Within a few short weeks the Eagles' season has gone from hopeful to total disaray. Another problem surfaces around corner you turn. From coaching and exucition to a lack of depth and of course a roster ravaged by injuries, the Birds are very much fighting against the tide. The question now is simply whether or not this season can be salvaged?
The Eagles came into this season with the 10th toughest strength of schedule. But after five weeks, what's left of this roster has an interesting journey left.
The Panthers, up next, are playing some good football. A divisional run that will see a resilient Giants team, an explosive Cowboys offense, and a Commanders outfit that somehow is harder to get a read on than Philly, will very much determine how lofty their end of season goals can be heading into the bye.
But after that, they face a rampant Steelers defense before the Cowboys once more. The Colts, 49ers, Ravens, Seahawks, Giants, and Texans make up the remainder of the schedule.
Six of their remaining opponents bring a top-15 defense to the table and against an offense that is losing more and more firepower with each passing game.
Obviously there's a lot of football left to play and the Eagles will likely be reinforced along the way with the likes of DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley. Will those returns be enough to lift a struggling offense out of the trenches?
The offensive line is a mess. Lane Johnson has retired, Cam Jurgens has been traded, and the Eagles are in a fight-or-flight mode when it comes to throwing young players into the deep end and hoping they can stay above water. So far, so good...on paper.
Week 5's clash with Jacksonville in specific highlighted a real problem. Hurts was pressured on over 50% of his dropbacks in week 5, yet averaged the second-fastest time-to-pass of his entire career at 2.53 seconds.
The Eagles are getting the ball out quick because they know the pressure is coming. The issue comes from the fact that those passes seem to add nothing offensively. In the second half, Hurts was 5-14 on quick passes for 39 yards.
Their secreen game is also operating at a level that is borderline unbelievable.
So the Eagles' offensive line has been decimated. To combat this, they're getting the ball out faster, which is somehow less productive than if they attacked deeper down the field...partly because of how predictable it's becoming, partly because the o-line is battered and the backfield depleted, and partly because the gameplan seems to have nothing else in the locker.With a run of top-tier defenses to end the season, the Eagles cannot bank on the fact that Saquon Barkley's return will revitalize a run-game that was already shaky before his injuries.
Frankly, open up the playbook. They need to find creative ways of getting the ball out quickly. End-arounds, RPO's, TE screens, literally anything other than what's become so predictable for opposing coordinators to key in on.
There's an element of adaptability that is constantly missing from the offense, regardless of who the coordinator is. That has to change if the Eagles have any hope of not only re-establishing the run upon Saquon's return, but simply establishing any kind of sustained offense.
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