Why Are The Philadelphia Eagles So Flawed This Season?

Kevin Patullo

Patullo is one of the most hated men in Philadelphia currently because the Eagles’ offense hasn’t been anywhere close to where it should be, given their elite offensive talent. Whether you hate or love Jalen Hurts, you have to admit that he’s a winner, even if he’s not perfect. Patullo has been criticized for his shoddy play-calling, including conservative calls, and not having enough creativity as well.

A team employing Hurts, Barkley, Brown, and Devonta Smith shouldn’t struggle this much offensively and see as many run-run-pass drives as they currently do. Patullo is in his first year as offensive coordinator for the Eagles after former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore departed to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Patullo’s been with Philadelphia since 2021 in multiple roles, including pass game coordinator, associate head coach, and now offensive coordinator.

For Eagles fans, this isn’t new to them, as they had a similar situation in 2023 with Brian Johnson. They ended up losing in the first round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Johnson was fired almost immediately after a very disappointing offensive season and high expectations coming in. Philadelphia had also lost five of its last six games entering the playoffs and were in the midst of a downward spiral, so it wasn’t too surprising when they lost 32-9 by the hands of the Buccaneers. The Dallas Cowboys also ended up winning the NFC East division that year as they were 12-5 and the Eagles were 11-4, definitely some potential deja vu going on currently this season.

Last year, Philadelphia relied heavily on its run game with not only Hurts, but especially Barkley, who had 2,000 rushing yards. This year, even the tush push hasn’t been perfect for them. The Eagles have stretches where the offense looks ancient, and they have moments where they look unstoppable, which you expect them to be. This is when they take the training wheels off Hurts, and you can see why they just dominantly won the Super Bowl. He has had his struggles when it comes to deep balls and underthrowing them, but he’s made his fair share of excellent deep ball throws as well.

Philadelphia Head Coach Nick Sirianni mentioned Friday, when asked about play-calling, that he hasn’t thought about changing those duties or potentially calling plays himself. The Eagles are 19th in scoring this season at only 22.5 points per game this season as well. They also have other issues on their team offensively that aren’t just because of Patullo’s shortcomings.

Eagles Offensive Line

The Eagles usually have one of the best offensive lines in football, but this year they’ve taken a step back. Lane Johnson is currently injured, they lost Mekhi Becton to the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency, and not everyone is performing up to their standard. The offensive line is such an underrated group. They create blocks for you and give you ample time to distribute the football, which is why guys are getting paid top dollar nowadays, even if they are average at the position.

Philadelphia has handsomely paid their OL and spent legit draft capital on addressing numerous positions on the line, which is why this is so interesting. Before this game, the Eagles had given up 27 sacks and 104 pressures in 11 games, according to PFF. That equates to nine and a half pressures per game in a room in which they’ve invested $248.7 million in current contracts.

Their current starting OL room consists of Cam Jurgens, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Tyler Steen, and Fred Johnson. Philadelphia has also allowed a pressure rate of 38.4% which is the eighth-worst in the NFL, according to Sharp Football Analysis, entering this game. This obviously not only hurts the passing game for Hurts and others, but also the running game for Barkley.

The End Of My Philadelphia Eagles Rant

When you really take a look at things and peel the curtain back, you understand why Eagles fans are so infuriated. They had a really good offensive coordinator last year in Moore, who departed them for the New Orleans Saints, and Patullo has been a massive step backward for them. Saquon Barkley became the first 2,000-yard rusher since Derrick Henry in 2022. Now he’s in the midst of a down season, averaging less than four yards per carry a year later.

Eagles fans were annoyed at the AJ Brown discourse about not getting the ball and potentially being traded. Philadelphia was winning for so long that some of them tuned that out. From an overall standpoint, you get where Brown was coming from because he wasn’t being utilized as much as he should, and they weren’t dominating teams in these wins. The Eagles are at their best when they’re at their dual form or effectively running and passing the football. This season, they’ve barely seen that come to fruition, which has led to frustration as they haven’t played up to their best abilities.

Philadelphia is currently 8-4, in first place in the National Football Conference East, which is good enough for the eighth-best record in the NFL and third seed in the NFC playoff standings. Their archenemy Cowboys, are right behind them at 6-5-1, and they haven’t heard a bell yet. Dallas just got a massive win on Thanksgiving against the Chiefs, and is currently on a three-game winning streak while humming on both sides of the football.

Patullo’s job seat is getting hotter and hotter, not only with each loss but every disappointing offensive performance as well. The fans have been extremely loud about their displeasure with him. They have shifted some of that towards Sirianni as well, so it’ll be really interesting to monitor how all of this plays out with five games remaining.