(James Bradeberry misses another tackle. Photo)
The Eagles started the season 10-1. Jalen Hurts was the frontrunner for MVP, while inconsistent, the defense had played decently well, and you’d have been a madman to ask for the firing of Nick Sirianni. Two weeks later, Sean Desai was demoted and was no longer calling plays as defensive coordinator. One week later, after two Hurts interceptions and James Bradberry’s awful display on the last drive, the Eagles fell one game behind the 49ers. A few weeks later, the Eagles would blow a 21-6 lead to the Cardinals to blow the NFC East. Which awarded them a trip to Tampa Bay, where the Eagles were put out of their misery with a 32-9 defeat.
The Eagles went from Super Bowl favorites to first-round exits in two months. Nick Sirianni is officially on the hot seat, and the Eagles are also likely to part ways with Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson, Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai, and Matt Patricia. The Eagles will also likely need to construct an entirely new defense, with the linebacker core and secondary needing to be heavily reconstructed. Whether it be James Bradberry becoming a practice squad level player, Kevin Byard being below average, Josh Sweat recording 0 sacks the final 2 months of the regular season, they need some work. On the offensive side, the Eagles looked just as lost, with Brian Johnson refusing to run the ball, and dialing up the most basic offensive playbook you could imagine. Jalen Hurts had many issues with turnovers this yearand struggled as the season came crashing down. So here are 7 takeaways (one for each loss) from the Eagles season.
- Jalen Hurts Is Not The Problem:
Jalen Hurts, just a few weeks ago, was the MVP frontrunner. While Jalen did have a tough end to the season, he is far from the problem. You could argue Jalen is the only reason the Eagles even made the playoffs, due to his play bailing out the Eagles time and time again despite his own Offensive Coordinators efforts. Despite the media telling you Hurts is bad and got “exposed,” Hurts is still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes had a bad year this year, but everyone makes excuses for him and says it’s because he has no weapons. Justin Herbert has never won a playoff game,but the excuse for him is always bad coaching. So why is Jalen the sole man responsible for the Eagles’ demise, despite being in the most dysfunctional offensive scheme in football, and having to put up with one of the worst defenses in the league in the second half of the season? But Jalen Hurts cannot allow stretches like this and seasons like this to be lost. If Jalen struggles once more this year with new(and hopefully improved)coaching, then the Eagles will have to ask if they overpaid for Hurts.
(Jalen Hurts after beating the Bills in overtime to move to 10-1.Photo)
2. Eagles Need An Entirely New Defense:
The defense showed flashes throughout the season, but whether under Sean Desai or Matt Patricia, the Eagles defense heavily struggled. After the heavily scrutinized Jonathan Gannon left for Arizona, many Eagles fans were happy, only for the Eagles’ defense to have a massive drop-off, with a record-breaking pass rush dropping off to league average. The secondary was absolutely horrendous, with James Bradberry who went from one of the best corners in the league last year, to one of the worst players in the league. To make matters worse, starting corner Avontae Maddox was lost for the majority of the season, as well as Josh Jobe and 6th-round rookie Eli Ricks were not effective amidst Maddox’s absence. Shaquille Leonard and Kevin Byard were added midseason to help at linebacker and Safety, and both failed to make a real impact.
3. Howie Roseman Also Deserves Blame For The Eagles Collapse:
(Photo Via New York Times)
Howie Roseman is beloved by the Eagles fanbase. He’s the mastermind behind the construction of the 2017-18 Super Bowl Champions and the 2022-23 NFC Champions. However, it’s not a stretch at all to say Howie had a bad offseason. You could argue, it was terrible. Howie Brought back James Bradberry,who turned into one of the worst corners in the league. Howie also opted to bring back Eagles legend Brandon Graham. For a one-year 6 million-dollar contract, no one thought much of it as while he is not the same player the fanbase loves BG. However, the Eagles lost starting linebackers TJ Edwards and Kyzir White, who made a combined 10 million dollars this year. Was it really worth bringing back BG to not even be a starter for 6 million dollars while letting go of integral starters TJ Edwards and Kyzir White? Did Howie Roseman forget this is a business? The linebacker room felt the loss of these two all year long. So did the defense as a whole. Howie brought in reinforcements on defense this season with Shaq Leonard and Kevin Byard. Leonard was a ghost, and Byard wasn’t good at all. Howie had a very bad offseason and now will have to reconstruct an old, uninspiring, and flat defense he constructed.
4. How Will the Eagles Handle The Potential Loss Of Jason Kelce:
It appears Eagles legend and All-Pro Center Jason Kelce is retiring. Throughout all the ups and downs of his tenure, Kelce had always been at an elite level. Kelce was a leader in the locker room and while he didn’t go out with his best effort in Tampa, he will be missed. How will the Eagles cope with his loss on the O-line and his loss in the locker room? Not to mention a locker room that completely collapsed the last 2 months of the season.
(Future Hall of Fame Center Jason Kelce. Photo)
5. The Eagles Must Move On From Sean Desai/Matt Patricia:
While Howie Roseman did not help much with the construction of this defense, Desai and Patricia did not do a good job. Desai at times showed a menacing defense which shut down the high-flying Dolphins, and defending champion Chiefs, among others. After two blowout losses to the 49ers and Cowboys, Desai was demoted, and Matt Patricia was promoted to defensive coordinator. This, wound up being a death wish for the Eagles as a struggling defense, became an awful defense. Being torched by the lowly Cardinals, and Giants on their way to a first-round exit.
6. The Eagles need to move on from Brian Johnson:
(Eagles Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson with Jalen Hurts. Photo)
Despite the numerous head coaching interviews Johnson has received (from the Falcons, Panthers, and Titans), the Eagles must hope that either Johnson gets hired, or they need to relieve him of his duties as Offensive Coordinator. Johnson calls a billion screen passes a game. Johnson also abandons the run game way too often, instead dialing up pass plays which the defense reads like a book. Either the Falcons, Panthers, and Titans didn’t actually watch the Eagles’ offense, or are only hiring him because of his work as QB Coach developing Jalen Hurts.
7. Nick Sirianni Is On The Hotseat, And What Does He Actually Do?:
You’d have been a madman to call for the firing of Nick Sirianni when the Eagles sat 10-1. Now, the majority of the fanbase wants him out. While Brian Johnson was the Offensive Coordinator, this is Nick Sirianni’s scheme. It appears former Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen is the man who made Sirianni’s offense flow. So it seems that leaves Sirianni as just a leader of the locker room. So Nick leads a terrible offense, and also was the leader of a team who had a historic collapse? Nick needs to get the results he was getting next year or else he will be fired by owner Jefferey Lurie who has not been afraid to fire coaches in the past.
