It’s Groundhog Day for the Eagles. Poor offense, bad defense, turnovers and general ineptitude.

It’s a fruitless task to assess the Eagles week after week. They don’t learn. They don’t improve. Instead, let’s try for some clarity via three very crucial questions…

How did we get here?

It’s simple, really… we got here because Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman did not learn from the errors of 2023. Complacency is the enemy of progress. Nick Sirianni promoted from within instead of bringing in an outside voice to lead the offense. I normally wouldn’t be opposed to such an idea except for the fact we’ve already seen this play out. Brian Johnson was a mess in 2023, and his offense would outperform the 2025 Kevin Patullo offense every day of the week.

There’s also a shocking lack depth at crucial positions. Roseman is one of the NFL’s best GMs, but his offseason was a disaster. The cornerback position outside Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean struggles mightily. There’s no adequate third safety on the roster. His 2025 draft can’t be assessed a final grade, but it’s currently sitting at a D. Where his 2024 draft produced three immediate contributors, his 2025 draft has had just one. Worst of all, Roseman failed to provide offensive line depth. Of all things for this regime to ignore, offensive line depth should be dead last. It’s what all their success has been built on dating back to the Andy Reid years. Landon Dickerson should not be on the field. Either he’s injured or incapable… I don’t know which… but it’s bad enough where he shouldn’t be playing. Unfortunately, there is no one to relieve him. A year ago, the Eagles had Tyler Steen, Fred Johnson, and Jack Driscoll on the bench. Driscoll was a poor tackle, but he could hold his own at guard in a pinch. This year, the Eagles have no interior depth. Brett Toth and Matt Pryor have committed more penalties than contributions this season. As much blame as Patullo deserves, Roseman deserves at least a share of blame for the glaring roster holes.

The defense isn’t blameless here either. How many times this year would the Eagles have won a game if the defense could muster a stop? Denver scored on three straight possessions to end the game in Week 5. Dallas scored on three of their last four opportunities. Did I mention the defense had a 21-0 lead? On Monday against the Chargers, the Eagle defense surrendered three field goals on three of Los Angeles’ final four possessions. Two of those field goals came right after the Eagles took a three-point lead. The defense can’t get stops when stops are crucial.

Hungry teams do the small things well. Entitled teams lose focus and trip up on the little things that go a long way to winning. The Eagles are an entitled team in 2025. The penalties continue to mount. There is at least a half dozen missed assignments each game that ruin big play opportunities. This team is drowning in complacency and entitlement. They’re not fighting for every advantage or every inch of grass. They’re lining up and executing with the precision of a butter knife. There is no urgency. No intensity. The Eagles commit stupid penalties or careless turnovers and it’s a collective shrug. You know why Tom Brady and the Patriots excelled for so long? Because that kind of nonsense wasn’t tolerated. Brady, like Michael Jordan, had no problem getting into the face of a teammate if he thought it was necessary. Who is doing that on the Eagles? Where is the leadership? Poise is cool and all, but sometimes everyone needs a harsh slap of a reality right to the face.

Why is it happening again?

Hope. The team has lost hope. When you struggle early in the season, there’s hope in adjustments and improvement. We can fix this. We’ll get better and ultimately be fine. Etc, etc… Just like in 2023, all that hope is gone. The offense has not improved at all. Kevin Patullo continues to call the same offense. It’s hitches on the outside. It’s running from the gun. It’s snapping the ball with less than three seconds on the play clock. It’s continually running behind an ineffective Dickerson. Patuallo and the offense are not adjusting. If you’re not adjusting, you’re not improving. The defense knows what’s coming all the time. How often do you see an Eagles player running in open space? Almost never. Why not? Well, because those plays happen from scheming someone into open space. Patullo can’t do that. Fine. Whatever. Let’s keep it simple and do what works. What’s that, exactly? Run the football under center. It’s the only thing the Eagles have done marginally well this season. Get out of the stupid gun, put Jalen Hurts right on Cam Jurgens’ butt and run the football. Then you create play action opportunities. Under center and empty, that’s the Eagles best and only shot at salvaging the season. Am I making this up? No, the numbers say the Eagles production per play in those formations is positive and above league average. And yet the Eagles refuse to abandon the gun. It’s self-sabotage at this point. It’s gone on for so long that there’s no realistic hope in fixing the offense. The players know. You can see it in their play, on their faces, and in their public comments. Just as in 2023, the offense is DOA and everyone knows it except the Eagles Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator.

We’re also reliving 2023 because Nick Sirianni is in charge. Of course he doesn’t deserve to be fired, but what is he doing or not doing that has 2025 mirroring 2023? In both scenarios, immensely talented teams coming off successful seasons got stuck in the mud in both execution and mentality. The Chiefs are struggling this season but they’re not splintering like the Eagles. In both 23 and 25 the Eagles splintered. That’s on the head coach. It’s his job to keep the locker room cohesive and invested. The Eagles said all the right things in the offseason, but their play has not lived up to their words in the slightest. That buck stops with the head coach.

Is there any hope at all that the Eagles can turn this around?

No. The offense ignores their most potent method of offense, the defense is two players short and missing the clutch gene, and the coach has no idea how to get his team rowing in the same direction. Worst of all, he has no idea why his team isn’t rowing in the same direction.

*****

Thursday Night Pick; Buccaneers -5.5