Behind Enemy Lines: 5 Questions with Eagles Today Reporter Ed Kracz

The New York Giants, who have not won a game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia since 2013, are hoping for a Christmas Day miracle when they visit their heated division rivals.

While not officially done, the Giants' 2023 season has been circling the drain for weeks. Surprisingly, the Eagles, who are at least assured of a playoff spot, unlike the Giants, are trying to stop the bleeding brought about by a three-game losing streak that is threatening their chances at securing the No. 1 playoff seed and home-field advantage.

The odds are heavily stacked against the Giants, but the Eagles are a flawed team, as Eagles Today reporter Ed Kracz tells us in response to our questions.

Let’s start with the existing losing streak. What has gone wrong for the Eagles over this period?

Where to begin? I once heard it said that when things go bad, EVERYTHING becomes a problem. In the blowout losses to the 49ers and Cowboys, they looked mentally fatigued, perhaps from having fallen behind at halftime in seven straight games and having to expend a lot of emotion and energy to claw back and win five of those.

In the loss to the Seahawks last Monday night, they held a lead at halftime for the first time since Week 7 against the Dolphins. It didn’t help. That loss was a breakdown by both the offense and defense.

It’s an offense that hasn’t topped 20 points in this three-game losing streak and a defense that isn’t generating the sacks it did last year when it had 70. They have 40 this season.

Being unable to get to the quarterback consistently has exposed the back end, which has been banged up all season long, affecting communication. Last week in Seattle, they played three rookies in a lot of snaps (safety third-round pick Sydney Brown, fourth-round pick Kelee Ringo, and undrafted rookie Eli Ricks). That may continue.

There have been signs of splintering from the locker room, with teammates being critical of each other. Something to worry about or much ado about nothing.

I think there’s a fine line between being critical and holding each other accountable for their play. Nick Sirianni preaches accountability, and I think that’s what we may be seeing more of rather than the splintering and finger-pointing that may be the outside perception. If the Eagles don’t right this ship, that may change.

Why did Nick Sirianni switch defensive play callers this late in the season, and what differences jumped out at you with Matt Patricia calling the defense?

The move away from Sean Desai as the player-caller certainly raised eyebrows since earlier in the week. Sirianni said he wasn’t planning on changing anything because this team had won 10 games.

So, it seemed like a panic move, and maybe it was. I think, though, that the defense lost some confidence in Desai, who had only been a coordinator for one year previously, and that was two seasons ago for the Bears.

Patricia, of course, has many more years of experience, and Sirianni felt that moving to him as a play-caller may bring some confidence back to the defense. That went out the window, though, when they gave up a game-winning touchdown drive in the final two minutes against the Seahawks last week.

It will be interesting to see how Patricia and this defense respond over the final three games and in the playoffs.

In retrospect, how much did losing both coordinators to head coaching jobs last year lead to a regression for this team?

They did win 10 of their first 11 games, but there were no style points in any of those wins. I think going to an inexperienced voice in Desai and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson hasn’t helped now that adversity has struck these past three weeks. Not sure Johnson knows how to dig his way out of it, though the competition supposedly softens over the final three weeks.

Do you believe Jalen Hurts’ quest for MVP consideration is real or perceived, and how would you classify the odds of him winning it?

Hurts was certainly in the MVP mix once again after the first 12 weeks of the season, but hard times have befallen him and the offense, and there’s just no way he will win it this year.

His completion percentage has been below 60 percent in three of the last four games, and he hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in two straight games, though he did rush for two last week to tie Cam Newton for most rushing scores by a quarterback with 14 that Newtown had in his rookie year of 2011.

The Eagles need better play from Hurts, though, if they want to turn things around and make a deep playoff push.

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