The Philadelphia Eagles made the NFL playoffs, but there are lingering doubts around the league regarding whether or not the reigning NFC champions and even win Monday’s Wild Card game. Evidently, there are even concerns within the Eagles’ locker room.
Things looked promising for Philadelphia heading into December. The Eagles led the NFL with a 10-1 record, positioning themselves for the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. Instead, Philadelphia is playing on Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with their season on the brink.
- Philadelphia Eagles offense stats: 255. PPG, 48% third-down conversion rate, 3.5 red-zone scoring attempts per game, 60% red-zone touchdown rate
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Signs of trouble became evident in December. Reports surfaced that there was a lot of finger-pointing in the Eagles’ locker room, even when things were going well. With the defense struggling, head coach Nick Sirianni stripped defensive coordinator Sean Desai of play-calling duties on third down then took away the job entirely from him and gave it to Matt Patricia.
The Eagles’ defense didn’t improve. Instead, Philadelphia had one of the worst NFL defenses in the final month of the season. While it’s been a source of frustration for everyone within the organization, it appears players are scratching their heads even more when it comes to the offense.
According to ESPN’s Tim McManus, there’s a major “disconnect between the visions” of Sirianni, quarterback Jalen Hurts and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson. Philadelphia promoted Johnson to offensive coordinator this season following Shane Steichen’s departure.
After a promising start by the offense, where it looked like this would be a top-five offense, things spiraled out of control for Philadelphia. In the midst of the struggles, the Eagles locker room has become confused by who is doing what on the offensive coaching staff.
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“A source described Johnson as having to fit his own philosophy within an offensive structure belonging to Sirianni. And just how much autonomy Johnson has as a playcaller is unclear. Sirianni has acknowledged that he’ll step in to overrule a call on occasion, as he did on a critical third-and-long play against the Washington Commanders in Week 4 when Johnson wanted to pass and Sirianni dialed up a run, which didn’t pan out. The line is blurred enough that some offensive players don’t know for sure who is calling the plays and when, a team source said.”
Tim McManus on the state of the Philadelphia Eagles offense, confusion over coaching duties
Unsurprisingly, per McManus, ideas from within the organization on how to fix the offense are flawed. Position groups’ solutions to Philadelphia’s problems would all help that specific position group, whether or not it’s good for the offense itself.
Amid finger-pointing and a lack of faith in the team’s vision, there’s lingering uncertainty regarding Sirianni’s future in Philadelphia. There’s already some belief that he’s lost control of the locker room with a first-round playoff exit only increasing the likelihood of Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie making a change.
