A.J. Brown skipped the cryptic social media post and went straight to the hard truth about the state of the punchless Eagles offense. “The inconsistency showed up again,” Brown said.
The Super Bowl champion Eagles got off to a 4-0 start even with an offense largely missing the blockbuster plays (well, outside of special teams) and breathtaking runs that defined the team a year ago. Under first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo, every key Eagles offensive player has seen a significant dip in production from last season.
Perhaps spurred by Brown’s social media measures and a general malaise from the fan base, the Eagles picked up the pace a bit in the first half Sunday against Denver. They scored 17 points — which seemed like a 2024 30 — in the half and stretched the lead to 17-3 headed into the fourth.
The play calling seemed easy to seal another win. Let Saquon Barkley finally get some carries to stretch the field and burn the clock. Let Jalen Hurts continue to hit Brown and DeVonta Smith for drive-extending receptions.
None of it happened.
Bo Nix and the Broncos instead found their groove and scored 18 points in the quarter to rally to a 21-17 win, sending the Eagles to their first loss in 11 games.
As Brown noted, the Eagles were inconsistent — if not downright bland — offensively over the first four games under Patullo. That sparked some hand-wringing from 1,000-yard receivers Brown and Smith.
Brown even wrote a cryptic social media post after last week’s win in Tampa Bay that seemed to hint at some unhappiness before clarifying all was good with him in Philly.
Brown and Smith combined for four catches for 34 yards last week. They blew past those totals in the first half alone against the Broncos and both were pivotal players in one of their finest drives of the season.
With the game tied 3-all, Hurts hit Smith on a 52-yard reception to the Denver 26 — the longest pass play of the season for the Eagles. Hurts targeted Brown on the next play, and the wideout drew a pass interference call that put the ball on the 2-yard line. That extra yard was the difference in a tush push vs. a run-pass option, and Hurts had enough time to connect with tight end Dallas Goedert for the touchdown.
Goedert has caught a touchdown pass in three straight games.
Hurts found another forgotten member of a once-explosive offensive unit in the third quarter when he hit a wide-open Barkley on a wheel route for a 47-yard touchdown pass and a 17-3 lead, much to the delight of cheering actor and Eagles fan Bradley Cooper.
That spark was snuffed out in a hurry in the fourth.
The misplay of the game came in the third when the Eagles still led 17-3 and Hurts appeared to overthrow an open Brown on what could have been a 61-yard touchdown.
“I have to really watch the film to be able to assess that,” Hurts said. “Obviously that’s the one that you want to hit in a big moment in the game.”
The other critical play came in the fourth when the Eagles had a late fourth-down conversion called back on an illegal shift penalty whistled against Barkley. The Eagles were instead forced to punt.
Hurts did throw for 280 yards. Smith had eight catches for 114 yards receiving, and Brown’s complaints only netted him five catches for 43 yards.
“I won’t say the word out of balance. I just think we’re searching for improvement and so given what type of team we’re built to be, we have to be able to establish the run in some regard and that could look different,” Hurts said. “It may not be what it’s been, but ultimately being able to lean on the run game is important.”
Oh yeah, the run game.
The Eagles seemed to forget they have Barkley in the backfield. The 2,005-yard rusher from a season ago was held to just 30 yards on only six — six! — carries. He has a paltry 267 yards rushing through five games.
Why did the Eagles abandon the run?
“I’m not really going to get too caught up in that,” Barkley said. “At the end of the day, whether we ran the ball enough or not, we had an opportunity to win a football game. We didn’t.”
https://www.phillytrib.com/sports/eagles-offensive-woes-continue-as-broncos-hand-super-bowl-champs-their-first-loss/article_dc64ca18-f3dc-4e22-bec8-acc1bc53ffe8.html
