The Philadelphia Eagles lost their identity, and now they’ve lost their season
The offense is actually the bright side of this disaster, because the Eagles defense has been a nightmare all year long. They did sack Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield four times on Monday night, but for most of the game, he had plenty of time to pick the Eagles apart, going 22 of 36 for 337 yards and three touchdowns. His numbers would’ve been even bigger if it weren’t for his butter-fingered receivers who had at least six drops.
The drops didn’t hurt, though, because the Eagles can’t tackle or cover, and they sure have looked confused since defensive coordinator Sean Desai was demoted and Matt Patricia took over the defensive play calling. They look like a team that isn’t quite sure what defensive scheme they’re actually playing.
They also look like the Keystone cops, falling all over each other as receivers take off down the field. That happened on the Bucs’ first touchdown in the first quarter when safety Avonte Maddox and cornerback Eli Ricks collided, leaving David Moore wide open. He then took off down the field, slicing in front of defenders and breaking tackles for a 44-yard touchdown that gave the Bucs and early, 10-0 lead.
He had another big one late, too, when he hit Trey Palmer with a short pass late in the third quarter. Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was right here to tackle him, but instead slid around him and down like he was a firepole. Palmer was unbothered and took off for a 56-yard touchdown that broke open the game and put the Eagles down 25-9 heading into the fourth.
But that’s what they’ve become: A team that won’t run on offense and can’t tackle on defense. Their offensive line couldn’t handle the pressure. Their defensive line couldn’t create pressure consistently. Their secondary was terrible in coverage.
It really would have been hard to tell these were the Eagles if their helmets weren’t green.
That’s on Sirianni, ultimately. It certainly didn’t help that he lost his two coordinators from last season when offensive coordinator Shane Steichen got the head coaching job in Indianapolis and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon got the top job in Arizona. But Johnson wasn’t going to go pass-crazy in a bad spot without his permission. And he surely could see the holes in whatever that defensive scheme is.
Even with all their injuries, the Eagles should’ve been better than this. They still have one of the best rosters in the NFL. They just needed to remember that, to remember what made them so dominant in the first place.
They never did.
“Everybody in that locker room is hurting right now,” Sirianni said. “We’re hurting right now. It’s tough to go out the way we did.”
Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
