The second half of the 2023 season did not go as planned for the Philadelphia Eagles. They looked like one of the best teams not only in the NFC but the NFL as a whole early on as they started the season 10-1.
However, after their overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in Week 12, the wheels fell all the way off. The Eagles would lose their next three games in a row before defeating the New York Giants on Christmas Day.
A win is a win, but it was far from a perfect performance by the Eagles, who struggled mightily in the second half of the game. Those struggles came back the following week as Philadelphia lost to the Arizona Cardinals, essentially costing them the NFC East title, before losing to the Giants in the regular season finale.
With zero momentum going into the postseason and key players, such as wide receiver A.J. Brown injured, the Eagles laid an egg on Super Wild Card Weekend. Philadelphia went down to Raymond James Stadium to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and were embarrassed, 32-9.
The performance of the team over the final two months of the season was pitiful. They looked like they had given up at points and how some players carried themselves was not missed by teammates.
One of the players who was not happy was right tackle Lane Johnson. Following the team’s loss, he ripped into some of his teammates for the way they carried themselves and the demeanor they showed while the team was losing.
“No matter what the f------ scoreboard is, play, no sloppy no f------ clapping your hands, no sulking after bad plays,” Johnson said via Howard Eskin, who covers the Eagles. (H/T MLFootball on X)
While Johnson is the one who expressed frustrations to the media, he is certainly not the only player who feels that way. There had been rumors of the locker room fracturing toward the end of the season and Johnson’s comments certainly hint at a team that was no longer on the same page with a common goal.
It will be interesting to see what kind of changes Philadephia makes in the offseason. It is clear there is something missing from this team, and in the opinion of Johnson, that is toughness from top to bottom.
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