Despite the back-to-back wins, Philly’s offense has not been good enough
The Eagles are defending Super Bowl Champions. They started the new season with two wins, one over a divisional opponent and one in a Super Bowl rematch. Nothing to be concerned about then, right? Wrong. The offense has not been strong to start the season. With all the talent they have, it is unacceptable. The Eagles need to turn it around, and fast.
What happened to the explosive plays?
In 2024, the Eagles’ offense thrived on explosive plays. Deep passes to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith combined with long runs from Saquon Barkley gave the Eagles offense something they could rely on, even when they weren’t firing on all cylinders. This style of offense blended perfectly with Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offensive strengths. As one of the best deep ball throwers in the NFL, Hurts was constantly willing to give his playmakers a shot at a big play. This would help open up the run game for Barkley, and the two benefitted from each other all season. For some reason, though, the Eagles haven’t been taking many deep shots early in the season.
In the offseason, former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore left to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Then, the Eagles promoted former passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator. Some growing pains are expected, but to the extent we are currently seeing is inexcusable. The Eagles only have two plays this season where the air yards of the pass attempt from Hurts exceeded 10 yards. Against the Dallas Cowboys, he connected with Jahan Dotson for 51 yards.
Hurts to Dotson for 51 yards!
DALvsPHI on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/kLHv6sBygh— NFL (@NFL) September 5, 2025
The other play came in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, connecting with Smith for 28 yards.
Hurts threw it up and DeVonta Smith was there ‼️
PHIvsKC on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/qRs1ko7XlM
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
The other part of the offense that is holding them back is the intermediate routes, or the lack thereof. The Eagles have actually attempted zero (!) passes between 10-20 air yards. That is unfathomable for an offense through two games.
An offense only relying on handoffs, the short passing game, and a couple of deep passing attempts per game is not a recipe for success. The offense is becoming too predictable.
Predictability
The Eagles’ offense has an embarrassment of riches in terms of its talent, but any offense that is predictable is easy to stop. That is what the Eagles have become. Looking at the run-pass percentages based on the formation, the Eagles are clearly tipping their hand.
The Eagles formation majorly tips off the plays they will run. Yesterday:
11 plays from pistol and 1 of them was a pass
14 plays from under center and 0 of them were passes
33 plays from shotgun and 26 of them were passesThere were 25 combined plays from pistol or under center.…
— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) September 15, 2025
If 24 out of 25 plays (96%) under center/pistol formation are a run, defenses will know exactly what you are doing based on your formation. Conversely, if they are lined up in shotgun, they have shown they will pass on 84% of their plays. It is unbelievable for an offense in the NFL to be that predictable.
Hopefully, this is an intentional trend from the Eagles offense, setting themselves up to break tendencies in the future. If not, though, it is incredibly alarming that this offense is basically giving away its plays before the ball is snapped.
Approach heading forward?
So what should the Eagles do moving forward? With time, the offense will become better under new offensive coordinator Patullo. Obviously, the Eagles are going to continue to be a run-first team behind their offensive line and Barkley. That is not an issue. The issue is, is mixing things up more than they have been.
Early in their Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Rams, they should utilize play action out of formations where Hurts is under center or pistol. Looking to throw down the field, whether intermediate or deep routes, one or two times early in the game will make the Rams consider the possibility and not lock in on the run out of those formations. Even if the passes aren’t completed, they would be beneficial to the offense to attempt. The same thing can be said when in shotgun formation, just vice versa in regards to breaking tendency with handing the ball off.
Breaking tendencies and looking to get their outside playmakers involved would be the first step for the Eagles’ offense to get back on track.
Main Photo: [Jay Biggerstaff] – Imagn Images
