Heading into the Eagles’ wild-card matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, fans have plenty of questions surrounding the team’s offense, adjustments they could make in the playoffs, and players who may step up in the postseason.
Before Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field, The Inquirer’s Olivia Reiner took to Reddit for an AMA — or “Ask Me Anything” — to answer reader questions about the team … and the future of its offensive coordinator.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Despite the 11-win season, the offense has felt ‘enigmatic’ (and at times dysfunctional) compared to the defense this year. In your opinion, is the disconnect primarily viewed as a play-calling issue with Kevin Patullo, or are there deeper issues with the offensive players this year?
Reiner: It would be very easy to chalk all of the offense’s dysfunction up to one thing, but I don’t think that’s fair. The blame deserves to be spread around. But just anecdotally speaking, I feel like there have been too many instances this year where Hurts doesn’t have anywhere to go with the ball. He’s been forced to make plays out of structure, whether he’s scrambling for yardage or extending the play.
I think we saw in the season finale with Tanner McKee and the backups what happens when the Eagles don’t have a quarterback who can do those things. Re: the lack of answers, how much is that on Patullo for the play call? How much is that on Hurts for not changing the play if he has the freedom to do so based on what the defense presents before the snap? Or on the offense for not getting to the line fast enough for Hurts to make a change? Only the Eagles really know.
Jalen Hurts’ designed runs have been more frequent during the second half of the season.
What adjustments could we hope to see for the offense to finally get going in the playoffs
Reiner: I’m curious to see if Kevin Patullo calls more designed runs for Jalen Hurts now that the team is in the playoffs and they could be a little less concerned with the self-preservation aspect of it. Hurts has insisted throughout the season that his designed rushes being down are more of a product of the offense, not so much an issue of keeping him healthy, though, although Nick Sirianni has acknowledged the health aspect of it.
I wrote about Hurts’ designed rushes being down this year last month. His rushing ability has the power to help keep defenses honest and open up opportunities for his teammates. That could be the most logical tweak to the offense this late in the game. I wouldn’t expect wholesale changes at this point.
Do you think the eagles offense will be able to get it done if they don’t put together four solid quarters in four straight games?
Reiner: Well, that’s how they’ve won most games this season! Many games have come down to Vic Fangio’s defense playing nearly flawless to bail out an inconsistent offense. A.J. Brown referred to it earlier in the season as the defense putting a “Band-Aid” over the offense’s inability to produce over a full four quarters.
I’m not sure if that method will fly in the playoffs. The competition, of course, gets better in the postseason. But can the Eagles offense suddenly become this consistent, well-oiled machine after sputtering so many times throughout the regular season? I think they’re still going to need the defense to bail them out, and that doesn’t sound like a recipe for success going forward.
Jahan Dotson has just 18 catches on the season. Could he be more impactful in the postseason?
If you had to pick a player likely to take a big step forward in production in the playoffs, who would it be? Is anyone unexpected going to break out?
Reiner: Jahan Dotson was kind of that player last postseason, especially in the Super Bowl. I’m more surprised that he hasn’t been more of a factor in the passing game during the regular season given his contributions in February. Maybe he comes down with a couple of key catches in the postseason. Even if it’s just a couple, that would be notable, given that he has just 18 catches on the season (one fewer than 2024).
Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, do you expect major changes to the coordinator staff this offseason? Hopefully that change involves Kevin Patullo.
Reiner: This is pure speculation and not reporting: I would think that Sunday’s outcome has to be taken into consideration regarding any changes at the offensive coordinator position, and the outcome of any additional playoff games. A wild-card exit wouldn’t reflect well on anybody. Another Super Bowl win would. This postseason run is important for Kevin Patullo, as my colleague David Murphy wrote about this morning.
To check out the rest of Olivia’s AMA, click here.
With all due respect to Ralph Waldo Emerson, a door can be a wall sometimes, too.
Take poor Kevin Patullo, for instance.
The goal of every NFL assistant on either side of the football is to eventually land a coordinator gig. It can be a tough slog. In addition to the long hours and relative anonymity, a position coach must contend with the weight of the knowledge that his fate is only partially within his control. There are a lot of positions on a football team, and only so many ways to distinguish oneself from his peers. At times, a promotion to play-calling duties can feel more like a function of internal politics and personal relationships than good old-fashioned gridiron merit.
Last February, after climbing the coaching ranks for two decades, Patullo finally got his chance to hold the laminated play sheet and talk into the magic microphone. Two of the last three men to hold the position with the Eagles had landed head coaching gigs within a year. His door had finally opened. All Patullo had to do now was repeat as Super Bowl champion and make sure a historically great running game didn’t take a step backward despite a short offseason and a tougher schedule and another year of age tacked on to a veteran core that had remained uniquely healthy in 2024.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense have sputtered under coordinator Kevin Patullo.
I’ll pause here to acknowledge the counterargument from Eagles fans.
Boooooooooooooooo!
Point taken. I’m not trying to paint Patullo as Gavroche in a headset. But I do wonder sometimes if he feels a little bit like Wile E. Coyote trying to run through a tunnel.
The Eagles offense took a lot of well-deserved heat during the regular season. Patullo has overseen a unit that fell from seventh in the league in scoring under Kellen Moore in 2024 with 463 points to 19th with 379 points. The Eagles likewise saw a significant drop in total yards, from eighth in the NFL to 24th, and yards per play, from 11th to 22nd. But the numbers also say that the bulk of the decline in overall production is attributable to something other than the passing concepts that have become the rage bait of choice of every amateur internet film sleuth with an NFL+ subscription. The Eagles offensive line was unsustainably dominant last season. This year, that dominance has not been sustained.
You can see it with your eyes. The numbers will back them up. Last season, Eagles rushers averaged 3.2 yards before contact, as good of a common statistical measure as there is for judging run-blocking. This year, they have averaged 2.6 yards. The difference between those two numbers is basically the difference between their overall yards-per-carry average last season and this year. They averaged 1.7 yards after contact in 2024, and 1.6 yards after contact in 2025.
Once can certainly argue that the selection and sequencing of plays can have an impact on an offensive line’s ability to block. One can also argue that the best coordinators are counterpunchers. What worked for a team last year, against last year’s opponents, may require adaptation in order to fit the present reality. But one can’t argue that the best coordinators can turn Fred Johnson into Lane Johnson, or Tyler Steen into Mekhi Becton. Nor can they fix whatever physical ailments have limited players like Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens.
The absence of star tackle Lane Johnson with a foot injury has not helped the Eagles offense.
Patullo certainly has a role in overcoming these things. I’m just not convinced that this year’s offense would look any different if Moore had remained at coordinator.
The pertinent question for Patullo and the Eagles now is what the offense will look like moving forward. This is a weird time of year. Sunday’s wild-card game against the 49ers could be the start of a month of football that leaves us memory-holing our four months of angst. Or, it could be the start of the offseason, and a litany of questions that sound way closer to January 2024 than January 2025.
The 49ers are something of a fresh start for Patullo. A new opportunity. The offensive line is rested. Lane Johnson is expected to be back. The Eagles have essentially had two weeks to prepare for the playoffs after their conscious mailing-in of Week 18. The opponent is ripe for a statement. The 49ers defense is a legacy unit that right now looks a lot closer to Hewlett Packard than Apple.
The Niners are a lot worse than even those of us who know how bad they’ve been probably realize. They finished the regular season with one of the NFL’s 10 worst defenses in yards per play (5.6, 22nd), net yards per pass attempt (6.5, 23rd) and turnover percentage (8.4, 23rd). The overall numbers looked good in Week 18 against the Seahawks, but Seattle punted once and twice had the ball inside the 10-yard-line and walked away with no points. All told the Seahawks left at least nine points and more accurately closer to 13 on the field. This, in a game when they only really had seven possessions.
Over the last four weeks, the 49ers have allowed 138 yards on 17 carries to Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, 92 on 17 to D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, and 171 on 33 to Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Bryce Huff is starting for them. Enough said.
Patullo needs this one.
Potential replacements are no doubt keeping a keen eye. Mike McDaniel, the former 49ers offensive coordinator recently fired by the Dolphins, is one of the best run-game schemers in the league. Since he arrived in Miami in 2022, the Dolphins rank sixth in the NFL rushing average at 4.5 yards per attempt. Kliff Kingsbury, who recently parted ways with the Commanders, led an offense that ranked third in the NFL in yards per carry in his two seasons at the helm. That includes 5.4 yards per attempt this year, despite missing Jayden Daniels for much of it.
Coach Nick Sirianni with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo before the Eagles played the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 19.
The Eagles moved decisively at the coordinator position in 2023. With four losses in their last seven regular-season games and a wild-card loss, 2025 would look different only in the level of drama that accompanied a late-season swoon.
The Eagles are better than the 49ers. They need to be a team that scores plenty of points against this sort of opponent, in this sort of situation. This is a time of year when the scoreboard matters much more than individual coaching careers. Sunday will matter for both.
If someone told you 18 weeks ago that the Eagles would be kicking off the playoffs at home with a healthy roster, you probably would have been quite excited.
On the other hand, if you read and listened to what the national media has said about the team’s rocky road, you might be less cheerful.
As the team prepares for its wild-card matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday (4:30 p.m., Fox29), here’s a look at some of the recent chatter surrounding the Birds, from their evolving run game to the current revolving door of NFL head coaches — and how that could impact Philly …
Hurts, by design
There has probably been a time while watching the Eagles this season when you’ve wondered where some of those great play calls from last season went.
A significant piece missing from the playbook, and one many fans have been clamoring to see deployed more, is designed runs for Jalen Hurts. The fifth-year quarterback posted career lows in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in 2025, with 45 fewer rushing attempts than last year.
According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, the Eagles have been working toward increasing Hurts’ rushing attempts just in time to face a 49ers defense dealing with a number of injuries to its linebacker unit. Veterans Eric Kendricks and Kyzir White (a former Eagle) could start Sunday.
“The Eagles have quietly expanded Hurts’ rushing volume in recent weeks,” Barnwell wrote. “With the offense seemingly picking up one third-and-long per game with a quarterback draw. Leaving sneaks, scrambles and kneels aside, Hurts had just 10 designed runs through Week 10. The Eagles then gave him 17 designed runs over the next six games, yielding 100 yards and seven first downs. After a week of rest and with the stakes raised, I would expect to see more Hurts in the QB run game, which adds another efficient play to the offense and helps make life easier for Barkley.”
Nick Sirianni has the best winning percentage and third most wins of any coach in Eagles franchise history.
The NFL’s coaching carousel
This week, including Black Monday, saw several NFL head coaches fired. Mike McDaniel and Kevin Stefanski, excused from their duties with the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns, respectively, headline a lengthy list of talented play callers, but no name looms quite as large as John Harbaugh.
Let go on Tuesday after 18 years with the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh, the former Super Bowl winner and AP Coach of the Year, will be a hot commodity.
Nick Wright, host of Fox Sports’ First Things First, believes that if the Eagles struggle Sunday, Howie Roseman could boot Sirianni for a chance at landing the newly single Harbaugh.
“If Philly loses in bad fashion, I think that is the exact type of perfect fit for Harbaugh,” Wright said. “Harbaugh, I don’t want to say he’s not a schematics guy, but he’s not an offensive coordinator or a defensive coordinator, he’s a culture CEO head coach. Howie Roseman wants to pick the coordinators anyway. He’s not going to be in the offensive game plan the way some of these young, brilliant head coaches would want to be as it is. We have seen them be very bold with championship-caliber and championship-winning head coaches.”
“I do think Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman are the type of people that will say, ‘Is he better?’” Wright finished. “If we can get the guy who’s better, shouldn’t we do that? I just think they are fearless in that.”
If firing Sirianni a year after winning the Super Bowl for a coach that last saw playoff success during the Barack Obama presidential administration sounds ludicrous, just remember that Wright is the same guy who picked the Chiefs to three-peat and said the Eagles had a “Jalen Hurts problem.”
Kevin Patullo is in his first season as the Eagles offensive coordinator.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also believes a coaching shakeup may be in Philadelphia’s future, with many around the league questioning Kevin Patullo’s job security after a difficult year as the Birds’ play caller.
“Some around the league are wondering about the future of Kevin Patullo because of the offense’s struggles,” Fowler wrote. “Patullo has clout in Philadelphia because of his strong relationships with key players and a long-standing position as a Nick Sirianni confidant. The offensive line’s quality of play has certainly not been the same as last year’s, which is bad timing for Patullo. The offense ranks 24th in yards per game, which is tough considering the overall talent of the group.”
Patullo might not be the only assistant coach on his way out, with Fowler also reporting that certain defensive coaches might have earned themselves a promotion elsewhere.
“Additionally, defensive backs coach Christian Parker should be in the mix on the coordinator carousel,” Fowler wrote. “Teams are intrigued by him. And defensive line coach Clint Hurtt has coordinator experience and has helped in developing DTs Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, which could lead to opportunities elsewhere.”
The Eagles’ offense has been the team’s biggest question mark throughout the season. So when Sirianni announced that the team’s offensive starters would sit out the Eagles’ Week 18 matchup vs. the Commanders, it drew plenty of criticism — especially with the No. 2 seed still on the line.
Following the team’s 24-17 loss to the Josh Johnson-led Commanders, criticism intensified even further, but not in the mind of Hall of Fame quarterback and two-time MVP Kurt Warner. Speaking on ESPN’s The Rich Eisen Show, Warner explained his belief that, despite the offense’s inadequacies, fewer reps and more rest was the right way to go.
“Sometimes it pays such huge dividends early in the playoffs when you get a chance to rest and recover,” Warner said. “When other teams are beat up and going through physical games, I just think that lends itself to the advantage for the Philadelphia Eagles, even though I’m with you, I don’t know what we’re going to get from the offense. I don’t know what they’re going to try to do offensively, but San Francisco’s defense hasn’t been great. They haven’t been able to get pressure, giving up some yards in the run game.
“So I just feel like, from a matchup standpoint, as struggling as this Philly offense has been I feel like it’s a good matchup for Philly against that defense to start the playoffs.
Kevin Patullo entered Tuesday’s regularly scheduled news conference with the Eagles’ second-half performance against the Buffalo Bills top of mind.
After a fairly efficient first half in Sunday night’s win, the offense was neutralized, mustering 17 yards on 17 plays in the second.
The Eagles offensive coordinator said the coaching staff rewatched those 17 plays on the plane ride back to Philadelphia. The coaches went through them again on Monday, then returned to them Tuesday afternoon, all in an effort to get to the root of their issues.
The common theme in the second half? Those persistent negative plays on early downs. Patullo acknowledged that four of the Eagles’ second-half drives featured inefficient first downs to put them in second-and-long. Those second-and-longs resulted in three third-and-longs.
Saquon Barkley and the Eagles ground game again struggled to gain momentum against the Bills.
“When you’re doing that, when that’s happening, it’s going to be very hard to move the ball,” Patullo said.
Most of those early downs were running plays. Saquon Barkley averaged just 1.75 yards per carry in the second half (three first-down carries, five second-down carries). He had two rushes for negative yardage and two that went for 1 yard each.
Patullo said in those situations, all the offense needs is a spark. It nearly had one late in the third quarter when Jalen Hurts initially completed a 17-yard pass to DeVonta Smith. After the Bills successfully challenged the ruling, the play was wiped off and the Eagles were back in third-and-long, putting them back in a rut they couldn’t escape.
“Those are the frustrating pieces that we’re looking at as a staff,” Patullo said. “How do we get out of those? What do we need to do better as a coaching staff? How do we execute better? Because, really, it’s not just one person, one thing, one play style, one call, it’s everything. We’ve got to look at everything. So it never comes down to one thing. But it’s the whole, full picture of everybody working together, making sure we’re on the same page of getting those done.”
Patullo said there is “something we kind of see a little bit right now” in terms of a fix, but he didn’t expand upon his findings.
Offensive identity?
The starting offense may not be able to work out those kinks in a game this week. Nick Sirianni said Monday that he was in the process of deciding whether the Eagles would rest their starters in the season finale against the Washington Commanders, even with the NFC’s No. 2 seed still up for grabs.
So, if Hurts & Co. are finished with the regular season, what would Patullo consider the personality of the offense after 16 games? And what does he want to lean into heading into the playoffs?
“I think there’s some things that we’re starting to see now that this is kind of who we want to be going forward,” Patullo said. “It’s kind of popped up as we’ve gone on throughout the season, because we’ve played such different games with different opponents that we’ve had and different styles of defenses. I think there’s certain things that Jalen’s doing a really, really nice job of, and we’ll continue to lean into that and just his exposure to things and experience in the playoffs will really help us going down the long road.”
Patullo wasn’t clear or direct in his response. Still, it’s evident that the Eagles want to establish the running game and build passing plays off those looks, whether they’re utilizing under-center runs and play-action passes or run/pass options from the shotgun. The problem is that they’ve been inconsistent in that endeavor, as evidenced by the tale of two halves that characterized Sunday’s performance.
Neither the stats nor the eye test reflects well on the Eagles offense this season. The Eagles average 5.26 yards per play, the worst clip in the last five seasons under Sirianni. Their 36.7% third-down conversion rate is also the lowest in that span.
Has the Eagles offense reached its potential? Or is there a chance, with all of its talent, that it can flip the switch in the playoffs?
“I wouldn’t say there’s a switch,” Patullo said. “I think we’ve just been a little inconsistent. We know we have it in us to do what we need to do, because we’ve done it in spots. That’s what we’ve got to really lean into and press into and be detailed and do what we have to do.”
Jalen Carter (98) shook off the rust and made a significant impact in the win over the Bills.
Carter, the 24-year-old defensive tackle, had been sidelined for three weeks while recovering from a pair of shoulder procedures. Campbell, the rookie inside linebacker, started his first game since Week 8 with Nakobe Dean out after hurting his hamstring against the Washington Commanders two weeks ago.
Both Carter and Campbell had substantial workloads and made the most of them. Carter played 76% of the defensive snaps and posted a sack, a pass breakup, and a blocked extra point, while Campbell played 93% of the snaps and had seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Vic Fangio said Carter “played well” despite the layoff.
“Really didn’t know how he would play, ’cause he missed three games, I believe,” the defensive coordinator said. “Didn’t practice until this past week, during that time. And I thought he played well. And I think he’s off to a good start. Hopefully he’ll build on that and play good down the stretch here and into the playoffs.”
Similarly, Fangio spoke highly of Campbell, who could have more opportunities in the season finale.
“I thought he did good,” Fangio said. “Obviously, there’s plays he’d like to have back and do over. But we don’t get mulligans. But I do think it will help him moving forward if he has to play again this week for Nakobe, and then if he has to be called upon in the playoff game.”
The quieter his offense is, the louder Nick Sirianni gets. There he was Sunday night, strutting down a tunnel at Highmark Stadium in the aftermath of the Eagles’ 13-12 victory over the Bills, crowing about how all those Buffalo fans had nothing more to say, how they didn’t have so much bleep to talk anymore. He caught up to A.J. Brown and turned to look him in the eye, and Brown shot a smirk back that said, Coach, did you watch us try to move the ball after halftime?
Did Sirianni watch it? Of course. Did he care? My guess: only so much. If you’re complaining about the Eagles’ impotent offense and unimaginative play-calling both from Sunday’s second half and from several previous games this season, if you’re waiting for Sirianni and coordinator Kevin Patullo to have some eureka moment and suddenly start dazzling everyone with their play designs and a wide-open style of offense, you’re missing the key to understanding the 2025 Eagles.
They want to play like this. They want to rely on their defense. They want to limit every and any available possibility that their offense and special teams might commit a turnover. It took some time and some trial and some error, but they’ve settled on an approach, and this is it.
Running back Saquon Barkley (right) embraces defensive tackle Jalen Carter after the Eagles defense stopped the Bills on a two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter Sunday.
By they, I don’t necessarily mean Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman. They’re happy with the wins, to be sure, and they’re surely thrilled that Roseman and Vic Fangio have worked to create a defense of such quality that the Eagles can gain all of 17 yards in a single half and still hold on to beat a Super Bowl contender, which is what happened Sunday. But you can pretty much guarantee that Lurie, in particular, is looking at the money and salary-cap space that he has allocated to Brown, Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, and Cam Jurgens and asking himself, Did I really spend all that money so Jalen could hand the ball to Saquon on delayed inside handoffs in second-and-long situations?
No, by they, I mean Sirianni. If he rented a small plane, attached to its tail a banner that read, WHEN WE DON’T TURN IT OVER WE WIN, and flew it over Lincoln Financial Field, he could not be more overt about his intentions here, about the way he wants the Eagles to play. He even put the lie to the notion that nothing revealing comes out of HBO Max’s Hard Knocks series anymore, because the cameras captured him in a team meeting earlier this month spelling out this strategy.
“This is what it’s about this week,” he said to an auditorium full of players. “We’ve got to be obsessed with the football. We’ve got to be obsessed with the [expletive] football. When we take care of the football, it is so hard to beat us. When we turn the football over as a defense, it is so hard to beat us. …
“This is the most important fundamental we have. We’ve got to be so locked in to this, because as we continue on this year, this is what presses us: the ball, the ball, the ball, the ball. We win when we take care of the football. We win when we turn them over on defense.”
Here is Nick Sirianni’s message to the team prior to last weeks game from Hard Knocks.
He is hammering home the importance of turnovers saying “we gotta be obsessed with the football.”
He stressed when the Eagles take care of the football they are very hard to beat as well as… pic.twitter.com/3kqo1UagBn
During Sirianni’s five-year tenure as their head coach, the Eagles have won 42 of the 44 games in which they have committed fewer turnovers than their opponents; that record includes Sunday’s win, when Josh Allen lost a fumble while trying to fend off Jaelan Phillips and the Eagles did nothing so daring that might have cost them possession of the football. That 42-2 mark is a stark and striking statistic, one that has a talismanic quality for Sirianni. He believes in its power so deeply that he is willing to bet that the Eagles can build an early lead, then hold any opponent at bay thereafter.
Two games from the last five weeks are particularly insightful in this regard. On Nov. 23, the Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 24-21, after getting out to an early 21-point lead. On Dec. 8, they moved the ball well against the Los Angeles Chargers but still lost, 22-19 in overtime, largely because Hurts threw four interceptions and lost a fumble. One could certainly conclude from those losses that the Eagles should have continued to be aggressive on offense, that it would be a mistake for them to dial back their aggressiveness. They tore up the Dallas defense for that game’s first 15½ minutes, and it took an all-time terrible performance from Hurts, maybe the worst of his career, to cost them a victory against the Chargers.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni banters with Buffalo Bills fans after Sunday’s victory in Orchard Park, N.Y.
But after scoring a combined 60 points against a couple of bad teams (the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders), the Eagles went right back to being conservative against a good team, the Bills. The lesson that Sirianni took from the Dallas and L.A. losses wasn’t, In one game, we took our foot off the gas pedal, and it came back to bite us. In the other, Jalen had the kind of game that he’s unlikely to have again. So we can afford to open things up. No, the lesson he took was, We opened things up, and we lost. We can’t afford to do that again.
Can the Eagles return to the Super Bowl and win it again this way? Yes, they can. But that doesn’t mean they will, and even if they do, their journey there will be stressful and tenuous, with winter storms and giant potholes. But this is the road they’ve chosen. So stop mentioning the firepower that they have on offense, the players whose talents are being wasted. Stop arguing over whether Hurts is a winning winner who just wins or a fraud who has been propped up by the infrastructure around him. Those discussions are pointless. This is who the Eagles have been this season. This is who they are. This is who they’re going to be. They don’t have Trent Dilfer at quarterback, but they’re going to play like they do. Get used to it.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Jalen Hurts sat at his locker stall and nodded as Nick Sirianni spoke. The quarterback listened intently to his coach until he ended the conversation with an adage that summed up the Eagles’ defensive-minded 13-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
“Hey,” Hurts said to a parting Sirianni, “a win’s a win.”
They mostly have defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit to thank. Special teams should get kudos as well. And lastly, they should give gratitude to Bills coach Sean McDermott, who shockingly went for two and the win despite the ineptitude of the Eagles offense in the second half.
For more than three quarters, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen was rendered mortal by the Eagles defense. But he flipped a switch and drove the Bills to two touchdowns in the final frame as Hurts and Co. kept going three-and-out.
McDermott’s team would have had all the momentum going into overtime. But Fangio’s group answered the bell once more and hurried Allen into throwing his two-point conversion attempt wide of receiver Khalil Shakir.
It might have been the wind that followed a steady rain at Highmark Stadium, but a collective sigh of relief seemed to release from an Eagles sideline full of offensive players holding their breath. Namely, Sirianni, Hurts, and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
The second half was that bad, especially when you consider the Bills’ suspect run defense. The Eagles ran 17 plays and gained just 17 yards before Hurts knelt in the victory formation. They produced one first down. Hurts didn’t complete any of his seven pass attempts.
In the first half, the offense seemed to build off the improvements shown in the previous two games. The offense wasn’t exactly high-powered, but it was effective as the Eagles took a 13-0 lead into halftime. But Sirianni and Patullo seemingly took their foot off the pedal.
“We weren’t in a mode of saying, ‘Hey, 13-0 is enough,” Sirianni said. “Not against this quarterback, not against this offense. And so I don’t think our mindset was ever that. But I’ve got to do a better job there in that scenario. I’ll put that on myself.”
This wasn’t the first time this season that the Eagles have watched a double-digit lead evaporate, or the first time the offense has had disparate halves, or the first time the coach’s conservatism has come under question.
Sirianni can add another victory to a remarkable 43-2 record when the Eagles win the turnover margin during his five years at the helm. The offense didn’t give the ball away once, while the defense forced an Allen fumble.
But Hurts seems to be coached into doing anything to avoid turnovers. He had four throwaways and gave himself up for one sack on his eight drop backs in the second half.
“I don’t think it’s a conservative thing to have good ball security and be mindful that the turnover margin directly correlates with winning,” Hurts said. “That’s a truth of the game, and that’s a well-known fact of what we’ve been able to do and how we’ve been able to play over the last five years collectively.”
But how can an offense that gained 174 yards — 110 of them through the air — look almost the polar opposite after a 15-minute break? The Bills made some adjustments in their run defense, according to guard Landon Dickerson. Tackle Fred Johnson said their defense became more “exotic.”
The Eagles ran on first and second down on four of five drives, though. Hurts threw from under center only once — after Saquon Barkley ran for 5 and 10 yards on the first two plays of the second half. On the Eagles’ next 15 plays, they picked up just 2 yards.
Barkley kept running into heavy lines and stacked boxes. Certain Eagles, notably center Cam Jurgens and tight end Dallas Goedert, couldn’t sustain blocks with Bills defenders flying downhill. This was a unit ranked 31st in run defense.
“I don’t know if they had a bead on it, but we just didn’t take advantage of our situations well enough,” Jurgens said. “We can put that on our shoulders and do a little better, especially do better when we’re calling these runs, and we need to make things work.
“And I know I missed a couple blocks I want back.”
There were good moments on the ground through Barkley’s first two carries of the second half. He had 66 yards on 13 rushes up until that point. But he gained just 2 yards on his final six rushes. The Eagles just don’t have consistent enough blocking to run at will and there seemed to be times when Hurts needed to check out of calls against bad looks.
Saquon Barkley fell short of the big game many expected of him against the porous Bills run defense.
“We kind of went back to a consistent theme of playing really well one half and not well the other half, not putting a full game together,” Barkley said. “And, obviously, we know we’ve got to get better at that. Easier to get better from it when it’s a win.
“But, personally, I feel like when it’s like six minutes left, you want to end the game with the ball in your hands and we didn’t do that, I didn’t do that. I take responsibility for that.”
Barkley shouldn’t. He’s the least of the problems. But for all the positives in that realm since the Chargers game, the Eagles seem to be back to square one on the ground. And there’s obvious concern that the offense has regressed heading into the postseason.
“We’ve got to mix in some of the play-action things that we’ve done so well in the last couple weeks and not wait there again. That’s on me,” Sirianni said. “You know, I know what the first play is going into every series.”
Patullo’s first-half play calling had some rhythm. Receiver A.J. Brown was getting open and Hurts was finding him. The Eagles turned Allen’s fumble into seven points with another red zone conversion and a touchdown pass to Goedert.
But there were some head-scratching moments as well, like the third-and-9 draw to Will Shipley or the third-and-8 screen to Goedert at the Bills’ 13-yard line. As Sirianni noted, Buffalo wasn’t going away. The Eagles needed to pounce when they had chances.
And they needed to double down in the second half. How often was the defense expected to save the offense? Predictably, Fangio’s group relented — until it didn’t, thanks in part to McDermott, one of La Salle High School’s most esteemed alums, throwing caution to the wind.
Wins don’t get asterisks, of course. That was a solid team the Eagles beat, a sort of litmus test for how they stack up against one of the AFC’s best. The Eagles have a defense that can match almost any offense, and a decent special teams.
Nick Sirianni attempted to accentuate the positive after the win.
But the Sirianni-Patullo-Hurts offense has been a running (pun intended) joke. After 16 games, it would be ridiculous to think it’ll finally find its way in the postseason. The Eagles can scrape by as long as they don’t turn the ball over, and that may be enough.
“You’ve got to feel pretty good, right?” Sirianni said when asked about the state of the Eagles. “Three-game winning streak. In this league, three-game winning streaks are hard. Winning 11 games is hard. Winning the division is hard. And so, you feel really good about some of the things, but there’s also an opportunity to self-scout yourself and do some different things there.
“We’ll see what we do this upcoming week. I think there’s still an opportunity for us to get the [No.] 2 seed.”
There was at the time Sirianni spoke, and that possibility held up later in the evening, after the Chicago Bears lost to the San Francisco 49ers. The Eagles’ only path to the No. 2 seed is to defeat the Washington Commanders while the Bears lose to the Detroit Lions. Both games will be played at 4:25 p.m. next Sunday. Sirianni may also want to play his starters to give his offense another outing against the Commanders’ subpar defense.
But it seems like some issues won’t ever be properly resolved until the offseason.
The Eagles will be back in prime time as they try to stop a two-game skid from turning into three against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Monday Night Football.
Here’s everything you need to know about the team’s Week 14 matchup …
How to watch Eagles vs. Chargers
The Eagles kick off against the Chargers at 8:15 p.m. on ABC and ESPN, with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call and Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge on the sidelines. For fans looking for a more monstrous viewing experience, ESPN will be producing an animated Funday Football alternative cast on ESPN2, DisneyXD and Disney+ set in the Monsters, Inc. universe.
If you prefer Merrill Reese and Mike Quick on the call, the radio broadcast can be found on 94.1 WIP-FM. And if you want to watch the game with fellow Birds fans, here are a few spots to check out.
For the Chargers, quarterback Justin Herbert is questionable after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his left (non-throwing) hand earlier in the week. Here’s a look at the final injury report for both sides.
Eagles
Out
DT Jalen Carter, shoulders
T Lane Johnson, foot
Questionable
S Marcus Epps, shoulder
T Myles Hinton, back
Chargers
Out
TE Tucker Fisk, ankle
Questionable
RB Omarion Hampton, ankle
QB Justin Herbert, left hand
DT Otito Ogbonnia, elbow
Eagles vs. Chargers odds
As of Saturday afternoon, the Eagles were 2.5-point favorites at FanDuel and DraftKings. Both sportsbooks have set the projected point total at 41.5.
With their win over the Eagles on Black Friday, the Bears moved ahead of the Birds in the NFC standings.
Playoff picture
With five games remaining in the regular season, the 8-4 Eagles hold a two-game lead over the NFC East and hold the third seed in the NFC. At 2-11, the Giants are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and the 3-9 Commanders can be eliminated from the divisional race with a loss or an Eagles win this week. The Cowboys, at 6-6-1, stand the best chance of taking the division lead from the Eagles, though Dallas’ loss to the Lions on Thursday night gave the Birds a bit of extra cushion.
NFC East standings
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The Bears and the Rams, both at 9-3, sit ahead of the Eagles in the NFC’s playoff seeding. The Birds have a tiebreak advantage over the Rams thanks to their 33-26 win over Los Angeles in Week 3, but the Bears hold the head-to-head advantage over the Eagles after last week’s loss.
NFC Standings
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Police confirmed earlier this week that offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s Moorestown home was vandalized after the Eagles’ loss to the Bears on Black Friday.
But the Birds’ defense also struggled in the team’s 24-15 loss to Chicago at Lincoln Financial Field last Friday, giving up 281 rushing yards. After holding opponents to fewer than 400 yards of offense in each of its first 10 games, Vic Fangio’s defense allowed both the Cowboys and the Bears to eclipse 400 yards of total offense in back-to-back games. Can the defense recover from back-to-back poor performances and contain the Chargers without Carter?
Injuries will also play a part in Monday night’s game for the Chargers. Jim Harbaugh’s team is preparing for Herbert to be their starting quarterback against the Eagles after he had surgery on his fractured left hand on Monday, though his status was listed as questionable on Saturday’s injury report. Herbert’s right throwing hand is healthy, but will a recovering left hand impact Herbert’s abilities on the field? Or will the Eagles see backup Trey Lance on Monday night?
75.9% – The rate of trips to the red zone that have resulted in touchdowns for the Eagles this season.
While the Eagles’ offensive struggles have been well documented, the Birds are leading the league in efficiency when they get inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. They have converted 22 of their 29 red-zone trips into touchdowns this season.
Our writers are split on their predictions for Monday night. Here’s a snippet of each of what they’re thinking — but you can click their names for a more in-depth breakdown …
Jeff McLane: I’m sure fans hate whenever I pick the Eagles. I get the joke. But I like their chances against a limited quarterback, and definitely if Lance starts. I don’t think the offense will rise from the near-dead, but I anticipate noticeable changes off the mini-bye that will aid their chances. I also like Hurts indoors. | Prediction: Eagles 25, Chargers 19
Jeff Neiburg: Justin Herbert is wearing a cast on his left hand, and the Chargers have a passing attack that should play into the Eagles’ hands, as long as they’re able to stop the run and get Herbert into third-and-longs. That may seem like a big ask without Carter, and it is, but the Eagles have had a solid enough run defense for most of the season to think Vic Fangio and Co. will make sure the last performance was just a one-game blip. | Prediction: Eagles 23, Chargers 20
Olivia Reiner: On one hand, I find it hard to believe that this Eagles team, with all of its talent, will lose three straight games for the first time since 2023. On the other, these matchups aren’t exactly favorable for the Eagles, even with an injured Herbert factored into the equation. | Prediction: Chargers 27, Eagles 24
Matt Breen: Omarion Hampton is trending to play Monday night, giving the Chargers a two-headed rushing attack against the Eagles. Does that remind you of anything? … This seems like a tough spot. | Prediction: Chargers 27, Eagles 17
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have lost four of their last eight games.
What we’re saying about the Eagles
Here’s what our columnists are saying about the Eagles this week, starting with Marcus Hayes, who argues that Jalen Carter’s injury will intensify the pressure on Jalen Hurts …
Marcus Hayes: “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.” Read more.
David Murphy: “The reality of the NFL is that good teams struggle. It is a counterpunchers league, led by a bunch of maniac coaches who won’t rest until they figure out what you are doing and how to beat it. Andy Reid did not suddenly become a worse offensive coach over the last three seasons. Patrick Mahomes is still the same Patrick Mahomes who threw for 5,250 yards in 2022. Nobody in Kansas City or elsewhere is seriously questioning whether one of them is the problem. The Eagles made it look easy last year. But last year was an anomaly. The competitive environment this season is much closer to the norm.” Read more.
Mike Sielski: “That narrative — that [A.J.] 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 (regular-season and postseason), 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. Read more.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert broke a bone in his non-throwing hand last week against the Raiders.
What the Chargers are saying
At 8-4, the Chargers are in the current playoff picture in the AFC as the top wild-card team and trail the 10-2 Broncos for the lead in the AFC West. According to NFL.com’s playoff probabilities, a win against the Eagles would give the Chargers a 76% chance of making the playoffs, while a loss drops their postseason odds to 50%.
Herbert’s status under center is still in question, but the Chargers have prepared this week as if he will be the starting quarterback. Herbert had high praise for Vic Fangio’s defense as he prepared to face the Birds this week.
“He’s had a ton of success in this league,” Herbert said. “Back at his time with the Broncos, we saw him twice a year and we had a lot of respect for him then … The guys that they have on that side of the ball are game-wreckers and you have to be aware of those guys, and at the same time they are really well-coached, and it makes for a dangerous combination for a defense.”
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Fangio’s coverage schemes: “I was born at night, but not last night. Vic’s going to have different ways to leverage coverage to where it’s not one-on-one at all times … But as far as the matchup, I like Ladd [McConkey] against anybody.”
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston on Herbert’s injury: “I forgot he was dealing with something the way he’s playing. But that’s just the type of guy he is. Very, very tough guy. He was still at practice, throwing very accurate, so he honestly looked like he hasn’t lost his touch. So right now, just getting him through practice and getting him through the week and prepared for Sunday.”
Defensive end Khalil Mack on the Eagles’ offensive line without Lane Johnson: “Nameless, faceless objects. You understand who they are and what they’ve been able to accomplish and the level of football they play at, so it’s going to be a hell of a challenge.”
Guard Tyler Steen, center Cam Jurgens, and guard Landon Dickerson make up 60% of the Eagles starting offensive line.
What the national media is saying
Back-to-back losses from the Birds has placed them under the microscope of national network analysts and pundits, who are trying to diagnose what’s wrong with the reigning Super Bowl champs. On his New Heights podcast, former Eagles center Jason Kelce said the team will be in better shape once his former teammate Johnson returns from injury to his spot at right tackle.
“Lane Johnson coming back will be huge,” Jason said. “Even though [backup Fred Johnson] has done well, especially in pass [protection]. I think the run game is close, I know it hasn’t manifested yet. It’s frustrating watching because you know it can be so much better. I think with the health that is starting to come, it will only improve.”
Here’s what else the national media had to say about the Birds…
Travis Kelce on how pre-snap motions might help the Eagles offense: “You watch the Chiefs play, you see me moving around all the time. I move from one side of the line to the other side of the line, and what that does for the defense is it changes passing strength, it changes rules on how they’re going to pass off routes, it changes how they have to fill gaps.”
Dan Orlovsky on the Eagles’ first-down struggles: “If you struggle as an offense on first down, it makes second down much harder, and then therefore third down much harder. Until they play better as an offensive line and play better offensively on first down, that’s not going to get fixed.”
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.
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.
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?
Kevin Patullo said Wednesday that he’s ready to “move on” after becoming the victim of a vandalism incident in the aftermath of the Eagles’ loss to the Chicago Bears.
According to the Moorestown Police Department, Patullo’s home was vandalized with multiple eggs early Saturday morning, just hours after the Eagles dropped their second consecutive game and fell to 8-4. A video of the act had spread online on Monday morning.
Speaking for the first time since the incident, Patullo acknowledged that the vandals crossed a boundary. Still, the first-year offensive coordinator expressed a desire to move forward and direct his attention to the Eagles’ next opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers.
“At this point, we’re ready to focus [on] winning the game,” Patullo said. “Unfortunately, it happened. I’ve been here for five years now, and it’s been awesome. This is such a unique place to coach and play. It’s very special. We’ve been to two NFC championship games. We’ve won at Lincoln Financial. The Super Bowl, the parade. It’s an amazing atmosphere to be a coach and a player.
“As coaches and players, we all know that part of our job is to handle criticism. So it’s perfectly acceptable to sit up here and talk about what’s going on, how to fix it, what we’re going to do going forward, and we know that. But when it involves your family, it obviously crosses the line.”
Patullo continued: ”And so that happened. And at this point, we’ve just got to move on. We’re trying to win. That’s all we want to do is focus. Whether it’s my family, whether it’s the team, all we’re trying to do together is focus on this week. We’ve got a long week, which has been good to have an extra day of preparation and go out to LA and beat the Chargers.”
The 44-year-old Patullo is in his first year as Eagles offensive coordinator but has been with the team since 2021. Before his promotion, Patullo was the team’s passing game coordinator. He previously served as the wide receivers coach (2018-19) and passing game specialist (2020) with the Indianapolis Colts while Nick Sirianni was the offensive coordinator.
Kevin Patullo (right) served as passing game coordinator under OC Kellen Moore (left) last season, including in the team’s Super Bowl LIX victory.
Despite the incident, Patullo emphasized that he and his family have “had a great experience here” throughout his tenure in Philadelphia.
“Us as a family, we know we’ve got to stick together, and to be honest, there’s a lot of great people in the community,” Patullo said. “I have great neighbors. So many people have reached out to my wife and I and our family. So it’s not anything at one specific person. It happened, and we’ve just got to move on from it at this point.”
Patullo will move on by continuing to serve as the Eagles’ offensive play caller. Sirianni reiterated Monday that Patullo will retain play-calling duties, and Patullo confirmed as much on Wednesday.
Sirianni said the Eagles would be “evaluating everything” before the mini-bye to improve the team’s overall performance. The offensive numbers are particularly glaring, as the group ranks 19th in the league in scoring and 24th in yards.
But don’t expect one of those changes to include Patullo moving from the sideline to the booth to call plays. Nick Foles, the Super Bowl LII-winning quarterback, has been one of the more outspoken advocates of Patullo making that transition.
However, Patullo unequivocally shot down that suggestion on Wednesday.
“I think the communication with the players is important,” Patullo said. “ … since I’ve been here, in ’21, I’ve been on the field every time. I think there’s a lot of communication with players, coaches on the field. Making sure adjustments are done correctly. Conversations I have with Jalen [Hurts], with the O-line, with the receivers, that are very important.
“I’ve been on the field for a long, long time. I don’t think I’ve been in the box since maybe 2011 as a coach. So it’s been a while. I think just the relationship I have with the guys and the communication has been good and we’ve just got to continue to improve in other areas, and we’ll be all right.”
Hard Knocks has come to Philadelphia … in more ways than one.
The famed HBO documentary series premiered the first episode of its in-season special Tuesday, bringing NFL fans a behind-the-scenes look at each team in the NFC East.
The episode is the first of eight, with subsequent releases planned each Tuesday night until Jan. 20.
The premiere gave viewers a look into Nick Sirianni’s leadership, the Eagles’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys, and explanations for crucial missed plays against the Chicago Bears.
Here’s what you may have missed from the first episode of Hard Knocks: In Season With the NFC East …
The Eagles have lost two in a row — and four of their last eight games — as Nick Sirianni continues to look for answers.
‘Thankful for adversities’
Before any flashy credits or highlights came across the screen, Hard Knocks provided coverage on the reigning champion Eagles, just not in the way Philly fans like.
The show opens with a conversation between Sirianni and Brandon Graham inside the Eagles’ practice facility. Discussing the Eagles’ upset loss to the Cowboys, Sirianni celebrates having to overcome adversity while commenting that players need to focus more on improving instead of complaining.
“Little setback,” Sirianni said. “No one wants to go through adversity until they go through it and be like, ‘Man, I needed that [expletive].’ Like last year, we had to go through that. Unfortunately, we had to go through ’23 to get to where we got last year.
“Same [expletive] here. Sometimes we get like, ‘Man, I don’t like what I am going through right now.’ Then fix it.”
Replied Graham: “It’s good, because it’s shaping up to see who you are, too.”
Following a quick introduction to the docuseries by narrator Liev Schreiber, which included tongue-in-cheek remarks about the Tush Push while the Impressions’ “Keep on Pushing” played in the background, the episode’s focus transitioned back to the Birds’ 21-point blown lead at AT&T Stadium.
Listening to the Cowboys’ sideline, lowlight after lowlight is shown of the Eagles’ poor second-half performance — rubbing salt in a still-fresh wound for Philly fans.
The show checked in with the Cowboys, Giants, and Commanders — who all seemed to show more positivity than the Eagles throughout the episode, despite having a worse record, a head coach fired, and an injured starting quarterback, respectively — before cycling back to left tackle Jordan Mailata addressing media criticism on 94 WIP.
The former seventh-round pick claimed that criticism toward Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, the offensive line, and Saquon Barkley has brought the team closer together — echoing Sirianni’s previous comments regarding adversity.
“It’s bringing us closer,” Mailata said. “It’s bringing us closer, man. We know what we have, and we’ve just got to keep going to work. When crap hits the fan, what I know how to do best is just go back to work and put your head down, and you go out there, and you have another chance on Friday — just play your heart out.”
Sirianni brought the point home in a continuation of his talk with Graham when he doubled down on his positive outlook on the Eagles’ struggles.
“I’m always thankful for adversities because I see every adversity as a way to come together as a football team,” Sirianni told Graham. “It’s not that you’re enjoying it or it’s pleasant going through it, but I am sure thankful for the adversities I went through to be where I am today.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has received much of the blame from fans, but quarterback Jalen Hurts took responsibility for the team’s loss to the Bears.
Hurts takes the blame
Hard Knocks also brought fans directly into the Birds’ preparation leading up to the team’s 24-15 loss to Chicago on Black Friday. The episode showed a focused Sirianni projecting the Bears logo on the screen at a team meeting, and Hurts delivering his signature “keep the main thing the main thing” line.
There were also small glimpses into Jeff Stoutland’s offensive line meetings, Scot Loeffler’s quarterback room, and Kevin Patullo’s presentation to the offense — providing insight into the team’s sense of urgency in fixing that side of the ball.
“When we look back, we don’t want to say, ‘Oh woulda, coulda, shoulda,’” Patullo said. “[Expletive] that. We’ve got to fix it now.”
When the show reaches the moment when the Eagles have their chance to fix it — last week’s matchup with the Bears — viewers get a glimpse into what actually went wrong for the Birds against Chicago.
First on the docket was Hurts’ uncharacteristically errant pass to DeVonta Smith in the second quarter — one that turned a would-be touchdown into a field-goal attempt — which we now know was caused by a missed hand signal Hurts sent Smith before the snap.
“When I pointed like this — that’s my fault, I thought you was going to settle down,” Hurts said to Smith after the play. “… [Expletive], that’s a play I’ve got to make.”
Hard Knocks showed the conversation between Jalen Hurts and Devonta Smith after Hurts missed a critical throw vs the Bears. pic.twitter.com/jdqYj33aGg
“Y’all keep doing what y’all doing,” Hurts said while addressing his wide receiver group and offensive line. “Here we go, we’re going to finish the next one, that’s a play I make.”
On the verge of scoring once again, another mistake prevented a score — a fumble during a Tush Push play in the third quarter, for which Hurts once again took the blame.
“That’s me,” Hurts said after the play. “[Expletive] I did. Trying to secure the ball and he came straight in there and gutted it out. That’s on me, I’ve got to protect the [expletive] ball.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown had his best game of the season against the Bears, but the Eagles still lost.
Keep an eye on these two
Hard Knocks, known for its drama and fireworks, surprisingly did not feature anything from A.J. Brown after his recent comments regarding the Eagles’ struggle on offense.
But after Brown scored coming out of halftime against the Bears, the star wide receiver did share a brief interaction with Patullo — an interaction that may interest those who want to learn more about the pair’s relationship.
“I told you,” Patullo said after Brown’s touchdown. “You told me, I told you.”
As the series and the Eagles’ offensive woes continue, interactions between Brown and Patullo will continue to be scrutinized. And all Eagles fans can do is hope that Patullo and Brown keep telling each other whatever it takes to put more points on the board.
