McMullen: Eagles’ Second-Half Offense Has Become a Vanishing Act

PHILADELPHIA - Through five games, the Philadelphia Eagles sit at 2-3 after a third straight setback, a 19-17 gut-wrencher to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London sealed by Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal as time expired.

Nick Sirianni took the blame for the kickoff decision in the waning seconds that allowed the return that set up Little’s heroics, and he also took accountability for losing the game.

However, the bigger and far more persistent problem was the offense’s disappearance after halftime – again.

In the second half of the last three games, the Eagles have produced: three points, 10 three-and-outs, 12 first downs, and a 2-for-20 mark on third down over 18 drives. League-wide, they rank last in second-half scoring (23 points), total yards (495), three-and-out rate (51.7 percent), and pass yards per attempt (4.0).

Overmatched?

Across the first five games, Sean Mannion’s new-look offense has repeatedly built or held first-half leads only to watch drives stall, punts pile up, and opportunities to close games evaporate.

Injuries have not helped—Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith were out in London, the offensive line has been reshuffled due to circumstance and injury, and the run game has been sporadic at best (just 22 yards against the Jaguars).

But the pattern predates the latest absences and echoes issues from last season under Kevin Patullo.

Mannion, who calls plays from the booth in a scheme supposedly influenced by Shanahan-McVay principles, has yet to produce consistent second-half rhythm, third-down efficacy, or explosive plays when the game tightens. It’s been a repetitive offense that has been easily solved by opponents.

Sirianni, speaking Monday, framed the response around collective growth rather than blame when asked about Mannion by Eagles On SI.

“I think that right now, offensively, we all have to be better… players, coaches with myself - all of us have to be better,” the head coach admitted. “We’re not worried about gauging where this person is or where that person is. We’re worried about growth… Obviously it hasn’t been good enough.”

“It’s never just one thing,” Sirianni continued. “… We all have things that we have to get better at… We won’t ever use anything as an excuse… It’s about finding solutions.”

There was an obvious disconnect with Sirianni noting “you have to be different to give yourself an edge” in the NFL, an interesting take as so many teams around the league are playing a similar style of offense, and the Eagles are late to that party.

“You have to take accountability and not look to assign blame, and look yourself in the mirror first,” said Sirianni. “… To do things in the NFL and to win games in the NFL, you have to be different.”

The Eagles offense ranks near the bottom of the league in points and yards per game overall; the under-center and play-action elements have not clicked at the expected rate, and third-down and second-half stalls have become the only real consistency.

Another high-expectations team facing a similar early-season offensive stall has already acted more decisively.

In Denver, Sean Payton reclaimed play-calling duties from first-year offensive coordinator Davis Webb after just four games. The Broncos were 2-2 and ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring and total yards (around 27th in both) when Payton announced the change after a loss to the 49ers, saying simply, “We’ll make a change offensively. I’ll call the plays.”

Webb remains the coordinator and is involved in game-planning, but Payton is now the voice in Bo Nix’s ear.

Both situations involve a veteran head coach who previously called plays, handing the role to a young, first-time play-caller amid high expectations, only to watch the offense sputter with too many three-and-outs, limited explosiveness, and an inability to sustain drives.

The difference is the timeline and the response: Payton judged four games a sufficient sample and stepped back in; Sirianni continues to emphasize growth, shared accountability, and incremental improvement, with Mannion still calling the plays.

Sirianni also doesn’t want to take play-calling back, but has former Tampa Bay OC Josh Grizzard on staff as the passing game coordinator as a potential contingency option.

Whether the Eagles’ more tempered approach yields the growth Sirianni craves or whether the second-half disappearing act continues and forces a Sean Desai-like bolder adjustment will define the season.

The idea that the Eagles should punt on the campaign is shortsighted given how poor the NFC East is shaping up. Winning the division is an easy path to a sixth straight postseason berth and the kind of sustained success that has been Philadelphia’s seasonal goal since Andy Reid brought the philosophy to the organization in 1999.

Maybe the Super Bowl isn’t realistic this season, but dismissing playoff experience as not good enough for the younger players is specious.

The defense is getting better. The offense, particularly after intermission, has not. As Sirianni put it, the job now is to find solutions. In an industry defined by results, gauging Mannion's job performance is inevitable. If the head coach refuses, someone else will.

The window for growth is narrowing, and Payton's urgency exhibited in Denver may be the template for changing the voice on the headset unless Mannion figures this out.

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