies to Patullo. How much was he handcuffed by Sirianni’s emphasis on not giving the ball away? The Eagles led, 13-7, midway through the second quarter. But the offense failed to generate a first down on four of its next five possessions against a 49ers defense that was down to its fourth and fifth linebackers.

    There were dropped passes, penalties, missed blocking assignments, and Hurts throwaways over that span. There were also conservative calls like running on second-and-18, or Hurts keeping on third-and-13. Sirianni was aggressive on two fourth downs in the first half. He seemed to settle for field goals after the break.

    “If it goes the way you want it to go in the first half and then not the second half, I think that’s the go-to of people [thinking] you take your foot off the gas,” Sirianni said. “But we were playing more balanced, got the run game going a little bit, trying to mix our play-actions in, trying to get our passes in to create explosives.

    “At the end of the day, we didn’t create enough explosives.”

    49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, meanwhile, dialed up four pass plays that gained 27 yards or more, including a double-reverse trick play that had receiver Jauan Jennings hitting running back Christian McCaffrey for a 29-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

    Gadget plays aren’t going to solve core offensive problems. But the Eagles offense, overall, wasn’t diverse enough. There weren’t enough passing concepts that utilized the middle of the field. There weren’t enough layups for Hurts schemed off under center play-action plays.

    The offense moved too slowly in its pre-snap operation and it crippled an already battered offensive line in the running game. Left guard Landon Dickerson admitted after the game what was obvious: He was playing through multiple injuries. Center Cam Jurgens never looked fully recovered from offseason back surgery.

    Eagles grades: Another overly conservative offensive performance results in season-ending flop

    Right tackle Lane Johnson missed the final eight games with a Lisfranc foot injury. He practiced last week, but his replacement, Fred Johnson, said he found out Saturday that he would be starting instead.

    “That’s not normal,” Fred Johnson said. “Lane came out this week and prepared like he was a starter. He tested it this week with his reps. Saturday he just felt like he wasn’t ready.”

    But the Eagles, for the most part, were healthy. They returned 10 of 11 starters from a Super Bowl-winning offense. The only new cog was Patullo, so he bore the brunt of blame. But Mailata said that was “very unfair.” Dickerson said he did a “tremendous job.”

    The offensive linemen also acknowledged Patullo’s inexperience.

    “I think he improved over the year,” Fred Johnson said when asked about Patullo. “That’s about it.”

    There was some individual grumbling about the play calling from various corners of the locker room over the course of the year. But it never rose to the level it did when Sirianni demoted former defensive coordinator Sean Desai midseason in 2023.

    Despite Sirianni’s claim last week that the Eagles had found an identity, it never really materialized. They wanted to ride Saquon Barkley and the running game much as they did en route to the Super Bowl a year ago. But it just ended up being a rinse-and-repeat offense for most of the season and again on Sunday: some glimmers of hope in the first half, darkness thereafter.

    “It’s been a common theme for us this year,” Barkley said. “We haven’t done a good enough job of playing complete football, putting two halves together. Sometimes you get into this moment and [believe] we’ll just figure this out. And it just caught up to it.

    “It’s been the same thing all year.”

    Jake Elliott’s missed kick proves costly in what could be his final game with the Eagles

    There’s a word for doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same results. It could be used to describe the furor in Philly whenever an offensive coordinator fails to succeed. Patullo will likely suffer a fate because Eagles leaders won’t want to be labeled as such for sticking with him.

    There’s a strong argument for making a move. But there’s change every season.

    “There’s a lot of great guys in this locker room on this team, lot of great coaches, a lot of great people upstairs,” Dickerson said. “Every team’s got a one-year expiration on it, so this team will never be put together again.”

    The tearing apart starts now.

  • Eagles’ odds vs. 49ers improve for Sunday; plus updated player props for wild-card weekend

    Eagles’ odds vs. 49ers improve for Sunday; plus updated player props for wild-card weekend

    Despite a loss in the regular season finale, the Eagles are heading into the playoffs healthy and rested — and trending in the right direction. Philadelphia (11-6) ended its season winning three of its last four games, earning the NFC East crown.

    Now, all that stands in the way of a rematch against the Chicago Bears in the divisional round are the San Francisco 49ers (12-5), fresh off a Week 18 loss of their own. With wild-card weekend rapidly approaching, here is an updated look at the game odds and player props from the two biggest sportsbooks …

    Eagles vs. 49ers wild-card odds

    The last time these teams played in the playoffs was in the 2023 NFC championship game. The Eagles trounced the 49ers 31-7 in a game that was over quickly and saw both Niners quarterbacks injured. Now, three years later, both FanDuel and DraftKings have the defending Super Bowl champions as slight favorites, up a point from where they were Monday.

    DraftKings

    • Spread: Eagles -4.5 (-108); 49ers +4.5 (-112)
    • Moneyline: Eagles (-238); 49ers (+195)
    • Total: Over 44.5 (-110); Under 44.5 (-110)

    FanDuel

    • Spread: Eagles -4.5 (-110); 49ers +4.5 (-110)
    • Moneyline: Eagles (-225); 49ers (+188)
    • Total: Over 44.5 (-105); Under 44.5 (-115)
    Eagles vs. 49ers predictions: Our writers pick a winner for the wild-card round

    Passing yard props

    Jalen Hurts never touched the field in the Eagles’ Week 18 loss to the Washington Commanders, as head coach Nick Sirianni opted for player health with no chance at a first-round bye. Hurts threw for a mere 110 yards in his last outing against the Bills, with under 50% of his passes finding the target.

    San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy managed just 127 yards on 19 of 27 passing against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. For this week’s game, oddsmakers set Hurts’ total around 208 yards, while Purdy’s is near 228.

    DraftKings

    FanDuel

    Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts got the day off against the Commanders Sunday.

    Passing touchdown props

    After five touchdown passes in a two-game span, Hurts had a down week against the Bills. He had just one touchdown throw, as the Eagles were shut out in the second half. Purdy did not throw a touchdown pass against the Seahawks.

    DraftKings

    FanDuel

    Philly bar Ladder 15 turns away 49ers fans who were planning a playoff takeover: ‘We were backing our city’

    Rushing yard props

    Like Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley also had the week off against the Commanders. He ran for 68 yards a week earlier against the Bills, following a 132-yard performance in Washington in Week 16. Christian McCaffrey had 23 yards on 8 carries against the Seahawks last Saturday.

    DraftKings

    FanDuel

    Will George Kittle lead all receivers in yards on Sunday?

    Receiving yard props

    Wide receiver A.J. Brown joined Hurts and Barkley as an inactive last week, while DeVonta Smith played briefly in the final game of the regular season. Smith finished the game with three catches for 52 yards, pushing himself over 1,000 yards for the third straight season. McCaffrey had 6 catches for 34 yards and Jauan Jennings totaled 35 yards on 4 catches vs. Seattle.

    DraftKings

    FanDuel

    Eagles-49ers film: Christian McCaffrey’s touches, dangerous George Kittle, and where Brock Purdy struggles

    Touchdown scorers

    In Week 18, Tank Bigsby and Grant Calcaterra were the Eagles only touchdown scorers, but that was without most of the Birds starters playing. The 49ers were held without a touchdown against Seattle.

    DraftKings

    FanDuel

  • Stories that could shake Philly sports in 2026, from Lane Johnson and A.J. Brown to Bryce Harper and Shane Steichen

    Stories that could shake Philly sports in 2026, from Lane Johnson and A.J. Brown to Bryce Harper and Shane Steichen

    You never see the biggest stories coming. That’s kind of by definition, isn’t it?

    The year 2025 was relatively quiet one as far as seismic activity goes. The Sixers’ arena switcheroo probably was the biggest pure news story next to the Eagles’ Super Bowl win. Compare that to 2024, in which Saquon Barkley and Paul George signed, Jason Kelce retired, Matvei Michikov arrived, and the Sixers went belly-up. That, in addition to Carter Hart being arrested, Cutter Gauthier forcing a trade, and Haason Reddick being traded.

    It’s impossible to say whether the earth will shake in 2026. But if it does, here is how it could happen:

    The thrill of victory and the exasperation of trying to feel good about it define the 2025 Eagles

    1. Lane Johnson announces his retirement after 13 NFL seasons and leaves the Eagles scrambling.

    At this point, nothing suggests that Johnson will seriously consider retiring after the season. The contract extension he signed last year tacked on $40 million in guarantees in 2025 and 2026. That’s a pretty good reason for Eagles fans to take comfort, especially if Johnson returns to the field for the postseason, as is expected. He’d be walking away from some serious money if he retired this offseason.

    At the same time, we’d be foolish not to at least acknowledge the possibility, given the dramatic implications it would have on the Eagles’ roster. Johnson has been the single biggest reason the Eagles have seamlessly bridged their competitive teams through a rotating cast of quarterbacks and head coaches. There will be no replacing him, at least not immediately.

    Johnson has been open about the punishment that the NFL has inflicted upon his body over the years. That’s worth noting after a regular season in which he missed seven games because of injury for the first time since 2020 and just the second time in his career.

    At 35 years and 239 days, Johnson is the second-oldest offensive lineman to play at least 300 snaps this season. Only Kelvin Beachum has him beat at 36 years, 207 days. Since 2015, only seven offensive linemen have a season of 12-plus starts at age 36 or older.

    Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown shown after making a catch against the Bills on Sunday in Buffalo.

    2. A.J. Brown gets traded for a conditional 2027 second round pick that can become a first; Eagles immediately invest in a replacement.

    Forget about Brown’s public grumbling for a moment. Consider instead this fact: In the 10 games in which Brown has seen eight or more targets, the Eagles are 5-5. In the five games in which he has seen fewer than eight targets, the Eagles are 5-0. Kind of strange, isn’t it?

    Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but Brown’s on-field performance clearly has dipped this season. In his first three years with the Eagles, he looked like a receiver who belonged in the conversation for best in the sport. That hasn’t been the case this season. The explosiveness, the burst, the strength at the point of attack and in the air appear to be diminished. The numbers reflect it. His 8.3 yards-per-target is down nearly 20% from 2022 to 2024 (10.3), as is his yards per reception (12.9, down from 15.4) and his catch percentage (52.1, down from 56.3).

    Brown is at an age at which decline can come fast at the wide receiver position. Cooper Kupp hasn’t broken 850 yards in a season since turning 29. Same goes for Brandin Cooks and Odell Beckham Jr.

    DeAndre Hopkins averaged 1,380 yards per season from 25-28 years old and 644 yards at 29-30 years old. Adam Thielen averaged 6.4 catches and 82.8 yards per game at 27-28 and 4.2 catches and 53.7 yards at 29-30.

    The Eagles wouldn’t be foolish to rest their starters in Week 18. But they’d better be right.

    Alshon Jeffery, Allen Robinson, Michael Thomas, Tyreek Hill … the list goes on. For Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, and Antonio Brown, the drop-off came at 30 or 31.

    There are exceptions: Davante Adams, Keenan Allen, Mike Evans. But they are very much exceptions.

    To justify trading Brown, the Eagles almost certainly would have to have a replacement lined up. Jahan Dotson clearly isn’t a suitable second option. In the four regular-season games Brown has missed over the last two seasons, Dotson has a total of five catches for 25 yards. In those four games, the Eagles’ total wide receiver production outside of DeVonta Smith was 20 catches for 94 yards.

    The Eagles would save about $7 million against the cap if they traded Brown after June 1. They might be able to accommodate a free-agent offer to somebody like Alec Pierce, the Colts deep threat whose all-around game took an intriguing step forward this season. But there are a lot of teams that will be in the free-agent market this season, with the Patriots and dream quarterback Drake Maye at the top of the list.

    Even if Brown isn’t the player at 29 years old that he was at 27, he would still be difficult to replace. Combined with the limited financial upside of moving him, we’ll have to see this story to believe it.

    Sixers center Joel Embiid has scored 27 or more points in his last three games.

    3. Joel Embiid helps to lead the Sixers to a first-round playoff upset and sparks trade interest among teams desperate to catch the Thunder and Spurs.

    Embiid entered the new year having scored 27-plus points in three straight games. That counts as an accomplishment these days. He looked like an empty husk of his former self in his first nine games of the 2025-26 season, averaging just 18.2 points on a woeful .441 effective field goal percentage.

    Question is, what if Embiid’s recent uptick in minutes and production is a signal that he has more left in the tank than we’ve given him credit for? He still needs to show a lot more defensively. And he has yet to play more than 71 minutes in a seven-day span. But he just logged 38 minutes in an overtime win over the Grizzlies, four days after playing a season-high 32 minutes in a loss to the Bulls.

    With three years and $188 million left on his contract after this season, Embiid would probably have to be playing at his prime MVP level to have positive trade value. A more realistic question is whether he can play well enough to change the Sixers’ short-term narrative.

    4. Eagles hire Shane Steichen or Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator.

    The Colts would be foolish to fire Steichen, who has somehow managed to put together a 25-25 record with the following starting quarterbacks: Gardner Minshew (7-6), Daniel Jones (8-5), Anthony Richardson (8-7), Joe Flacco (2-4), and Philip Rivers (0-3). But here is what owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon told the Athletic recently:

    Tanner McKee is ready to ‘play fast’ in his next opportunity to start at quarterback with the Eagles

    “Most people don’t like change,” said Irsay-Gordon, who has been patrolling the sidelines with a clipboard all season. “I think there’s something wrong with me, but I feel like it is the one thing that is a guarantee. I think it can be exciting.”

    Even if the Colts part ways with Steichen, a team like the Giants could easily snatch him up. I can’t imagine Nick Sirianni would demote himself from head coach in order to restore Steichen as the play-caller. It definitely would be a heck of a story.

    McDaniel might be a more realistic option, although he may be in the process of saving his job by leading the Dolphins to five wins in seven games.

    5. Bryce Harper takes another step backward, as do the Phillies.

    There has been enough passive-aggressive weirdness percolating between Harper and management that we have to at least flag him as the main character in a potential major story. Dave Dombrowski rankled Harper when he mused about Harper’s eliteness, but it is a legitimate question. At 32 years old, Harper is coming off his worst season in a decade. Another step backward would raise some serious concerns. And create some serious headlines.

  • Nick Sirianni defends taunting Bills fans: ‘We had fun winning that game’

    Nick Sirianni defends taunting Bills fans: ‘We had fun winning that game’

    During the 2023 season, an emotional Nick Sirianni taunted Kansas City Chiefs fans following a narrow win by the Eagles.

    “Hey! I don’t hear any [expletive] anymore Chiefs fans!” Sirianni yelled as he left the field. “See ya!”

    Things went downhill from there. The Eagles went on to lose five of their next six games in an epic collapse that cost them an NFC East title, followed by an early playoff exit.

    That trash-talking Sirianni was back following Sunday’s win against Buffalo, where the Birds coach offered a similar-sounding taunt aimed at Bills fans.

    “There was a lot of talking by those Buffalo fans coming in. Not so much anymore!” Sirianni shouted as he exited the field. “Not so much anymore.”

    Wide receiver A.J. Brown, who was walking in next to Sirianni, didn’t appear too impressed by his coach’s outburst. Neither was 94.1 WIP morning show host Joe DeCamara.

    “Can he just not help himself?” DeCamara said during Monday’s broadcast. “I think he’s a great coach. This is an aspect of his thing I could do without.”

    So what got Sirianni so worked up? During an interview Tuesday morning on WIP, Sirianni said it didn’t have anything to do with growing up in nearby Jamestown, N.Y., or having friends and family in the stands. Instead, he offered a simpler explanation.

    “Football is fun,” Sirianni said. “It’s OK to show emotion. It’s fun to show emotion. Like, it’s OK to be excited.”

    Sirianni certainly hasn’t been shy showing his emotion during his five-year tenure as Eagles coach. It has led to some awkward moments, like when he yelled at Birds fans in the stands last season or was caught mugging for the camera after the Eagles went up 14-0 on the New York Giants during a 2023 playoff game.

    The outbursts might cause some fans to cringe, but you can’t question the results. Since Sirianni took over as head coach in 2021, the Eagles have advanced to the playoffs five straight seasons, played in two Super Bowls, and took home a Lombardi Trophy last season. Sirianni already ranks second in wins in franchise history (including the playoffs), and is just one of five head coaches in NFL history with a career winning percentage above .700.

    Even during Sunday’s game, Sirianni was seen on the sideline jawing with Bills players and celebrating following a first-quarter touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert.

    “We had fun winning that game,” Sirianni said. “And, yeah, you’re going to be emotional after the game and you’re going to be emotional in the game.”

    “I love seeing our guys show emotion after they make a big play, and I show emotion after they make a big play,” Sirianni added. “That’s one of the reasons why you get into coaching. You can’t make plays anymore, and you want to help other people make plays.”

    No update on whether Eagles starters will play

    If Sirianni has made a decision on whether to play or rest his starters Sunday against the Washington Commanders, he didn’t open up about it Tuesday morning.

    “We still have time,” Sirianni said. “There’s benefits to rest, there’s benefits to play, and we’ve just got to do what we think is best for the football team.”

    The Eagles will likely enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and face either the San Francisco 49ers or Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round. But the Birds could move up to the No. 2 seed and face the Green Bay Packers with a win Sunday and a loss by the Chicago Bears against the Detroit Lions.

    Rams loss eliminates one Eagles wild-card opponent as playoffs approach

    Columnist David Murphy thinks Sirianni’s lack of a straight answer is a signal he’s giving serious thought to resting his starters.

    “If the Eagles punt on Week 18, it will allow the coaching staff and front office to spend an extra week preparing for the playoffs. It will give Jalen Hurts and the rest of the starters the ability to participate in that scouting and game-planning process,” Murphy wrote. “That’s a big, big deal.”

  • Since Jalen Hurts started forcing the ball to A.J. Brown, the Eagles have stopped winning

    Since Jalen Hurts started forcing the ball to A.J. Brown, the Eagles have stopped winning

    Three seismic developments occurred over the past three Eagles games, all losses. Seismic, because the developments involved the Eagles’ best current defender, the best receiver in club history, and perhaps the best player in the history of the franchise.

    First, in an apparent response to complaints about his role in the offense, the Eagles began force-feeding wide receiver A.J. Brown. He was targeted 35 times in the three games in question. He’d been targeted 37 times in the five previous games.

    Second, right tackle Lane Johnson, who might be the greatest Eagle in history, injured his foot. The Eagles win 66% of the time when Johnson plays, while their winning percentage without him is 34%, and falling.

    Eagles vs. Raiders predictions: Our writers pick a winner for Week 15

    Third, defensive tackle Jalen Carter was either hurting or absent. Carter missed the loss Monday night against the Chargers after undergoing a procedure on his shoulders, which had rendered him virtually useless in the two previous games.

    Nothing can be done to remedy the conditions of Johnson or Carter. Johnson issued a cryptic Twitter/X message after Monday night’s game that indicated his return might come sooner than later, and he wasn’t put on injured reserve, but he’s going to miss Sunday’s game against the visiting Raiders. Carter isn’t on IR either, but he’s out, too.

    Which leaves A.J.

    He was getting fewer and fewer looks. The ball just wasn’t finding him. He wanted the ball more. Hell, I wanted him to get the ball more. After all, with due respect to the golden oldies and one year of Terrell Owens, the Eagles have never had a receiver quite like him.

    But getting it to him has spelled disaster.

    Me, Me, Me

    After the Eagles beat Tampa Bay in Game 4, Brown, who had two catches for 7 yards, posted a passage of scripture that indicated he was being ignored: “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”

    Three games later, after a win at Minnesota, Brown posted, “Using me but not using me.” He had four catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

    Murphy: Benching Jalen Hurts would be short-sighted, but it isn’t ridiculous to wonder

    A week later, after a win in Green Bay, Brown was seen on a livestream playing a video game with a friend and saying the offense was a “(bleep)-show” and that he was “struggling” after catching two passes for 13 yards.

    Brown might have been indiscrete, but he wasn’t wrong: He needs to be included, if not featured, in order for the Eagles’ offense to function properly. What the past three games proved is that he does not need to be featured in order for the football team to win.

    A day after the “(bleep)-show” scandal, very publicly, on the sideline at practice, owner Jeffrey Lurie convinced Brown to stop publicly humiliating the team. Brown has gone silent.

    He also has been targeted a whopping 46 times. The first 11 times came against the Lions, a game the Eagles won.

    That was also the last time the Eagles had a healthy Lane Johnson and Jalen Carter.

    Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown has been targeted 35 times over the past three games, up from 37 in his previous five.

    Correlation equaling causation?

    How do the issues fit together?

    Well, while the Eagles beat the Lions, they scored only 16 points — not exactly an offensive feast. They won not because Brown was targeted 11 times but because Carter had his second-best game of the season and the defense surrendered just nine points. The Birds scored just 10 in Green Bay the week before, but Carter & Co. limited the Packers to seven.

    The offense wasn’t humming, but neither was it hurting the cause, in large part because the offensive line remained viable.

    Without Johnson, it is less so.

    Why Jalen Hurts plans to ‘stay the course’ after turnovers stalled the Eagles offense

    Before Johnson was injured, Hurts had committed three turnovers in 10 games. The team was 8-2.

    Since Johnson’s injury, Hurts has seven turnovers in three games. The team is 0-3.

    The defense has been pretty good in the past three games, but just before Carter wore down it had again developed into the type of elite unit that led the Eagles to their second Super Bowl win.

    The defense has not been good enough to compensate for Hurts, who is playing the worst football of his career.

    But is it because he’s trying to force the ball to A.J. Brown?

    What about us?

    Before Brown’s bellyaching got him more looks, bookend receiver DeVonta Smith was on pace for a career-high 1,241 receiving yards. That pace has been cut in half in the past four games.

    Asked Friday why his inclusion and production had slowed, Smith paused, then replied:

    “Um … ” five seconds passed as he looked into the distance and mused: ” … I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for that.”

    No one can accuse Smith of being indiscrete.

    Similarly, tight end Dallas Geodert was on pace for 72 catches, 13 more than his career best, and in a contract year, to boot. His pace has slowed by about 25%.

    First-time playcaller Kevin Patullo runs an offense that is both predictable and flavorless.

    Meanwhile, after projecting to fewer than 900 yards for 2025, Brown now has a chance for a fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season.

    There are plenty of issues with the Eagles’ offense.

    The biggest problem: The offensive line, due to rampant injury and aggregate fatigue, has declined from being the league’s best to being the league average.

    Another problem: First-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who has never before called plays, runs an offense that is both predictable and flavorless.

    The most recent problem: Hurts has become hesitant unless he’s throwing to Brown, usually on the first read.

    All three of those problems get diminished the minute Lane Johnson returns. All three of those problems matter less if Jalen Carter is on the field.

    But the only thing the Eagles can do Sunday is let the ball find A.J. when the ball finds A.J.