After 12 games, the Eagles are 8–4, but are still searching for an identity. There is no consistency to their scheme. Many observers opined on how well the marriage between their passing game and running game was in 2024. Well, they must have gotten divorced. And the defense resembles children who are negatively impacted by the result.
The Birds' offense has been stepping onto the field every week with the same issues. Self-inflicted problems, via poor execution, play-calling, or a lack of discipline, lead to excessive penalties. In this league, you don’t win many games that way, even if your roster is loaded with talent.
Statistically, analytically, and stylistically, this group is in a bad place. They lack rhythm, explosive plays, and a dominant running game, which they have leaned on for so long.
The quarterback run game and the RPO game have evaporated. On Friday, even with the Bears down multiple linebackers, Saquon Barkley touched the ball just 13 times, and their other running back, who many fans have clamored to get a much larger timeshare in the backfield, did not receive a single carry.
The checklist of what was, and many thought would remain, to be a staple and something the offense could rely on, is a thing of the past in 2025. This is primarily due to the running game and the offensive line not working. They have succeeded in the past due to talent and their ability to be consistent in dominating their opponent in the simple things. I have mentioned this many times, but the scheme is what it is, and very little has changed.
Could they incorporate more QB runs and RB carries with added creativity, whether using empty, duo, pony, play-action, RPOs, a passing game to assist with crossers, tempo, quick out routes, etc., when much of this has not been utilized or is not in the playbook? Maybe, but the current regime has proven it can win doing it its own way and is unwilling to deviate. When the offense executes properly and controls the LOS, opposing teams have not been able to stop it, even though they know it is coming. They were mastering and executing simple plays at a high level, and it worked.
This year, they have tried to improve their passing game on the fly, to no success, by increasing certain routes to historic levels. And they have made other tweaks here and there, but a major overhaul isn't happening this late in the season.
What they could do without schematic and playcall changes is stop getting to the line of scrimmage late, which limits their ability to change calls and dictate to the defense rather than the other way around. Stop running into a wall with little to no chance of success, and start taking advantage of a stacked box for deep shots, which is a missing ingredient in 2025.
Per PFF, on deep throws (20+ yards), the Eagles led the league in EPA per play (deep pass) in 2024, with a mark of 0.941. That was despite a relatively low amount of deep-passing attempts (57 on the season)—a perfect storm of perfection and talent rarely seen. Many analysts and fans argue that their offense in 2025 isn't sustainable due to a historic increase in predictable routes, but the 2024 offense wasn’t sustainable either.
The decline in passing EPA reflects a course correction, conservative play-calling, offensive-line issues, schematic predictability, and poor execution. The Eagles' deep-ball efficiency was another example of the offense exposing defenses that cheated (loading the box) to stop their historic running game. The Birds made the most of vertical opportunities created by a dominant run game.
So what is the fix? Replacing a play caller on the fly isn’t a magic wand. You can’t bring in someone new and overhaul a system in ten days. If anyone at NovaCare had a quick-fix button, they would have used it by now.
Kevin Patullo explained his perspective on the three-and-outs.
“So, when you look at the three-and-outs, you have to look at whether it was a physical error, a mental error, or a play-calling issue," Patullo stated, "Was it a penalty, was it a negative run? Were we on track? I think each one is independent, and that’s the biggest thing. The ones where, as far as strategy goes, if it was an incomplete pass and then an inefficient run, then an incomplete third down, well, what was that? What caused that? What was the error?
"So, I think you have to look at them independently to figure it out. A lot of it has to do with whether we are keeping the defense on their heels or are we're getting pressure because now we’re behind the sticks? So that causes some fluctuation depending on whether or not you’re being aggressive in those modes or whether they’ve got you by the sticks, right? So they’ve got you at a distance where they know they can do different things and dictate it to you. I think each one’s different, but we know that’s something we have to stop because when we don’t have those, we move the ball efficiently. So that’s an area we really got to clean up.”
The offense deserves much of the spotlight when it comes to the failures of the last few weeks, but the defense has some warts as well.
Stopping the run has been an issue for the 2025 defense for much of the season. Nakobe Dean returned, and it became an instant cheat code to fix many of their problems. But over the last two weeks, some of the same problems have started to plague Vic Fangio’s unit again.
Chicago ran all over the Eagles on Friday. The Birds allowed 281 rushing yards, just a stunning number even for a unit that has been a little leaky on the ground all year. The Bears picked up 28 first downs, dictated the pace, and held the ball for 39:18 to Philadelphia’s 20:42. When one team nearly doubles your time of possession, it usually means the trenches were one-sided, and they were.
The Eagles' defense could not win early downs versus the Bears and allowed 10 of 17 third-down conversions. Many of them were in manageable situations because the Bears ran for five, six, or seven+ yards a pop on the ground. This wasn’t because Chicago's ground game was creative; they lined up and ran through the defensive trenches at will.
The tone was set immediately: 84 rushing yards in the first quarter alone. Their effort wasn’t consistent. The player's body language was one of defeat. The coaching and awareness weren’t where they needed to be. In short, the Bears’ offensive line pushed them around, and the Eagles had no counter. The defense looks drained. Over the last two games, the Eagles have allowed 449 total yards per game, a significant decline from the dominance they displayed over the first two months of the season.
The truth is hard to ignore. This is a flawed team. You can’t survive on talent alone. You can’t assume ability outweighs structure. The hope was that the problems would somehow correct themselves. The slow meltdown has been festering week after week, and nothing has been done to stop it.
The coaches need to put their players in a better position, and the players need to execute like an NFL team; otherwise, this season will not end remotely close to how everyone expected.
As always, thank you for reading!
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