The injury report grows ever longer each day, the offense is a predictable mess, and the defense lacks a league-average pass rush.
Yet today, the Eagles were dealt the biggest blow to their season: Jalen Hurts will miss the remainder of the season with multiple blood clots in his lungs.
Jalen Hurts will be out for the season after doctors discovered multiple blood clots in his lungs. pic.twitter.com/PYfJpO16FS
While Philadelphia knew of the blood clot in his calf prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the severity of the news is jarring.
When exactly did they know the extent of Hurts’ injury? More importantly, who made the decision to play Hurts?
Hurts’ play this season has been erratic. He was masterful in weeks one and two despite schematic struggles on offense. Then, after being briefly removed from the game after a hit to the head in week 3, the Eagles offense took a nosedive.
The blood clot issue arose after taking a cleat to the calf during the week 4 loss to the Rams. Then the team traveled to London for their week 5 matchup against the Jaguars. What followed is the most confounding part of the Hurts injury.
How committed is Jalen Hurts to football? After initially being diagnosed with a superficial blood clot in London, doctors told him not to sleep as a precaution, so he had been awake for roughly 36 hours when he started against the Jaguars, throwing for 220 yards and a TD. https://t.co/rAm0xGNHk0
Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, later clarified through Tom Pelissero that Hurts was up until early that Sunday getting evaluated at the hospital and was able to get at least a little sleep at the stadium in London just before the game.
Despite repeated questions from the media, Nick Sirianni was unable to offer any meaningful clarity as to whose decision it was to play Hurts or provide any information on the sequence of events that led to Hurts’ increasingly negative diagnosis.
The damage is done, however, and the Eagles need to think of next steps. This season is lost.
Given the immense amount of roster turnover the Eagles sustained during the season, they should take the time to evaluate the young players on their roster, particularly along the offensive line. Is Markel Bell the answer at right tackle? Can Drew Kendall be the franchise center moving forward? Can Willie Lampkin remain at left guard for the foreseeable future?
On defense, who should the Eagles prioritize when considering extensions? Quinyon Mitchell has put together a great season so far, but Cooper DeJean has not quite looked like the player he was during his first two seasons.
The diminished expectations for the 2026 seasons also provides the coaching staff with the opportunity to try new things on offense. The structure of the offense has been dreadful, historically so. Perhaps with no expectations for the remainder of the season—and seats getting ever hotter—the staff can be more creative in putting together an NFL-caliber structure that can support Hurts upon his (hopeful) return next season.
Finally, expect the Eagles to sell some of their short-term players leading up to this season’s trade deadline. Some obvious trade candidates are players in contract seasons: Riq Woolen, Dallas Goedert, Fred Johnson, Arnold Ebikete, Tyler Steen, Moro Ojomo, etc. Depending on Howie Roseman’s assessment of how quickly this team can retool, they could shop some more valuable players with a few years left on their deals.
The worst-case scenario is the Eagles lose enough to earn a top ten selection in the 2027 NFL Draft, yet win an embarrassingly weak NFC East. They would immediately vault themselves into the bottom 14 selections due to a playoff berth. With so many young players set for extensions, it is imperative that Howie Roseman replenish the roster with cost-controlled, talented players through the draft.
The Eagles’ Week 1 bout against the Washington Commanders will be a test for new coordinators.
The long offseason is over, and Eagles fans get a divisional matchup against the Washington Commanders to start.
While the two teams are intimately familiar with one another, the game should feel refreshingly new. For Eagles fans, the game will be the first opportunity to watch new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s offense with Jalen Hurts at the helm. The preseason highlighted some areas of concern, but the Eagles have generally kept starters from playing during the preseason. Sunday will provide the first real look at Philadelphia’s new offense.
On the other sideline, the Commanders debut new offensive coordinator David Blough and new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones.
The 2025-2026 season was one to forget for Commanders fans. After a surprise trip to the NFC Championship Game in 2024-2025, the Commanders took a massive step back, going 5-12 in the campaign. Though they did suffer from poor injury luck, the disappointing season forced the Commanders to make some changes at the coordinator positions.
Enter David Blough and Daronte Jones.
Both coordinators present stark structural differences from the previous coordinators, though Blough was a member of former OC Kliff Kingsbury’s staff.
Jone’s defense should be an interesting watch. Most recently, Jones coached the defensive backs in Minnesota under Brian Flores. Flores’ defense is one of extremes, leading the NFL in blitz rate (48.0%), heavy box rate (36.9%) and rate of two-high defenders (64.2%) in 2025-2026. It is a defense that generally gets the most out of its players, regardless of talent, an approach that should benefit a Commanders defense lacking star power.
David Blough, though a member of Kingsbury’s staff, spent years under the tutelage of Ben Johnson in Detroit, and a formative year with Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota. In 2025-2026, the Commanders ran play action at the fifth fewest rate in the NFL. The Ben Johnson and Kevin O’Connell offenses ranked second and eleventh, respectively.
The units will not be exact copies. They will feature wrinkles learned from other stops along the coaches’ journeys, but the context provides at least a snapshot of what the units could look like.
Eagles Offense vs Commanders Defense
Previous iterations of the Eagles offense lacked answers to the blitz. Rather than integrate quick hot reads, an industry standard, the Eagles offense found, albeit streaky, success attacking the deep portions of the field.
This high-risk, high-reward style of countering blitzes worked very well against Brian Flores’ defense in Minnesota; recent matchups between the two teams can attest. AJ Brown was able to bully defensive backs downfield or at least command enough gravity from defenders to give DeVonta Smith an easy edge in his one-on-one matchups.
The Commanders defensive backs offer a similar level of challenge; Rasul Douglas, Mike Sainristil, Amik Robertson, Nick Cross and Jeremy Reaves are not the best position unit in football. However, the Eagles no longer employ AJ Brown, and his replacements do not offer the same size and speed combination that made him so effective in those downfield shots on blitzes.
Expect the Commanders to bring pressure early and often from all areas of the field, a strategy that should help cover up some of the personnel deficiencies inherent to the roster.
The matchup will provide an early look at if Sean Mannion’s offense finds new ways to address the blitz. The matchup will also stress the communication of a Jeff Stoutland-less offensive line.
One way to mitigate such a blitz-heavy defense that both the Eagles and Sean Mannion’s Packers utilized often in 2025-2026 is the run-pass option. The Eagles tied for sixth in RPO usage last season (112 plays), while Mannion’s Packers were just behind (111 plays). The familiarity from both parties could be the answer to a stronger offensive showing in Week 1.
Eagles Defense vs Commanders Offense
The Commanders brought in a large portion of their skill position players this past offseason. Terry McLaurin remains the WR1, but Stefon Diggs, Antonio Williams and Chig Okonkwo are new additions that will command a decent target-share.
In the backfield, the Commanders added Rachaad White, though Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who had 175 carries for the Commanders in 2025-2026, should receive the lion share of touches again this season.
The new additions certainly offer depth but generally lack star power. The Eagles defense should be in a position to prevent explosive plays. The addition of Riq Woolen from Seattle makes an already strong pass defense even more suffocating. Expect the Eagles secondary to limit Washington’s passing offense on structured plays in the short and intermediate areas of the field. If Washington’s offensive line can block long enough to extend routes deeper, or if Jayden Daniels can scramble and create breakdowns in Philadelphia’s coverage, they can expose the Eagles’ nickel safety combination of Marcus Epps and Drew Mukuba. Epps lacks the high-end athleticism to cover large distances and Mukuba has allowed multiple explosive plays by being caught out of position in limited action last season.
When the Eagles defense has struggled under Vic Fangio, it has been against mobile quarterbacks. If the Commanders can get Daniels moving on designed roll outs, especially in 11 personnel, there will be opportunities to scramble or create explosives taking advantage of subpar safety play.
Injury Report
As of September 10, the Eagles have listed two players as LIMITED: EDGE Jonathan Greenard (pectoral) and TE Eli Stowers (hamstring).
The Commanders’ injury report is a bit more extensive. They have listed EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson (knee), RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt (groin), EDGE Odafe Oweh (calf) and DT Daron Payne (knee) as LIMITED.
C Nick Allegretti, DT Javon Kinlaw, LB Jordan Magee, QB Marcus Mariota, EDGE Charles Omenihu, and TE Ben Sinnott were all full participants.
Prediction
The Eagles win this game 20-13. They have better talent on both sides of the football and a top-5 defense in 2025-2026 that added more than it lost in the offseason.
The Eagles offense will likely take some time to get going. We have not seen the starters in-game yet, and I expect there to be some frustrating early penalties that kill drives. I think they will run a heavy dose of RPOs and likely have a few ineligible men downfield that negate some big plays. Ultimately, even with a new offense without AJ Brown, the Eagles should be able to bully the Commanders on the ground. Saquon Barkley scores a touchdown on a 20+ yard run and Jalen Hurts punches one in on a Brotherly Shove.
The Commanders offense will primarily stick to 11 personnel. Doing so forces the Eagles to play some of their weaker personnel and gives them the opportunity to run play action to catch the Eagles safeties flat-footed. Stefon Diggs catches the Commanders’ lone touchdown on a designed roll out to Daniels’ right. Marcus Epps is slow to pick up Diggs on the far side of the field.
I find the Eagles’ ongoing offensive coordinator search to be a fascinating study on the assumption of risk and the results of those assumptions both for the Eagles and for their candidates.
My boss at my last job always spoke of “the assumption of risk.” By choosing one course of action, we open ourselves up to the consequences of that decision. By choosing another, we invite different results, both positive and negative. It’s incumbent on the decision-makers to weigh those courses of action and make the best decision possible, accepting the negative results when they occur. We’ve done the homework, we’ve made the assessment, we’ve mitigated (as much as we can) the negative results, and now we deal with those consequences. It’s a model everyone uses to some degree both in their workplace and in their personal lives.
The Eagles now find themselves facing the results of their decisions.
The Eagles front office has not been shy about quickly moving on from coaches that compromise their contention windows, even when those coaches are accomplished. Sean Desai, Matt Patricia, Brian Johnson, and now Kevin Patullo, are not examples of accomplished coaches per se. Each had their flaws, but they also presided over teams that won 11+ games in a season. Doug Pederson and Press Taylor, while fired after a 4-win season, had just won the Eagles’ first Super Bowl only three seasons prior. Accomplished, to say the least.
The Eagles’ were not necessarily wrong in firing said coaches. The defense in 2023 was abysmal. Pederson and Taylor’s offenses were stale. We know how bad Patullo’s offense fared just one season after winning a Super Bowl; the realized impact still fresh in our minds. The Eagles have had success in the short-term by making such moves. After firing Pederson and Taylor, the Eagles were in a Super Bowl only two seasons later. They won their second Super Bowl just one season after parting ways with Desai, Patricia and Johnson. But the long-term risk of firing coaches after winning seasons or so quickly after winning Super Bowls was always discouraging future hires with perceived instability of the position. That perception is not wrong, and now it has finally affected their coordinator search.
“What is the standard for success?” “How long will that standard apply?” “Can I assume that the Eagles will still employ me after a single bad season?” “Is the job worth it?” These are all fair questions invited by the Eagles’ aggression in pursuing a championship window at the expense of finding coaches that align with the organization’s vision and priorities, and parting ways with those that do not.
The assumption of risk is not one-sided. For the candidates, the assumption of risk lies in their comfortability with Nick Sirianni’s control of the offense affecting their future head coaching viability. There is already most of a staff in place. Stoutland has survived numerous coaching regimes, and that is not likely to change. No one truly knows how much input Sirianni has in game plans, though it’s safe to say coordinators do not have complete independence. But the offense remains one of the most talented in football. The ceiling is a top-5 player or unit at every position on the field.
There is high risk that results in relief less than one year after being hired, whether it real or only perceived. High reward in a fast track to a head coaching job elsewhere (see Kellen Moore and Shane Steichen). It is no coincidence that Moore was a head coach candidiate for years, did not get the jobs he wanted, then immediately earned one after a single year of being the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. If a candidate wants the payoff of being a head coach somewhere but lacks the resume, the Eagles job provides a quick and clear path to that end.
The Eagles should still be able to hire an offensive coordinator that can take the Eagles’ offense back to a Super Bowl-caliber unit, though it likely will not come in the way fans may have imagined. The front office’s gamble, and the risk involved with that gamble, intersects with the coaching candidacy in a unique way that optimizes the selection for a particular type of coordinator: young innovators with a point to prove.
The Eagles offensive coordinator job should still be attractive to a bunch of candidates. Maybe not the ilk they want: an established, experienced and well-respected play caller like Kevin Stefanski or Mike McDaniel. There is no reason for coaches like that to assume the risk presented to them in Philadelphia. But it should still attract a subset of young, hungry and creative minds that want to fast track themselves to a head coaching gig. They shouldn’t settle for a retread. There are young and ambitious brains out there that would love the opportunity to catapult their name into the next coaching carousel. The Eagles should take their time in finding the perfect one.
Tomorrow the Eagles try and flip the script on a team that has had their number since the beginning of the Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts era, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since the Eagles’ head coach and quarterback took the reins of the franchise, they are 1-4 against the Buccaneers.
For whatever reason, the Eagles defense has struggled to contain the duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin while the Eagles offense has not had an answer for Todd Bowles’ pressure packages. Jalen Hurts has struggled mightily against Bowles’ designed delayed blitzes that get him running to his left. When Hurts plays the Buccaneers, his numbers look like the worst quarterback in the league.
Of note, in their 1-4 stretch against the Buccaneers, AJ Brown has only played in one game. The Eagles are 1-0 when AJ Brown plays. During last years’ drubbing, the Eagles played without AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Lane Johnson. That is not a recipe for success.
It’s a new season and this Eagles team is more than capable of beating the Buccaneers. Let’s take a look at how the Eagles match up.
Eagles Defense Vs. Buccaneers Offense
The more I look at the numbers, this is a matchup that the Eagles should win handily, at least on paper. What sticks out most to me is the predictability of the Buccaneers’ offense.
In Philadelphia, we’ve heard the complaints about Kevin Patullo and how predictable his offense is when looking at formations and personnel groupings. The Buccaneers are not quite as bad, but their personnel sets still tell a rather descriptive story.
The Bucs are in 11 personnel 11 percent more often than league average, and when they are in 11 personnel, they pass 72 percent of the time. They don’t often play in 12 personnel, but when they do, they run 67 percent of the time.
They consistently throw to the same people and areas of the field as well. Baker Mayfield throws to receivers on 72 percent of targets, pushes the ball downfield (ADOT is 9.23 yards and he ranks 7th in intended air yards), and he only throws to the middle of the field 18 percent of the time. For context, Jalen Hurts, who often receives criticism for not accessing that area of the field, throws to the middle of the field on 13 percent of his attempts.
The Bucs also like to isolate their receivers. They run 1×3 sets the most of any team in the NFL. The Buccaneers like to hunt matchups through this isolation. With Vic Fangio asking Quinyon Mitchell to shadow receivers often this season and Mike Evans not playing on Sunday, it will be difficult for the Buccaneers to find the matchups they want. Mayfield’s time to throw is 2.6 seconds, the second fastest in the NFL. He is at his best when he is in rhythm and getting the ball out quickly to his receivers downfield. If the Eagles can restrict their ability to get their desired matchups, they can either force Mayfield to hold on to the ball longer for the Eagles to take advantage of their makeshift offensive line (Luke Goedeke and Cody Mauch are out), or they can capitalize on ill-advised quick throws into tight coverage. Mayfield has not been particularly accurate this season, ranking 23rd, 22nd and 21st in completion percentage, expected completion percentage and completion percentage over expected, respectively. Mayfield attempts difficult throws with below average accuracy.
On the ground, the Buccaneers are mediocre. Next Gen Stats’ information on Bucky Irving indicates he is one of the least efficient runners in the league. He does not get north-south quickly despite seeing 8+ men in the box only 19.64 percent of the time. Saquon Barkley gets that attention almost 10 percent more often. With less defenders in the box, Irving should be feasting on spread out defensive formations, yet he has -36 rushing yards over expected. That will not improve in a game he will play without Luke Goedeke and Cody Mauch against Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter and Zack Baun.
While the Buccaneers are top-10 in EPA and EPA/play, they are 21st in success rate, indicating that they are much more explosive than they are consistent. On Sunday, the Eagles should be able to take advantage of their variance.
Typically, when Baker Mayfield isn’t getting the looks that he wants, he will panic and scramble. When he’s pressed, he is prone to bad decisions and turnovers. That is where the Eagles’ defense will need to feast. Because of the Buccaneers’ predictability, inefficient run game, and backups along their offensive line, the Eagles need to create quick pressure and force Mayfield into bad decisions. I have full faith in Vic Fangio taking advantage of the Buccaneers’ offensive tendencies with their incredible personnel.
Eagles Offense Vs. Buccaneers Defense
For as confident as I am about the Eagles’ defense, I am concerned about the offense’s ability to put together long, consistent drives.
Across the board, the Buccaneers defense has been average to great in pass defense and run defense metrics. Over the first three weeks of the season, offenses have been unwilling to push the ball down the field. Average depth of target against this defense is 6.3 yards which is the 4th lowest in the NFL. That does not bode well for an offense that has been unwilling to push the ball downfield against defenses that generally have not been good.
In the past, the Buccaneers defense has limited Jalen Hurts by sending blitzes that force him to move to his left. Typically Hurts will not throw on the run running to his left and will instead try to run. The Buccaneers send a late defender to sit in front of Hurts as he moves to his left to ensure he does not pick up any additional yardage.
Expect that to continue. The Buccaneers have been blitz heavy this season, sending the second most total blitzes through three weeks. The Buccaneers’ edge rushers have been average in all pass rush metrics so far this season which may be why the Bucs have been so reliant on blitzes.
What the Buccaneers have succeeded in doing this season should be able to take advantage of the Eagles’ offensive design. It’s no secret that the Eagles do not have built in answers for pressure. They believe in Hurts’ ability to either run for the first down or push the ball downfield on pressure looks. Again, Patullo does not have easy, built-in hot reads for Hurts.
This Bucs defense is designed to anticipate and stop Hurts scrambles, essentially limiting him to one formula to win against the blitz: bombs. Patullo’s route distributions are not inspiring (think of the rep last week when Jahan Dotson and DeVonta Smith were in the same area), and the offense has not been able to manufacture easy separation.
If this offense is going to win, it is going to win because of AJ Brown and Saquon Barkley’s ability to create after the catch. The Buccaneers have allowed the 4th most yards after the catch this season. The Eagles have the personnel to take advantage of that weakness, but the question remains: can Patullo create ways to get his playmakers the ball in space? I don’t have any trust he’s found the secret sauce in just one week. Maybe I’m wrong.
Predicition
Las Vegas has the Buccaneers as +3.5 point home underdogs, which really means that Vegas sees the Eagles as a 6.5 point favorites at a neutral site. The game total sits at 43.5, meaning that Vegas sees the Eagles winning this game around 24-20. I think that is a generous point total for a game I see as a defensive masterclass from both teams. The Eagles and the Buccaneers both seemingly pull rabbits out of the hat each week, which will make a close game between these two NFC heavyweights so interesting. I think that the Eagles win 17-14. This game, to me, is decided by turnovers. I think the critical injuries the Buccaneers have on offense make Mayfield’s weaknesses so much more important than they typically are, and he throws too many passes inaccurately into tight windows. Reed Blankenship gets his first interception of the season on a pass tipped by Quinyon Mitchell, who I think spends most of his time shadowing Emeka Egbuka.
The Eagles showed their Championship DNA by beating the Los Angeles Rams 33-26 in a game they had no business winning. In the first half, the Eagles’ offense looked even more dreadful than it had the first two weeks.
The Eagles were a completely different team in the second half, erasing the 19-point deficit and ultimately winning the game on a Jordan Davis blocked field goal attempt.
Here are my thoughts on the Eagles’ comeback win against the Rams.
Kevin Patullo
There were plenty of positives from the second half that could lead the article, but Patullo’s issues through three weeks needs to be the main topic of discussion about the Eagles.
Patullo may be a great offensive coordinator and play sequencer down the road. Unfortunately, the Eagles are not a team that can support on-the-job-training right now. They are in the middle of a window to compete for a Super Bowl, and in the NFL, windows open and close quickly.
Optimists will point to the second half as evidence of improvement. I have no evidence of my own, but my intuition tells me that the improvement in offensive production came from two things: a massive change at right tackle (we’ll get to that later) and Jalen Hurts calling his own offense.
Jalen Hurts grilling Kevin Patullo and Jemal Singleton on the sideline after the TD. pic.twitter.com/87i0PRW1Hd
Again, I have to evidence that Hurts started calling his own plays and took over the script; that is all speculation, but the altercation above tells me that he at least made his concerns about the direction of the offense known. They ran a much faster offense in and out of the huddle, Hurts was ripping the ball wherever he wanted and everyone on offense looked much more satisfied with the result.
Before the game against the Rams, the Eagles were very transparent with their formations. When the Eagles got into pistol, they were running. When they got into shotgun, they were passing. If they were under center, they were running. I have not charted the Rams game, but my suspicion is that, at least in the first half, the offense’s tells were the same.
If what I think is true, then props to the players for taking over the offense when it mattered most. That leads me to my second takeaway.
Jalen Hurts
It does not matter who is ringing the bell; when the time comes to step into the ring, Hurts answers the bell every. damn. time.
When a defense is focused on coverage in the deep and intermediate areas of the field (Week 1 against the Cowboys), Hurts takes advantage of the defense’s lack of gap integrity and wins with his legs. When the defense is determined to stop Saquon Barkley and AJ Brown (Week 2 against the Chiefs), Hurts sets aside his ego and gets the ball to the check down. When the defense is bottling up Barkley at the expense of the deep and intermediate areas of the field (this week), Hurts gets the ball to AJ Brown and Devonta Smith down the field. It really does not matter what the defense is doing, Hurts simply finds a way to win the game.
Over the past few years, quarterback discourse has really embraced the phrase “wins are not a quarterback stat.” To a certain degree, that proverb bears some truth. There are 22 starters on a football team; that doesn’t include the special teams specialists. In any single game, there are so many factors outside of a quarterback’s control that contribute to a win or a loss.
I prefer the statement that “wins are not a quarterback stat…until they are.” At a certain point in time, the sample size is just too great to ignore. Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time because he won so much. I don’t have the answer as to when the sample size is enough, but we seemed to have past that point with Hurts. The Eagles are 19-1 in their last 20 games with Hurts. He is the best quarterback in franchise history; it is time that Philadelphia and the national media accept that.
The national media’s crusade against Hurts often points to his inability to win games in the air. Hurts is plenty capable of throwing the ball to win a game. He is capable of taking over a game when he has to. He just doesn’t have to often because the Eagles are so good. Hurts’ career record when throwing the ball 30 or more times in a game, including playoffs, is 23-11. That is a 67.55% winning percentage.
Stats from Pro Football Reference.
Here’s at how Hurts compares to the country’s favorite elite quarterbacks.
Hurts is every bit as capable as the country’s “Top-4 Quarterbacks.” It is time for them to start including Hurts in that category. He does have more Super Bowl MVPs than all but one of the listed quarterbacks.
Defensive Tackle Freaky Friday
In an interview this past week, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spent time talking about how Jalen Carter needed to get in better game shape. He didn’t provide much insight into why Carter was out of shape, but to Fangio’s point, Carter has not lit up the stat sheet this season.
Granted, he did miss an entire game (his own fault) and his impact on the field extends beyond just the counting stats, but rewatching games, he is not as sharp as he was last season.
On the other hand, Jordan Davis dropped 30 pounds this summer and has looked like the better player. Until this season, the issue with Davis was always his fitness level. He was a great player but just couldn’t stay on the field. It seems the two defensive tackles have swapped places.
I do not doubt that Jalen Carter will improve over the course of the season, but as he positively regresses back to his mean, we can hope that Jordan Davis continues his impressive play. Those two manhandling the interior offensive line will help solve the defense’s pressure problems.
Obviously, kudos to Davis for the thickest six of all time. I was watching from a Philly Sports bar in San Diego–Pretzels and Pints for those who are curious–and it was the loudest reaction I’ve ever heard with the exception of being in a stadium.
Offensive Offensive Line Play
Lane Johnson got a stinger on the Eagles’ first brotherly shove of the game. After the first series, the Eagles replaced him with Matt Pryor. Pryor struggled early and often. A few of the pressures he allowed may have been communication issues; one seemed to be a miscommunication specifically between Saquon Barkley and Matt Pryor that allowed an unblocked interior rusher.
Pryor’s final series resulted in the unblocked strip sack on Hurts.
The following series, the Eagles replaced Pryor with Fred Johnson, who immediately improved the offensive line.
Fred Johnson’s addition along the line provided immediate stability. He lost to Jared Verse on a few bullrushes that forced Hurts to get the ball out quickly, but that is expected of a backup RT against a premiere edge defender.
The Eagles said that Fred Johnson didn’t take the backup RT snaps at first because he had not taken snaps there in practice. That may be the case, but moving forward, the Eagles will likely have Fred Johnson take the backup snaps at both tackle spots.
The Rams clearly had a plan to take advantage of the backup tackles, whether it was Fred Johnson or Matt Pryor in at RT. They frequently sent extra rushers, either linebackers or defensive backs, at the right side of the offensive line to stress the Eagles’ sliding protections. It worked well and the Eagles offensive line struggled throughout the game. The offense did not provide with the offensive line or Hurts with easy outs against pressure.
This aligns with the first takeaway from this game; Kevin Patullo does not have answers for the blitz. Hurts has been better this season with combating the effects of blitzes, but he’s been doing so either by pushing the ball downfield or by picking up first downs with his legs. This offense has not had hot reads for Hurts to take advantage of really since he’s been the starting quarterback. It is a dangerous line to walk, one that produces either an explosive play or a sack. There is no easy answer for Hurts against the blitz. He’s been brilliant, but we can’t expect him to be otherworldly for the rest of the season. The answers to protect him and the offensive line must be built in to the offense.
Quinyanamo Bay
Quinyon Mitchell shadowed Davante Adams on 27 of 34 routes in Week 3 (79.4%). It was the first game of his career where he shadowed a receiver on over 60% of their routes.
Mitchell matched up against Adams 22 times after the snap, allowing just 2 receptions for 12 yards on 5… pic.twitter.com/1v6IyFjI1N
He has had two bad penalties this season, but outside of those two penalties, Mitchell has picked up right where he left off last season.
In this game, Mitchell shadowed Adams for most of the game, something that he has not been asked to do previously. He acquitted himself well. I won’t be surprised if he’s asked to shadow more often now. He essentially eliminates an entire third of the field.
That the Eagles have two young, talented cornerbacks is such a benefit to a defense that cannot pressure the quarterback. Once again, the Eagles will need to create coverage sacks. With Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, that is a viable strategy.
Defensive Line
Simply put, the Eagles rank 29th in the NFL in sacks. They have 3. Now, Josh Uche continues to be one of the best in the NFL in terms of pass rush win rate, but the sack total speaks for itself.
The indicating statistics are not much rosier. Between hurry, hurry %, pressure, pressure %, and sacks, the Eagles rank best in pressure %. They rank 15th in the NFL with a 19.4% pressure percentage. The defensive line is the weak link on the defense.
Nolan Smith just went on the IR. Azeez Ojulari has been a healthy scratch. Things are looking bleak for the edge rusher room. Despite the addition of Za’Darius Smith, the Eagles need to make a move for a needle-moving pass rusher before the deadline.
Considering teams that already look like they will miss the postseason, here are some names the Eagles should keep an eye on:
Danielle Hunter (Texans)
Bradley Chubb (Dolphins)
Leonard Floyd (Falcons)
Joseph Ossai (Bengals)
Jermaine Johnson II (New York Jets)
Skill Position Players
Throwing the ball to AJ Brown is a great idea. Brown is bigger, faster and stronger than almost everyone that is covering him. His ability to out-muscle defenders at the catch point is really unmatched in the NFL. The Eagles offense will continue to excel as long as they keep him and Smitty involved.
Saquon Barkley has not had a signature game yet this season, and as long as the Eagles continue to run condensed sets or run inside zone over and over, he probably won’t. I’m not so sure that defenses are selling out to stop Barkley as much as I am that the Eagles’ formations (both in terms of proximity to the ball in condensed sets and formation tendencies) invite added bodies in the box post-snap.
Patullo will need to start leveraging 11 personnel and spread the defense laterally to really get Barkley going; that is something this offense needs desperately.
The Philadelphia Eagles return to Lincoln Financial Field facing a familiar foe. The last time the Eagles played against the Los Angeles Rams in the Linc, it was during the NFC Divisional playoff game. The Rams gave the Eagles the greatest test of the postseason, ultimately failing to convert a critical fourth down with just seconds remaining. Saquon Barkley was the hero that day, scoring two touchdowns, one of which was his “snow bowl” moment.
Tomorrow, the two teams meet again, this time under much different circumstances.
Eagles Offense Vs. Rams Defense
Barkley was the answer in both games against the Rams last season. He had perhaps the two best games of his season. This season, the Rams defense features improved players along the defensive line. They were no slouches against the Eagles last season, but as just rookies, Jared Verse, Braden Fiske and Byron Young were still learning the ropes of the NFL. Now, after an entire offseason, the three sophomores figure to be an even bigger issue for the Eagles offensive line. They are aggressive, attacking upfield quickly to get after the quarterback. However, given Barkley’s dominance over the defense, I think that the Rams will take special care to shut down cutback lanes.
I expect that the Rams will devote more resources to the run. The Rams secondary is suspect. Their bid for success on defense is to be aggressive getting after the quarterback and using linebackers to fill the gaps of their aggressive defensive line (a theme I think will be common through most games of the Eagles season). They’re best bet is to try to stop every down within the first two seconds. Any play that lasts longer than that increases the exposure of their secondary. Expect plenty of negative plays but also plenty of explosive plays. If Hurts can navigate collapsing pockets and evade the first rusher, downfield shots should prove useful for the offense.
Eagles Defense Vs. Rams Offense
I often like to look at target charts for the opposing quarterback to see what the Eagles will try to take away first. Of course, this is Matt Stafford, and every week’s target chart is an even distribution at every level on portion of the field laterally. Stafford is such a good pure thrower of the football.
What he struggles in is mobility. As a 37-year-old quarterback, that isn’t much of a surprise. What is notable, though, is the Rams’ reliance on under-center drop backs. How the Eagles can take advantage is by rotating coverages as Stafford turns his back to the defense and then getting after him quickly.
What will be difficult for the Eagles is the dominance of the Rams’ receivers. It’s no secret that the Eagles’ incompetence at CB2 is the defense’s greatest weakness. Davante Adams is better than both Adoree Jackson and Jakorian Bennett. In isolation, Adams will simply humiliate the Eagles’ CB2 unless they receive significant help from the safety group.
The Eagles also do not have the sack production that would indicate taking advantage of Stafford’s immobility. What is encouraging is the Eagles pass rush win rate. They Eagles’ defensive line is winning; they are just not converting pressure to sacks. The immobility of Stafford should yield better results.
Prediction
The Eagles will not feast on the Rams defense on the ground like before. Kevin Patullo’s offense has been frustrating to say the least, and its lack of creativity will not provide the Eagles with easy answers. Any success they see will be a result of the players’ natural ability and dominance. The Ram’s defense is weak in the secondary. However, I don’t think that the Eagles will be able to block the Rams well enough to limit quick pressures. Receivers will therefore lack the ability to separate downfield and take advantage of the Rams’ poor secondary.
On defense, I expect the Eagles’ CB2 will be humiliated. McVay is still the standard for offensive scheming. Vic Fangio is the standard for defensive structuring, but the Eagles simply do not have the talent at CB2 to match the Rams’ firepower. They can protect that position with safety help, but safety help also means sacrificing structure in the rest of the defense.
I expect that the Rams will score early and often. Jalen Carter will get 2+ sacks, but ultimately it will not matter. Rams win 31-23.
Apologies for not writing a game review for the Cowboys game, and double apologies for not writing a pregame preview for the Chiefs. Life can be crazy. Regardless, I wanted to take some time to talk about what we have seen from the Eagles over the last two weeks.
He Just Wins
First and foremost, the Eagles are a winning franchise with Jalen Hurts under center. They start the season 2-0 after beating arguably their two greatest rivals—I count the Chiefs among their biggest rivals at this point—the first two weeks of the season. It has not looked pretty for the most part, but they get the job done. You may have seen the video of Chris Jones trying to discredit Hurts at the line of scrimmage as the Eagles lined up in victory formation. Jones tells Hurts, “You don’t even have 100 yards.” I won’t quote Hurts’ response; you can watch it for yourself. But he is exactly correct; the Eagles won the game.
In Week 1, Hurts’ did exactly what you want to see from your franchise quarterback. Detractors point to his target map as a point of emphasis on his limitations as a passer.
I see the target map as a reason you paid the man to be your franchise quarterback. The Cowboys’ defensive coverage shells kept everything in front of them. They entirely eliminated the deep ball. What Hurts did was get the ball where it needed to be on time to take advantage of the intermediate and shallow areas of the field. Take what the defense gives you; Hurts did that and then killed the Cowboys with his legs. He was masterful against the Cowboys.
The Chiefs prioritized pressuring Hurts via blitzes. They blitzed the most they have under Steve Spagnuolo. Blitzes have long been the way to slow the Eagles offense, as the offense does not have the best answers when the quarterback is hot. But in this game, Hurts was decisive with the football, getting the ball out quickly.
The Chiefs blitzed Jalen Hurts on 16 of his 25 dropbacks (64.0%), their highest blitz rate under DC Steve Spagnuolo (since 2019).
Hurts is absolutely deserving of the praise he gets. He is willing this offense to wins they do not deserve.
Defense is Improved
The first half of the Cowboys game had most Eagles fans worried about the personnel lost in free agency during the offseason. They could not stop the run. Adoree Jackson was dreadful at CB2. Drew Mukuba was generally invisible. The defense settled in during the second half and certainly showed out today in Arrowhead.
The Eagles biggest question mark was pass rush. It was obvious that Eagles were simply not generating enough pressure despite Josh Uche having the best pass rush win-rate in the NFL in Week 1.
The Eagles were getting pressure but were held to zero sacks. Overall though, the results were poor.
Noticing the obvious shortfall, Howie Roseman went out and acquired Zadarius Smith, who was impactful immediately. He played well. The analytics will not be available for Week 2 for another day or two, but I anticipate the results on paper will be much better.
Though the pass rush looked better, Adoree Jackson was still challenged on most snaps. He is simply not the answer at CB2. The Eagles will need to get Jakorian Bennett out on the field sooner rather than later, or perhaps even make a move for a better option (that Bennett has not yet replaced Jackson on the depth chart is more than a little bit concerning). Jackson has been picked on in both games and has not even looked as bad as he actually has been. He was bailed out today twice on Patrick Mahomes overthrows. Fortunately, Mukuba looked every bit the playmaker he was billed as during the draft. He just missed out on a pick six after getting caught by the fastest offensive lineman sprint in years. His interception saved the game. He also had a massive stop against Hollywood Brown to kill a Chiefs drive. With CJ Gardner-Johnson gone, Mukuba will need to continue to be a physical force for the Eagles to continue performing well on defense.
If this Eagles team succeeds, it will be on the backs of their linebacking core. Jihaad Campbell is the perfect partner-in-crime for Zack Baun. His natural feel in coverage makes it so difficult for teams to throw over the middle for quarterbacks. I haven’t seen a target chart combining the first two weeks, but to my eyes, almost every target was along the sidelines, deep downfield or along the seams. Campbell even broke up a perfectly thrown seam-pass from Dak Prescott in Week 1. You have likely seen that clip of him “running the pole.” In addition to Campbell immediately looking like he belongs, Baun has not lost a step from his All-Pro season last year. He chased down Miles Sanders to save seven points in Week 1. That play was ultimately the difference.
Kevin Patullo Struggles
I will not pretend to be an offensive guru (though I like to think I know more than the average NFL viewer), so take this with a grain of salt: this offense looks uninspired.
My first thought is that the offense is not utilizing the full field. The Eagles seem to be running a lot of condensed sets which naturally loads the box against the run. There’s just more defenders closer to the ball. Saquon Barkley has not been bad at all, but the running game has been inefficient. Again, rbsdm.com will not have the EPA/play and Success Rate metrics until after tomorrow’s games, but I would venture to say the Eagles’ running game success rate will be below average. For a team that has the best offensive line and running back in football, that is unacceptable.
Contributing to their inefficiency on the ground is their predictability. Too often Patullo uses the same script each series: run into a loaded box, run into a loaded box, shallow pass to the boundary for little gain and punt. Every yard seems painstakingly hard to earn. Any success comes from the talent of the players. That has been enough these two weeks because the Eagles’ players are so talented, but teams more talented than the Cowboys and Chiefs, the margin for error will be so much smaller.
That AJ Brown has basically been a non-factor in both Week 1 and Week 2 is unforgiveable. He is among the five best players on the entire 53-man roster. He is a top-5 wide receiver in the NFL. Use him.
Similarly, when the Eagles have been in 3rd and more than 10, Patullo has had the Eagles take the cowards way out and run to punt. This is an offense with AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, the best offensive line in football, and a quarterback who throws the best deep ball in the NFL. Take advantage of the personnel and be aggressive.
It is early, but the early returns on Kevin Patullo are not inspiring.
Discipline
This whole offseason, we have heard about the Eagles as the model organization in the NFL. National pundits, players, coaches and team staff members all rave about how the Eagles prepare so intensely in the details. Where is the proof? The offensive line has killed drives with pre-snap penalties. The defense has surrendered first downs due to undisciplined taunting, not to mention the Jalen Carter spit-gate.
The Eagles have won by the skin of their teeth twice, but both games should not have been that close. Their discipline, or lack thereof, is a major factor in allowing the Cowboys and Chiefs to stick around in games they had no business winning.
Looking Forward
I will have a game preview this week as the Eagles prepare to play the Los Angeles Rams. I’ve been fortunate enough to go to the Eagles-Rams games the past two season in LA (I live in San Diego). It is a shame I won’t make it to the game at home this year, but fear not, my dad carries the torch for me and will give me some live reactions from the Linc.
In terms of the game itself, my initial thoughts are that the Eagles will need to win in a shoot-out fashion.
If the Eagles continue to play with Adoree Jackson on the field, Sean McVay is going to expose him with both Davante Adams and Puka Nacua. Stafford and the rest of the Rams’ offense looked much improved in Week 2.
On Thursday night, the Philadelphia Eagles will begin the defense of their title in Lincoln Financial Field against the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s one of the great football rivalries in the NFL, and the Eagles unveiling their new Super Bowl banner will likely add some fuel to the fire on the field. However, this game will have a much different feel than in recent years.
The two teams are in very different situations. The Eagles are champions and boast perhaps the best roster in the NFL. The Cowboys feature and a brand-new coaching staff and just traded their best player, Micah Parsons, to the Green Bay Packers.
The Eagles should win this game. They have the better offense; they have the better defense; they have the better coaching. But as the old adage goes, any given Sunday. Here is how the game will look on both sides of the ball.
Eagles Offense vs. Cowboys Defense
The biggest advantage the Eagles have remains their rushing offense. Jalen Hurts’ decisiveness and power carrying the football will always create opportunities for the running backs by forcing linebackers to respect his rushing ability.
The Eagles’ rushing offense was phenomenal in 2024. They ranked first in the NFL in rushing EPA with .056. As good as the Eagles’ rushing offense was, the Cowboys’ run defense surpassed it in rushing EPA allowed with .084. Simply put, opponents collectively ran better against the Cowboys than the Eagles did all season in terms of season totals.
During the 2024-2025 season, the Cowboys blitzed at the sixth highest rate in all of football. Their aggression on defense was partially why they were so ineffective against the run. Afterall, when you blitz, you risk blitzing the wrong gap. New Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus does not typically blitz as much, which may help stabilize their rush defense.
Now, the Micah Parsons trade is one-sided. There is no doubt about that. The Cowboys received only two first round picks and Kenny Clark in return. The Cowboys lost one of the three best pass rushers in the NFL and received little as compensation, but outside of contract structure and negotiation missteps, the trade makes sense structurally for the Cowboys’ defense. Clark may be coming off the worst season of his career, but he has historically been stout against the run in addition to his pass rushing ability. If he can return to his typical form, the Cowboys’ defense should improve against the run (it really can’t get worse, can it). If nothing else, the trade at least demonstrates a commitment to defending the run. Additionally, the Cowboys will play much of the season without linebacker Demarvion Overshown, who played well against the Eagles last season. To help linebackers Jack Sanborn and Kenneth Murray Jr., Eberflus will want to devote more resources to stop the run by loading the box and forcing Hurts to throw.
During the 2024-2025 season, the Cowboys’ defense was strong against the pass, primarily because of its pass rush. According to Pro Football Reference, they ranked third in sacks (52), boasting a 9.2% sack percentage, second in total pressures, and ninth in quarterback hits (105). Now, without Parsons to help disrupt the quarterback the Cowboys will need to their defensive backs to create opportunities for coverage sacks. Critically, the Cowboys return both DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs, which should keep the Cowboys’ pass defense afloat.
The combination of a better coverage unit, the subsequent availability of resources to devote against the run, the lack of Micah Parsons, and the addition of Kenny Clark, you can expect the Cowboys to commit to stopping the Eagles on the ground.
As we’ve seen on the biggest stages, Hurts relishes the challenge to throw when defenses key on the run, and I think he continues to take advantage.
Eagles Defense vs Cowboys Offense
The Cowboys may be a far weaker team than we have grown to expect recently, but the decrease in talent is defensively. Their offense still features a passing game that will exploit tight windows and mismatches frequently. The Cowboys’ best chance at staying in this game is by leveraging new addition George Pickens. Pickens is perhaps the best second receiver the Cowboys have had in a long time.
As of right now, the Eagles plan to play Adoree Jackson at the second outside corner spot in order to keep Cooper DeJean in the slot.
Cowboys’ star receiver CeeDee Lamb also plays primarily from the slot, but since the Eagles rarely have their corners travel across the defensive formation and Cooper DeJean has played so well, the Cowboys could look to move their receivers around and exploit matchups. The addition of Pickens means that the Eagles will not be able to provide as much safety help over Lamb. If they do, they will have to hope their front seven can handle a decent run-blocking Cowboys’ offensive line.
Fortunately, the Cowboys’ backfield features Javonte Williams as the starter. The Eagles should be able to drop their linebackers often to help in coverage and play more two-high shells against the Cowboys to keep everything in front of them.
The Cowboys have done a good job at replenishing talent along their offensive line and without any star defensive linemen outside of Jalen Carter, expect the Eagles to struggle to pressure Dak Prescott. Until the postseason, the Eagles 2024 defensive line was among the worst in pass rushing statistics across the board. Most of their success was a result of incredible coverage from the defensive backs position group. Once again, the Eagles defensive backs will need to force coverage sacks.
Prediction
27-14 Eagles. The Eagles rarely play starters in the preseason, so the first few games often serve as a warm-up of sorts. They don’t typically come out firing on all cylinders.
I think that the Eagles’ roster construction is better, their coaches are more experienced, and they have the best home field advantage in the NFL. The Linc will be rocking on banner night, and I expect the Eagles will feed off of the energy. Hurts will leverage the open space in the secondary as the Cowboys commit to trying to stop Saquon Barkley.
I think this is a big Jordan Davis game. While he’s never been the difference making DT the Eagles dreamed he would be, he has been impactful against the run. As the Eagles devote more assets to stopping the Cowboys’ always-dangerous aerial offense, he will hopefully be the linchpin in stopping the run. I think he ends up with 2+ TFLs.
