A football team’s offensive scheme should make football easier. Too often during the Nick Sirianni era, the Eagles offense looks as though it makes the game harder than it needs to be.
The offense has struggled through various play callers, so is the scheme the biggest underlying problem?
One of the more frustrating aspects of watching an Eagles game, aside from it not producing, is that it lacks an identity.
The organization wanted a more diverse, complex offensive scheme that included more under-center formations, play-action, and a totally revamped offensive line scheme built around outside-zone runs. For whatever reason, injuries or personnel, those concepts have never materialized with any consistency, and the offense has never forced any defensive adjustments. If anything, it is predictable and lacks deception.
All pieces of the offense should complement one another, create uncertainty for opposing defenses, and exploit weaknesses. The concepts used thus far have not produced any of this, or many points.
They have had no answers to counter what defenses have been doing to them, much less dictate the flow of games and stress defenses.
These struggles raise a fundamental question: Is this Sean Mannion’s system, Nick Sirianni’s system, or a mesh between the two?
This distinction doesn’t matter to opposing teams, but it does to everyone involved and to Eagles fans. The biggest reason is to know who is responsible for fixing the problems. If it is the coordinator’s new system, then he must adapt. If the Head Coach is influencing the direction and causing limitations, he must stop.
The team appears to be trapped between identities.
The Eagles have spent almost two decades relying on an O-Line that won individual matchups and dominated their opponents. That approach produced major success, including one of the greatest rushing seasons in NFL history and a Super Bowl title in 2024-2025.
But that formula isn’t a substitute for building a sustainable structure.
Offenses that last in the NFL constantly evolve and find new ways to create favorable matchups. They overcome shortcomings and injuries by using concepts liek motion to identify defensive weaknesses and intent. Those offenses manipulate coverage and dictate to the defense, and punish them for blitzing, hesitation, and mistakes that cause misdirection. We have not seen that with this Philadelphia offense.
Successful offenses also have contingency plans. They have answers for when a defense loads the box, shows zero blitz, and attacks aggressively.
When an O-line is struggling, as the Eagles have, the passing game should have built-in answers, with quick reads that make decisions easier for the quarterback. They should have protection designs to reduce the pressure. The offense should use screens and misdirection effectively to exploit overly aggressive defenses.
This is not to say these counters would eliminate all the problems; they won’t. Injuries and inexperienced players cause execution errors, and talent always matters. But a good scheme gives a team more options. It creates answers and doesn’t demand that players bail a team out of broken play designs and decisions.
Jalen Hurts’ absence makes these conversations much more complicated and harder to overcome. The offensive line injuries do as well, but neither changes the fact that the Eagles need to improve.
The underlying issues have remained the same, and that can not be dismissed.
The coaching staff needs to pivot from their previous direction and create a functional offense. If that means returning to what makes the current quarterback comfortable by using shotgun formation, they should do it. If they have to reduce the complexity of player assignments, make the adjustment.
Whether the quarterback moving forward is Tanner McKee or Joe Milton, if they want to see if he can be their QB2 in 2027, they need to modify their system to fit their QB.
Sean Mannion made minor adjustments on Monday night, which seemed to make a difference; they need a lot more change moving forward.
Adaptation is not surrender; it is what good coaching is all about.
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