Eagles Mailbag: Can Philadelphia Save the Season?
The Philadelphia Eagles have lost three consecutive games and things could go off the rails quickly in the City of Brotherly Love. While the Eagles have a reasonable schedule moving forward, it could be too late. Can Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman do enough to save the season? I’ll answer that question and more in my latest Eagles mailbag.
I don’t think that you’re delusional at all. In fact, I shared several reasons for positivity around the team moving forward earlier this week. The Eagles should get back several key starters for this week’s matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Despite listing a total of 25 players on the team’s injury report on Wednesday, Philadelphia should be healthier than they were last week. The Eagles also won’t have to travel on a plane until the team’s game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
While it’s hard to be encouraged by anything that we’ve seen from the offense, it’s fair to say that they should theoretically improve with the return of key starters, such as Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith and even a possibly healthy Landon Dickerson. Yet as you mentioned, the main reason why I’m positive about the team moving forward is Philadelphia’s defense. It truly feels like Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has his unit trending in the right direction and the potential return of Jonathan Greenard should only help them become even more dominant.
Would it be fair to say both? The Eagles have already dealt with an absurd amount of injuries this season. Therefore, it’s somewhat difficult to truly gauge what’s wrong with the offense. In a picture perfect world where the projected starting offensive line was fully intact and key players such as Dallas Goedert, Barkley and Smith never missed time — would the offense have looked drastically better by now? We’ll never know. But the circumstances of the injuries have certainly played a huge role in the struggles.
After watching Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson put together a flawless game plan for veteran third-string quarterback Case Keenum against the Eagles, it’s hard to find excuses for Nick Sirianni and Sean Mannion. Philadelphia’s offense still has enough talent to look functional, yet they can’t even get that far. Ideally, Sirianni and Mannion would’ve adjusted and found answers to blitzes by now, but they haven’t. Ultimately, it’s a combination of factors that have led to this mess but there’s still time to fix it.
I’ve been saying it for weeks but the Eagles should lean into being a shotgun or pistol based offense that primarily operates out of 11-personnel. It’s clear that opposing defenses are muddying up the line of scrimmage and sending extra pressure when Jalen Hurts goes under center. Philadelphia’s offense has yet to find an answer to these pressures and it has significantly hampered the offense. While Mannion wants to operate in a condensed, under center world — the Eagles simply can’t make it work right now.
Hurts has primarily operated from shotgun and pistol formations in the past and has had plenty of success. It would be a way for the offense to simplify things a bit, allow Hurts to see the total picture of what the defense is presenting and give him time to operate. It would also allow the Eagles to utilize Hurts more as a runner, which will also help to slow down the pass rushers. Philadelphia’s offense has found success with quick, deep passes this season and they could continue to lean on that from these looks as well.
The obvious choice is Hurts, in my opinion. Given how methodical and calculated Hurts is when he talks to the media, it would be nice to be able to break that wall down and learn how he truly feels. He has dealt with so much change throughout his tenure in Philadelphia and has been a “good soldier” through all of it. Here are a few questions that I would ask Hurts if he had to tell the truth:
You’ve said that the offense is going to look how Jalen Hurts wants it to look like. What do you want an offense to look like?
How difficult is it work with Nick Sirianni and does he get too involved with the offense at times?
Do you want to run more and do you believe that your running ability is underutilized?
Has the lack of guaranteed money remaining on your current contract impacted your willingness to run or take risks as a passer?
What is one move, either coach or player related, that you most regret the team making?
Yes! In fact, I believe that was a huge contributing factor to Philadelphia’s tackling struggles earlier in the regular season. While the Eagles are still missing more tackles than you’d like, it felt like the defenders were constantly punching at the ball instead of wrapping up ball carriers early on. There are actually several clips that reporters shared from practice of the team practicing punching the ball out instead of working on their tackling technique.
Sirianni has always emphasized protecting the football and taking it away. Yet it feels like there’s a fine line that needs to be walked or you risk becoming a reckless, undisciplined defense. Given the lack of padded practices that teams already have, it feels like there should be more of an emphasis placed on tackling. The Eagles have been far too reckless as tacklers through the first five weeks of the regular season and definitely need to clean things up moving forward.
When the Eagles traded for Dontayvion Wicks, they also signed him to a one-year, $12.5 million contract extension so he’ll be in Philadelphia next season. The same can’t be said for Dallas Goedert, who signed a one-year deal to return to the City of Brotherly Love. While I didn’t expect Goedert to return in 2026 and was proven wrong, I think we’ll finally see him depart and play elsewhere in the offseason. Honestly, if things fall off the rails in Philadelphia, I could see the Eagles entertaining trade talks for Goedert ahead of the trade deadline.
In regard to Landon Dickerson, he also feels like another obvious trade candidate. Dickerson falls in a similar bucket as Cam Jurgens, who we just saw the Eagles trade to the Baltimore Ravens. Dickerson is an often injured offensive lineman whose best days are likely behind him. Given the contract restructure that Dickerson and the Eagles agreed to in the offseason, it seems like this could be his last season with the team. If that’s the case, Philadelphia should certainly entertain offers for him prior to the trade deadline.
The hot trade target that I’ve seen people try to link the Eagles to is Indianapolis Colts All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson. The 30-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best guards in the NFL and is in the final year of his current contract. While I understand the appeal of trading for a player of Nelson’s caliber, it would likely cost at least one second-round pick and he’s going to demand a top of the market contract extension. Given that the Eagles will already be paying tens of millions of dollars to offensive linemen that won’t be in Philadelphia anymore (Lane Johnson, Cam Jurgens, etc.), I believe that it would be a poor use of resources.
Instead, Philadelphia should either target younger offensive linemen that have multiple years remaining on their rookie contracts or proven veterans on decent contracts. Here are two players that I believe would be ideal targets for the Eagles to add along the offensive line ahead of the trade deadline:
Isaac Seumalo, ARI: The soon-to-be 33-year-old spent seven seasons in Philadelphia and has started 109 games in the NFL. He signed a reasonable three-year, $31.5 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals in the offseason, who are currently 1-4. Seumalo has experience starting at both guard spots and could immediately help in Philadelphia.
Wyatt Milum, JAX: The Eagles were targeting Milum in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft before trading back. Milum is currently stuck as a backup on Jacksonville’s depth chart and would likely have a bigger role in Philadelphia. If the Jaguars are willing to part with Milum for depth elsewhere, the Eagles should give them a call.
Emery Jones Jr., BAL: Once Milum was selected with the 89th pick, the Eagles also had their eyes on former LSU offensive lineman Emery Jones Jr. Yet he was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the 91st pick and Philadelphia ultimately traded out of the 96th pick. While Jones has struggled in Baltimore, I wonder if the Eagles would want to take a chance on the 22-year-old.
If the Eagles continue to struggle, the biggest thing to watch for is the development of the young players. Despite Philadelphia’s offensive struggles, there are still quite a few players to be excited about moving forward, regardless of what happens with the coaching staff or the quarterback. Obviously, the team’s rookie class will be important to monitor with Makai Lemon, Eli Stowers and Markel Bell likely playing bigger roles as the season progresses.
It’s also going to be fun to watch how the offensive line plays out alongside Bell, with Drew Kendall and Willie Lampkin also receiving opportunities. If any of those players can assert themselves as starters, that would be huge for the construction of the team moving forward into 2027 and beyond. The play of several defensive players will be important too, such as Ty Robinson, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Andrew Mukuba. Philadelphia’s front office will need to know if any of them can be legitimate, reliable contributors.