When December began, the Philadelphia Eagles were 10-1, and despite having trouble winning by wide margins, they looked like the best team in the NFL.
But since then, they have suffered humbling losses to the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks. The latest setback came on Sunday at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals, who came into the game with a 3-12 record yet was able to defeat Philly 35-31.
The defending NFC champions are now ailing, and while they could still conceivably return to the Super Bowl, chances are they’re bound for an early defeat in the playoffs. The main bone of contention for the team is its defense, and it has led Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated to surmise that a change could come for its coaching staff.
“It’s hard to explain or comprehend the Eagles’ collapse,” Breer wrote in a December 31, 2023 article titled, “NFL Week 17 Takeaways: 49ers Moved on Quickly From Ravens Loss.” “But one thing seems certain, and that’s that if Dallas wins the division next week (all the Cowboys have to do is beat the Commanders), and Philly bows out in the first round of the playoffs, significant changes will come on defense.
“I’d think Matt Patricia, who’s running a scheme that’s not his (and, as such, makes it tougher for him to find answers on the fly) would get consideration to oversee that change next year. But I’d expect Philly to look outside the organization, too. And it’ll be interesting to see whether Howie Roseman’s love for Vic Fangio’s scheme remains, after Sean Desai’s version of it failed.”
NFL News & Rumors: Philadelphia Eagles Updates
Last season, Philly was very strong on the defensive side of the ball. It ranked second in total yards allowed, and it held both the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers to seven points in its first two playoff games.
But this season has been a much different story. The Eagles are 28th in passing yards allowed, 29th in points allowed and next-to-last in passing touchdowns given up. On Sunday, they allowed the Cardinals, a team that ranks near the bottom of the league in many offensive categories, to rack up 449 total yards of offense.
The “check engine” light was already on for the Eagles early in the season when they were merely getting past inferior teams rather than routing them. Last season, they had an average point differential of 7.9 points per game, but this season, it’s down to a mere 1.3 points a game.
With an 11-5 record, they’re in a fierce fight for first place in the NFC East. If they lose the division title to the Dallas Cowboys, it could be a prelude to a very disappointing postseason run.
But that’s just the beginning of the troubling signs for Philly. Seth Joyner of JAKIB Sports says its players no longer believe in head coach Nick Sirianni.
Even worse, Jeff Kerr of CBS questioned whether it would make sense to bring back anyone on the team’s coaching staff.
Whenever a team as talented as the Eagles grossly underperforms, the head coach often becomes the casualty. If the Eagles don’t reach the NFC Championship Game and put up a fierce fight there, at a minimum, don’t be surprised to see at least one member of their coaching staff at the unemployment office this spring.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
