49ers Defeat Eagles, 23-19: 10 Takeaways From Philadelphia’s Season-Ending Loss
The issues that plagued the Philadelphia Eagles all season long came back to bite them in the Wild Card Round. The San Francisco 49ers overcame multiple injuries to send the Eagles home. It was a fitting end to what was a roller coaster of a season in the City of Brotherly Love.
Now the Eagles will enter the offseason with plenty of questions to answer. Philadelphia’s front office will have tough decisions to make and they’ll have a jumpstart on the process due to an early exit from the postseason.
Here are my 10 takeaways from Philadelphia’s season-ending loss.
Goodbye, Kevin Patullo!
The next move for the Eagles is the most obvious one: Philadelphia needs to fire Kevin Patullo. While the offensive struggles weren’t entirely Patullo’s fault, he deserves a massive part of the blame for what happened this season.
Coaches are supposed to put their players in position to succeed and Patullo failed to do so over and over again. The issues with Philadelphia’s offense were consistent all season long. While the Eagles gave Patullo every opportunity to fix the mess that he helped create, he couldn’t get the job done.
Now it’s time for the Eagles to finally part ways with Nick Sirianni’s right hand man. Despite his relationship with Sirianni, it’s clear that both sides need to move on in 2026. After winning Super Bowl LIX, Sirianni was given the opportunity to promote Patullo, but it obviously didn’t work out.
Nick Sirianni Isn’t Going Anywhere
While the decision to fire Patullo is an obvious one, I can’t say the same for Nick Sirianni. The Eagles just signed Sirianni to a multi-year contract extension in May, he isn’t going anywhere. In the two seasons that Sirianni had a competent offensive coordinator, Philadelphia reached the Super Bowl.
The top head coaching candidate on the open market right now is former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh…who also doesn’t call plays. I understand the frustration that people have with Sirianni’s lack of play-calling ability, yet it’s hard to ignore the success that he has had since arriving in Philadelphia.
There’s a lot more that goes into being a successful head coach than just calling plays and I think Sirianni provides an edge there. If being a great offensive play-caller equated to success as a head coach, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel and Kevin O’Connell would have more than one Super Bowl win combined.
Eagles Have To Pounce on a Top Offensive Coordinator Candidate
One of the positives about the Eagles being eliminated in the Wild Card Round is that they will have a chance to hire one of the top offensive coordinator candidates. After handing over the offense to Patullo, who was a first-time play-caller, Philadelphia needs to hire a much more experienced coach.
Following a ton of coaching changes around the league, there are plenty of intriguing options for the Eagles to target at offensive coordinator. Here are some of the top names available for Philadelphia to consider:
Mike McDaniel
Kliff Kingsbury
Todd Monken
Brian Daboll
Nate Scheelhaase
There are plenty of other intriguing names that the Eagles could consider for their likely void at offensive coordinator. After losing Kellen Moore last offseason and being forced to promote from within, Philadelphia won’t face that same issue following an early playoff exit.
Jalen Hurts Needs To Become a Dual-Threat Quarterback Again
Many people believed that Jalen Hurts would suddenly start running the ball in the playoffs. Yet that didn’t happen, as Hurts had just five rushing attempts for 14 yards against the 49ers. When the Eagles finally dialed up a designed quarterback run, it was called back due to a holding penalty.
Hurts’ rushing ability is part of what makes him such a dynamic player. Yet that part of his game has seemingly been missing all season long. Hurts was asked about his lack of rushing attempts prior to the playoffs.
“No, I think the season is just kinda going the way that it has,” Hurts said. “The approach this year, and how the games have been called with this coordinator, with coach KP (Kevin Patullo), it’s just kind of gone that way. So, I’ve just kinda taken it in stride and try to give my best with whatever position I’ve been put in.”
While Patullo could be to blame for Hurts’ lack of rushing attempts, I also think that QB1 needs to be better as well. After watching both Drake Maye and Justin Herbert scramble and make plays with their legs on Sunday night, it seems like Hurts just doesn’t have that same willingness to do so. If the Eagles want to turn things around, that needs to change moving forward.
The A.J. Brown Soap Opera Continues
It was clear all season long that A.J. Brown wasn’t happy in Philadelphia. He appeared to be disengaged at times on the field, as he lacked effort and had far too many drops. Yet Brown would then voice his frustrations on social media or streaming platforms.
Fast forward to the Wild Card Round and Brown was back at it again. He had two (arguably three) drops and got into it with Nick Sirianni on the sideline. It was a bad look for one of the highest paid wide receivers in the NFL, as he continued to look unhappy.
To make matters worse, Brown dodged the media after the game. Which once again led to his teammates having to speak up for him. I’ve said all season long that the Eagles would likely entertain trade offers for Brown in 2026…and I certainly won’t be changing my opinion on the situation now.
What’s Next for the Offensive Line?
Since Jeff Stoutland arrived as the Eagles offensive line coach in 2013, Philadelphia has been spoiled by elite play upfront. Yet that simply wasn’t the case this season. Philadelphia’s offensive line struggled all season long and it continued in the playoffs.
Stoutland University seemingly transformed into a community college as the Eagles looked lost and undisciplined far too often. While the absence of Lane Johnson was massive, it’s not like Philadelphia’s offensive line was playing lights out when he was healthy either.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has to realize that the offensive line was a major contributing factor to the offense’s struggles this season. Nobody was good enough, especially including his high-priced investments in Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson.
After failing to address the offensive line early in the 2025 NFL Draft, that can’t happen again. Philadelphia is expected to have four draft picks in the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft and Roseman needs to use at least one, preferably two of them, to address the offensive line.
Non-Existent Pass Rush Strikes Again
The Eagles pass rush wasn’t good enough for the first half of the regular season. Then they acquired Jaelan Phillips at the trade deadline and it seemed like Philadelphia’s pass rush wasn’t finally trending in the right direction.
Yet the Eagles were unable to generate much of a pass rush against the 49ers. Brock Purdy was only sacked one time and it felt like he was standing in the pocket for an eternity whenever he dropped back to pass the ball.
According to Pro Football Focus, Purdy was sacked or hit on just three of his 35 dropbacks. Considering all of the resources that Roseman has invested in Philadelphia’s defensive front, they simply weren’t good enough when it mattered the most.
Philadelphia’s Leaky Coverage Was Uncharacteristic
The Eagles had one of the best pass defenses in the NFL during the regular season. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were both named First-Team All-Pro ahead of the playoffs and it seemed like Philadelphia’s secondary would be able to limit San Francisco’s offense.
But that wasn’t the case in the Wild Card Round, as Purdy and Shanahan were able to dial up far too many explosive plays through the air. The 49ers had four different players record a catch of 25+ receiving yards. That’s simply inexcusable, especially when George Kittle left the game early due to an Achilles injury.
Rough Day for Upcoming Free Agents
The Eagles will have plenty of difficult decisions to make this offseason with several key players expected to hit free agency. Yet many of those players struggled mightily against the 49ers in the Wild Card Round.
Outside of Dallas Goedert and Braden Mann, nearly every other upcoming free agent failed to standout on Sunday. Jaelan Phillips only recorded three total pressures, despite leading Philadelphia’s edge rushers in pass rush snaps.
Reed Blankenship looked lost in coverage, as he allowed five receptions on seven targets for 62 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus. Nakobe Dean also struggled in coverage, as he also allowed a touchdown and a passer rating of 127.1.
Roseman and his staff are going to be forced to let most of the upcoming free agents walk, that’s just the nature of the business. But those tough decisions may have become a bit easier to make following Philadelphia’s embarrassing loss to San Francisco.
It’s Time To Move On From Jake Elliott
The Eagles signed Jake Elliott to a contract extension and made him one of the highest paid kickers in the NFL in March of 2024. Yet Elliott has struggled mightily in each of the last two seasons and now it’s clearly time for Philadelphia to move on from him.
Elliott simply hasn’t been good enough for a team that is expected to play deep into the playoffs every year. Here are his combined stats over the last two seasons, including the postseason:
58/76 (76.3%) on field goals
102/107 (95.3%) on extra points
Considering that Elliott is the second-highest paid kicker in the NFL, those numbers are laughable. He has legitimately been one of the worst kickers in the NFL over the last two seasons. The Eagles have to consider moving on from him or at the very least, bringing in significant competition for the kicking job.