PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 26: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with teammate Saquon Barkley #26 after a 4 yard touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the first quarter in the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 26, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
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The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX 40-22 in February over the Kansas City Chiefs, but things have been rocky for the defending champs this season.
Less than a year removed from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and six games into the 2025 season, the Eagles are 4-2 with an offense that has regressed mightily.
Eagles suffer tough road loss to the Giants
The Eagles lost 34-17 to the New York Giants on Thursday night, their second straight loss and a game in which they were shut out 14-0 in the second half.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts struggled down the stretch against the Giants and was 24-of-33 for 283 passing yards with one passing touchdown and one interception. With the Eagles trailing for a large chunk of the game, running back Saquon Barkley was hardly involved and had just 12 carries for 58 yards.
Hurts and Barkley aren’t producing
The struggles for Hurts and Barkley have been a common occurrence this season.
Per ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak, Hurts is throwing 10-19 yards downfield on just 11% of his drop-backs, which is the lowest rate for a starter in the last 15 years. Solak describes the Eagles’ offense as “free access checkdowns or downfield heaves.” Hurts is averaging 6.8 yards per pass attempt this season, the lowest total of his career. Further, Hurts ranks No. 17 in Total QBR at 58.6. All data indicates that things aren’t clicking as they should for a quarterback that was Super Bowl MVP.
When it comes to Barkley, the star running back has just 325 yards rushing and three rushing scores through six games while averaging only 3.4 yards per carry. Barkley’s lack of production comes after an incredible 2024 campaign where he amassed 2,005 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
Hurts and Barkley aren’t making excuses or pointing fingers at teammates. They are self-aware and realize they both have room for improvement.
“I gotta be better,” Hurts said. “I take ownership for it, a lot of autonomy and a lot of opportunity there with the ball in my hands. And given those situations, I have to be wiser and more detailed with it. So always looking inward first, looking inward on the things that I can control, and I see a lot of opportunity in this.”
For Barkley, he aims to return to his ’24 form.
“I do know one thing, I gotta start making more plays,” Barkley said. “At this point, last year, I made more plays. So, I just gotta do that, and I feel like we all gotta take that mindset.”
Is the Eagles’ offense too predictable?
The Eagles have a first-year offensive coordinator in Kevin Patullo, and it’s clear at this juncture in the season that the offense must evolve, or it’ll stay stuck in the mud. Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson wants to evaluate what went wrong against the Giants and make the proper changes.
“We’ll go back and look at this tape and see what we’ve got to fix, but moving forward, maybe more efficient, less predictable and capitalize on big plays and explosives,” Johnson said.
Johnson isn’t the only one calling the Eagles’ offense predictable; so is ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky.
“They’re in the gun every snap,” Orlovsky tweeted on Thursday night. “Where Saquon aligns is giving away run or pass. Predictable.”
What’s next for Philadelphia
The Eagles still lead the NFC East at 4-2, but the Washington Commanders are right behind them at 3-2. If the Eagles’ offense doesn’t make major strides, their two-game losing streak could turn into three on the road in Week 7 against a 3-2 Minnesota Vikings team that ranks No. 6 in total defense, averaging 289.8 yards per game.
Despite offensive woes, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is optimistic his team can get to where they need to be this season.
“This group of guys and group of coaches have been to the top of the mountain, been to playoffs and figured out ways,” Sirianni said. “I know we can figure out ways to get this thing rolling. We’ve been good at that in the past and got to be good at that again.”