The Philadelphia Eagles were able to get back on track in Week 16, defeating the New York Giants on Christmas Day. It wasn’t the prettiest game, as Philadelphia led 20-3 at halftime but saw that lead shrink thanks to a 15-0 third quarter by New York. Had a few breaks that went their way not occurred, the Eagles could have easily suffered their fourth straight defeat.
Instead, they are 11-4, back in first place in the NFC East after the Dallas Cowboys were defeated by the Miami Dolphins to drop to 10-5 on the season. While it was nice to get back into the win column, the Eagles have some issues to iron out.
Their defense has become an issue. Philadelphia has allowed their opponents to rush for 100+ yards in all six games since their bye week. Heading into the bye, only one opponent in nine games was able to reach the century mark on the ground.
NFL News & Rumors: Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni, Brian Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles Updates
But, the bigger issue, in the opinion of James Nagle on X, is the play calling on offense. During the team’s three-game losing streak, their offense was unable to consistently get on track. Even in some of their victories since the bye, such as games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, slow starts on offense have led to the team digging themselves into major holes.
While they were able to overcome them at the time, it is something they need to figure out with the playoffs rapidly approaching. Their problem, as pointed out by Nagle using NFL Next Gen Stats, is the Eagles’ refusal to use the middle of the field.
Against the Giants, Jalen Hurts threw only one pass over the middle of the field. It was to DeVonta Smith, who scored a 36-yard touchdown. Other than that pass, every other attempt by Hurts was outside the hash marks.
Just ignoring an entire portion of the field makes the Eagles much easier to defend. Opposing teams can game plan their defense entirely differently if they know they only have to defend the boundaries and perimeter of the field with no worry of getting beaten over the middle.
Philadelphia has a lot of talented pass catchers and speed on their offense with their wide receiver duo of Smith and A.J. Brown, tight end Dallas Godert and running backs D’Andre Swift and Kenneth Gainwell. But, they aren’t currently being utilized to their full potential by head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.
NFL News & Rumors: Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni, Brian Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles Updates
Even against a now 5-10 Giants team that game plan didn’t work for an entire game as New York gave Philadelphia all they could handle in the second half of what looked like would be a cakewalk game based on the first half. That kind of game plan won’t fly when facing off against stronger opponents in the postseason.
The offensive production against the Giants, on the surface, looks great. They had 465 total yards of offense, with Hurts throwing for 295 total and 170 coming on the ground. But, it was far from a perfect game, as the team had two turnovers and was called for nine penalties.
Those kinds of mishaps are what will turn a contender into a pretender quickly in the playoffs. The Eagles have a matchup against former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in Week 17 before playing the Giants again in Week 18. If they cannot get things on track in those games heading into the postseason, they will be heading home much earlier than many anticipated they would.
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