McMullen: Injuries, Stalled Run Game Leave Eagles Offense Looking Familiar to Kevin Patullo Era

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles sold a new offensive identity this offseason. After moving on from Kevin Patullo and hiring Sean Mannion as offensive coordinator, the pitch was the familiar Shanahan-McVay-like scheme: more snaps under center, more play-action, more motion, and a run game that would set up the pass.

Entering Week 3 of the 2026 season, that version of the offense has not shown up. The Eagles rank 22nd in the NFL in play-action usage at roughly 18.2 percent. They have been under center more but still closer to the bottom of the league at No. 26. And they have lived in 11 personnel to the tune of the second-highest rate in the league.

That last number is not a philosophical choice so much as a roster reality. Dallas Goedert is out with a sprained MCL suffered against Tennessee. Grant Calcaterra and second-round rookie Eli Stowers are already on injured reserve. That leaves Johnny Mundt and E.J. Jenkins as the healthy tight ends on the 53-man roster, with Zach Ertz arriving on the practice squad as emergency help.

Multiple-tight-end packages, the kind that give play-action and under-center concepts their teeth, have been hard to sustain. The running game has offered little cover. Early-down production has been poor, with first- and second-down carries frequently stalling.

Landon Dickerson’s absence has forced Cam Jurgens to left guard. Saquon Barkley has dealt with a stinger. Negative plays — sacks, stuffed runs, penalties — have put the offense behind the sticks too often, exactly the situation in which play-action and under-center looks become less attractive.

Small Sample Size

Sep 20, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) during post game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Head coach Nick Sirianni pushed back on the sample size this week when asked about the gap between the advertised scheme and the current one.

“Right now, it’s a low sample size. We’ve been doing some no-huddle stuff as well that — sometimes you’re running different things from those areas,” the coach said. “We always knew there’d be a mix of some of the things that we’ve done in the past and some of the new things that we want to bring.

“I think that we’ve had good production on the ones that we’ve done. It gives Jalen [Hurts] really good space from the line of scrimmage between him and the line of scrimmage. He’s handled those nicely, and our guys have handled it nicely. Some of that, too, is being in first and second down and manageable and not being behind the sticks. We know that we’ve been behind the sticks a little bit.”

Ultimately, the bottom line is 2-0, largely behind the brilliant individual play of Hurts in big moments. The question remains: is that sustainable over a more significant sample size?

“I think that’s a fair question. I think it’s just early and it’s early in a sample size, and [I] imagine we’ll have this conversation again or not,” Sirianni said. “We’ll see where we are at that particular point. It’s a little early right now because we’re still figuring out who we are and what we do best and all those different things.”

The production Sirianni cited on the actual play-action snaps they have called is real but Hurts has historically been efficient when he does use play-action. The volume has been very low, however.

Without consistent under-center looks, without two- or three-tight-end personnel that forces linebackers to respect the run, and without early-down running success that keeps the offense on schedule, the new concepts have remained the garnish to a familiar main course.

What was advertised in the offseason has so far been a 11-personnel, shotgun-heavy operation that looks more like last year’s offense with extra motion than a true schematic reset.

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