Eagles' Passing Offense Is A Problem

PHILADELPHIA - The 11-2 Eagles are a difficult team to talk about substantively.

By the Jalen Hurts rules of keeping the main thing the main thing, a .846 winning percentage, nine consecutive wins, and a fourth straight postseason berth confirm this is a good football team.

It's good enough to beat almost everyone in the NFL during the regular season. However, the expectations are what they are in Philadelphia, and beating Carolina on Dec. 8 without style points isn’t winning many over anyone other than the minority of fans who believe pointing out 108 passing yards in the modern NFL isn’t exactly killing it is some kind of heresy.

Rewind a week and Jalen Hurts threw for a similarly dismal 118 yards at Baltimore, and the Eagles also won.

You’re not supposed to be able to do that but Philadelphia is shaking up conventional wisdom on the foundation of Saquon Barkey’s historic season, coupled with a top-tier defense. and Hurts’ unique ability to pull out the horseshoe of three or four backbreaking plays no matter how poor the rest of his game is going.

The whole offensive system with the Eagles is the exact opposite of what was advertised and planned when Kellen Moore was hired to modernize and evolve that side of the football with motion and better route concepts.

“I think it's no secret that we weren't up to our standard in that area yesterday,” head coach Nick Sirianni said of the passing game against the Panthers during his Monday presser. “So it's just going back to work”

The Eagles only had 83 net passing yards against Carolina as Hurts struggled to distribute the football to open receivers on time.

At one point Brown was seen throwing his helmet in frustration and the star receiver was very short with reporters after the game.

Brown was hardly the only frustrated player, though, and Sirianni went into damage-control mode.

“What I do know – I love that guys care,” the coach spun. “They care about how they perform, they care about us meeting our standard, and that just leads into getting better.”

Injured vet Brandon Graham threw some lighter fluid on the issue Monday night while appearing on the Eagles’ flagship radio station, intimating the relationship between Hurts and Brown -- once very good friends -- is fractured.

“I know 1 (Hurts) is trying and 11 (Brown) could be a little better with how he responds to things. They were friends before this, but things have changed. I understand that because life happens," Graham said on is 94WIP show.

“I know 1 is trying and 11 could be better with how he responds to things. They were friends, but things have changed.”

Brandon Graham gives insight to the AJ Brown/Jalen Hurts drama: pic.twitter.com/RcouHPGK43
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) December 9, 2024

On the field, post the Eagles’ Week 4 bye week, Moore scaled the offense back to what Philadelphia has been with Shane Steichen and Brian Johnson calling plays, an RPO-based passing attack with a QB that’s better off-schedule than on-schedule.

And perhaps Philadelphia can take this weird fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants system all the way to New Orleans.

No hurdle looks insurmountable, not a banged-up Detroit team or flawed Minnesota and Green Bay clubs. Over in the AFC, Kansas City accumulates fewer style points than the Eagles these days and somehow Buffalo can’t ride six Josh Allen touchdowns to a victory.

So why not the Eagles?

Of course, it’s also not hard to envision why Philadelphia showing up to the postseason to find the one team that makes Barkley work for 125 yards, finds the answer to Vic Fangio’s array of zone coverages, gains an early advantage and forces Hurts to throw it 35 times, something the Eagles’ QB hasn’t done since Sept. 22 at New Orleans.

“My only thought on [the passing game] is, hey, we're going to get to work today, which we already did, and watch the tape with them and make the corrections,” Sirianni said. “And be critical with ourselves as coaches, how we can put them in better situations, how we can do different stuff to help out, and everybody doing their part.

“So it's just an opportunity for you to grow and to get better. And that's any time you step on the field, [there] is an opportunity for that.”

MORE NFL: On Second Watch: Jake Elliott's Struggles Are About More Than Missed Kicks For Eagles