The Philadelphia Eagles currently sit as the 5th seed in the NFC and are seemingly plummeting down the standings. Over this current loss streak, a lot of worrying pieces of information have been flooding out from various media sources. Whether it’s questions about Jalen Hurts’ leadership or rumors that the Eagles were “the most miserable 10-1 team ever”, things are looking worse and worse for the Eagles.
The most alarming news came from a presser Friday afternoon from offensive coordinator, Brian Johnson. There were three things that Johnson addressed as offensive issues that are points of emphasis for the team. One was to create more explosive plays, two was limiting turnovers, and three was scoring more in the red zone. There’s merit to the latter two points, but the first point is what will make fans seethe. The Eagles go for too many explosive plays already, and further emphasizing the need for explosive plays signals more danger for this team.
The Philosophy of the Eagles Offense is the Issue
First off, it’s true that the Eagles are statistically worse in the Redzone compared to last year, and they’ve been particularly poor in that area in the last three games. It’s also true that the Eagles need to take better care of the ball, as they are ranked 26th in turnover differential. Lastly, explosive plays will always be important in the NFL. It’s the reason quarterbacks like Mahomes and Allen are among the best, because of their ability to constantly create explosive plays. However, it cannot be your only method of attack. The Eagles are constantly trying to obliterate opponents and with their talent it works at times, but it can backfire as well. What makes the Eagles great is their offensive talent, yet what took them to another level last year was not just the scheme or the play-calling.
Steichen’s offense was riddled with RPOs that were designed to spread out the Eagles attack. The dominant Eagles offensive line is a threat to any team and requires extra attention from the defense to stop those power-run plays. Once the defense adjusted to that, they had to worry about Jalen Hurts running the ball. Now the defense would have to load up on the line of scrimmage, which allowed the RPO short passes to the receivers and tight ends. Which in turn, forced the entire defense closer, which opened the deep balls. The Eagles offense made defenses worry about every aspect of the game. They succeeded with a variety of attacks in order to win, not just forcing deep plays because they have the talent to do so. It’s the Eagles philosophy on offense, which is the issue, teams are too good to only attack them in one way.
Examples of the Faulty Philosophy
One of the plays that made its way through Twitter after the Eagles loss last week was the failed third down attempt in the fourth quarter. The play saw A.J. Brown on a deep route while Devonta Smith ran a drag across the field and was wide open and likely would’ve been an easy conversion. It’s fair to put some of the blame on Hurts, as ultimately, he has the ball and makes the decisions. However, as Brown pointed out in the tweet, Brown was the first read on the play. It’s not a badly designed play, nor is it necessarily a bad play call. It’s clear at this point that the Eagles stress that if Brown or Smith are one-on-one on a deep route, they should throw the ball to them. It seems as if it’s something they’ve constantly driven into the offense’s head.
The approach of strictly hunting explosive plays cannot work in the NFL. For example, the Kansas City Chiefs go for lots of explosive plays but balance it out with underneath routes and routes in the middle of the field predominantly with Travis Kelce. The Miami Dolphins constantly find ways to run the ball and get their players in space to run after the catch, instead of forcing it deep. However, the best example is the Buffalo Bills and the recent success they have had. The Bills are a week removed from the decimation of the Dallas Cowboys, where Josh Allen threw for less than 100 yards. For the last couple of years, the Bills were putting too much on Allen to make plays down the field to Diggs and company. Only now that they’ve started utilizing running back James Cook more, have they become one of the hottest teams in football.
Fixes and Overall Outlook
Teams need to create explosive plays in the NFL, but they also must have the ability to just pick up first downs and grind their way down the field. There’s no path that will see the Eagles be able to revert to their offense last year. Though, one place to start would be to rely more on their biggest strength, the offensive line. If the Eagles can dominate on the ground, it’s an easy way to open the deep ball up. Additionally, it should be imperative for the Eagles to get into a better situation on third down. Completing deep passes is hard no matter how good the team is, it becomes even harder when the Eagles are regularly forced into 3rd and long situations. If the Eagles stay stuck in this current cycle, there are going to be more problems and negativity that make their way into headlines.
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