PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles’ season appears to be over.
We’ve all heard the refrain about how they went from being the overall No. 1 seed in the NFC to playing as a wild-card team against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night after starting the season 10-1.
During that time, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, has replaced Sean Desai. The defense appears to have deteriorated, as it allowed 62 points in back-to-back losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants, both of whom had a combined record of 10-24.
The Eagles have allowed 30.3 points per game over their last six games.
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On offense, quarterback Jalen Hurts, a preseason MVP favorite after a 10-1 start, has a passer rating of 77.6 with 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in the last six games. Only three NFL quarterbacks have a lower season rating: the Jets’ Zach Wilson, the Patriots’ Mac Jones, and the Panthers’ Bryce Young.
But we’re trying to stay positive. “We have an opportunity,” defensive end Brandon Graham said after the Giants’ 27-10 loss last Sunday. It’s 0-0. It’s a fresh start, and I’m confident we’ll be back on track by the end of the week.
“I don’t believe we’re going.”
We’ll find out shortly. For the time being, let’s look at the Eagles’ five biggest issues down the stretch and explain why they might be able to solve them in time to save their season:
Matt Patricia is a newcomer. During the slide, DC and the Eagles continue to allow 30 points per game.
Counter: When Patricia opened his press conference on Wednesday, he said, “Something to really learn from in the last game, which was good.” Some things we learned and tried to grow from over the last few weeks.”
Patricia has been in charge of the defense for the last four games, and the fact that players are still learning the scheme could indicate that Patricia has changed the defense more than expected since Desai’s demotion.
