It has not been a smooth first five weeks of the season for the Philadelphia Eagles. After squeaking by with victories against Washington and Tennessee, who still don’t have a win this season, the team has dropped three straight games and are under .500 for the first time since 2021.
There are a lot of reasons and some strong-minded opinions from the fanbase on what the problems are for a team that seemingly can’t get out of its own way the last two weeks.
With plenty of questions surrounding the team, we take a look at the five most pressing that the Eagles need to find an answer for.
Injuries are happening all across the NFL, so nobody is going to bring out a violin for the Eagles because they’ve had a lengthy injury list featuring crucial starters including Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Greenard and DeVonta Smith while Dallas Goedert and Zack Baun were recently lifted from injured status.
However, the Eagles are potentially entering Sunday’s game with their RB4, RB5 and RB6 on the depth chart on the active roster if Barkley misses a third game with his hamstring injury he suffered in the first quarter in Week 4’s loss to the Rams.
Smith, who has missed the last two weeks with a hamstring injury of his own, is the team’s top wideout and is a natural playmaker with a strong rapport with Jalen Hurts.
Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon and Darius Cooper have been trying to hold the fort down with the undrafted free agent Cooper becoming the biggest playmaker, catching three touchdowns over the last two weeks with Smith on the sidelines.
Greenard, who the Eagles paid swimmingly to the tune of $100-million in the offseason, has been down with a strained pectoral muscle to start the season and is dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in Week 4. He is supposed to anchor the pass rush that got off to a slow start, but is starting to generate some disruption
Add Jalyx Hunt to the mix after he suffered a bad-looking injury on Sunday and reportedly had a walking boot on after the game.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters Tuesday it would “be miraculous” if Hunt suits up against Carolina.
If the Eagles can get to full-strength soon, they have a chance to become a formidable force in the NFC despite the slow 2-3 start.
Entering Week 5, the Eagles are the second-highest scoring offense in the second quarter averaging 13.2 points per game, only behind Buffalo (13.6) and tied for fifth-most points scored per first half at 13.8.
Yet, once the team goes into the locker room at halftime, all of that success and production vanishes.
Philadelphia is dead last in points scored per third quarter (1.2) and in second halves (7.0).
It’s been an ongoing issue since last season and first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion along with Nick Sirianni and Hurts have been able to crack the code.
“We are looking at that hard each and every week as a staff on how to find our rhythm and footing in the second half” Mannion said Tuesday. “I thought we did a better job, and had some close calls, it was more about finishing those drives. Had some third down conversions, had a close call on that deep shot to Wicks. I thought there was some chances we didn’t quite capitalize on.”
“I think we are closer. I know the result hasn’t been what we want or what we hold ourselves to as an offense, but I felt like we were getting closer in that second half, we just really have to finish some of those drives.”
Teams can often overcome a slow first quarter or even a slow first half. However, when you don’t put pressure on teams in the second half, it makes the hill to climb to a victory even steeper.
It’s perhaps too early to determine fully what the angle Howie Roseman will take in terms of roster construction. Some believed that trading Cam Jurgens was a sign that the general manager was punting the season.
However, the value Roseman got in return for the center gaining a 5th round pick in next year’s draft and a 2028 second round pick was simply too good to pass up. Add in the improving play of second-year Drew Kendall, who not to mention, is much cheaper, it just made sense.
With Lane Johnson’s abrupt retirement, Roseman drafted Markel Bell to be the potential heir apparent at right tackle, although wasn’t anticipating seeing the rookie this soon in the starting lineup.
The team seems to be quite bullish on Willie Lampkin who is undersized but plays with intense tenacity and is playing in place of the injured Landon Dickerson, but could be part of the plans up front moving forward.
Regardless of how the season unfolds, there may not be a better general manager than Roseman to reinforce and reload this roster on the fly rather than going through a full rebuild that most franchises have to endure.
That answer seems more likely yes, than a no, even with the state of the team.
Since 2001, the Eagles have started a season 2-3 seven times, making the playoffs in five of those years including a pair of trips to the Conference Championship game (2003, 2008).
The Eagles have the best odds to win the NFC East according to the bookmakers, ahead of the Dallas Cowboys. Looking at the division, despite the offensive woes, the Eagles, if and when they get completely healthy, still have the best roster in the division.
The Cowboys’ defense can’t stop anybody and Dak Prescott and the offense can only score so many points. The Giants are pesky but is Jameis Winston really leading that team to a division title?
Washington has just one win, but should have beaten the Giants if not for a clock management disaster similar to the one the Eagles had on Sunday, missing out on kicking a game-winning field goal in overtime, resulting in a tie.
Despite the 2-3 start, the fact that the rest of the division has not been able to pull away certainly gives the Eagles a chance to win the division and make the playoffs for a sixth straight season under Sirianni.
