Eagles Were Pushed Around In Latest Loss

by Marc Narducci | Dec 3, 2025

Before facing the Dallas Cowboys, this reporter wrote:

“Let’s look at the Eagles remaining schedule: at Dallas, home vs. Chicago, at the LA Chargers, vs. Las Vegas, at Washington, at Buffalo and home against Washington.

“Looks like there will be a lot of W’s in that remaining schedule.”

Oh well, since that great prose, the Eagles have coughed up a 21-point lead in a 24-21 loss at Dallas and were physically overmatched in a 24-15 Black Friday home loss to the Chicago Bears.

Now the Eagles are looking to avoid that one bad word that describes inefficiency: 2023.

We all remember after losing in the Super Bowl, 38-35 to Kansas City during the 2022 season, the Eagles began 2023 10-1 and then totally collapsed, ending in a 32-9 opening round playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Whether the Eagles have played well in the past, they have at least played hard. Yet against Chicago, it was alarming to see how they were pushed around on both sides of the ball.

Chicago rushed for 281 yards, averaging a staggering 6.0 yards per carry. The Bears had two, 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since 1985.

There will continue to be calls for offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to relinquish play-calling duties and there might be some merit to that, but the question remains—if not Patullo, then who?

This is coach Nick Sirianni’s offense and even though he isn’t calling the plays, his fingerprints are all over it.

This is a team that isn’t very creative, rarely uses motion, and has been described by opponents as being predictable.

One of the major factors is that the offensive line, which was considered among the best in the NFL last season and entering this year, has performed well below par.

Jordan Mailata has taken a major step back. Lane Johnson is out with an injury and even when he was in, it wasn’t the vintage Hall of Fame Johnson that we have come to expect.

Center Cam Jurgens, and guard Landon Dickerson, both Pro Bowl performers last year, have been banged up and a shell of their old selves. And Tyler Steen, the one new starter, has been an inadequate replacement for Mekhi Becton.

Saquon Barkley has taken a major step back as a running back, hurt by the line’s inefficiency and also showing the wear and tear of a heavy workload when he was the NFL’s No. 1 running back last year.

Jalen Hurts has been inconsistent as a passer despite throwing 19 touchdown passes and just two interceptions (although he has also lost three fumbles). For Hurts to put fear in teams, he has to be a running threat and this year he is averaging just 3.9 yards per carry

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The defense hasn’t played badly, but due to the offense’s struggles, has been on the field way too long. The game with Chicago is a classic example.

The Bears owned a 39:18 to 20:42 time of possession advantage. No matter how good a defense is, that is way too long to be on the field.

We know that we talked about the remaining easy schedule, but three of the games left against teams with losing records, one with Las Vegas, who may be the worst team in the NFL and two with Washington.

If the Eagles can’t go 3-2 in the final five games, then something is truly wrong.

One bright spot—The Los Angeles Rams 31-28 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, greatly helped the Eagles in their pursuit for the top record in the NFC and that coveted first-round playoff bye. The Rams are still first at 9-3 along with Seattle and the Bears. San Francisco is 9-4. The Eagles are 8-4, but they beat the Rams, so if the teams are tied, the Eagles will get the advantage. Green Bay is 8-3-1, but the Eagles also beat the Packers in their lone meeting.

Now the Eagles visit the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) on Monday night (Dec. 8). The Chargers are coming off a 31-14 win over the struggling Las Vegas Raiders. One bright spot: the Raiders are still on the Eagles’ schedule.

Photo: Saquon Barkley / Courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles

Author: Marc Narducci

Eagles Were Pushed Around In Latest Loss

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