Eagles have several problems, but these 3 might not be fixable
· Yahoo Sports
CHICAGO − In the past, the Eagles had one glaring area that tripped them up, leading to their first-round exit in the playoffs.
Last season, it was a stagnant offense that did in the Eagles despite a top-five defense that kept them in most games. In 2023, it was a trainwreck defense that never gave the offense a chance during their late-season collapse.
Visit somethingsdifferent.biz for more information.
Through three games this season, it's both. That was evident Sept. 28 in the Eagles' 27-7 loss to the Chicago Bears. And you can add in coaching as well.
Buy Philadelphia Eagles tickets
Depending on your point of view, you can take the approach of it's early, there's still time to figure it out, and that the Eagles did show signs of doing just that.
On the other hand, the Eagles are 2-1, with games coming up against the Los Angeles Rams on a short week, then the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. If they don't figure it out soon, the Eagles could be looking at a 2-3 record after those two games.
As the old saying goes: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
"I don't want to keep saying like we're close," running back Saquon Barkley said. "Do I sound like − am I crazy? When we were on that 95-yard drive (in the second quarter), how did it look in the first half when we were running the ball? We look like a good football team, and we can build on stuff like that.
"We know the type of team that we're gonna be."
Barkley is correct that the Eagles did go on a 95-yard drive, going from their own 3-yard line to the Bears' 2. But that was the drive where quarterback Jalen Hurts was ordered to the medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion. While he was there, backup Andy Dalton threw an interception into the end zone.
The Eagles came away empty.
That kind of thing happened often on both offense and defense. The Eagles turned the ball over three times. They have yet to get a turnover on defense. They committed 10 penalties. Four of them were on defense, giving the Bears a first down. Two of them happened on the Bears' final scoring drive.
Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo was called for a neutral zone infraction as the Bears lined up to go for a first down on fourth-and-2 from the Eagles' 39. That gave the Bears a first down. Later, on third-and-5 from the Eagles' 14, Ojomo sacked Bears QB Case Keenum for a 2-yard loss.
That would have forced a field goal. Instead, Drew Mukuba was called for a defensive holding, giving the Bears an automatic first down. They proceeded to score a touchdown.
"We have to be able to master the things that require no talent," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "We had some pre-snap penalties. We had some penalties in the secondary also. The turnovers as well. To be down 3-0 on turnovers, it's hard to overcome."
Some of that, obviously, is fixable by simply playing better and smarter. Some of that requires more. Let's focus on three things that require more:
How to solve problem at safety?
Did Eagles general manager Howie Roseman make a mistake by letting both safety Reed Blankenship and linebacker Nakobe Dean go in free agency? It's possible that he could have kept one of them.
But the Eagles drafted Jihaad Campbell in the first round in 2025 to replace Dean. It's just that Campbell hasn't played well, or at least not as well as Dean did last season.
Safety, however, is the bigger problem. Marcus Epps, who won the job to start next to Mukuba, and Michael Carter essentially split the snaps against the Bears. Neither played well. The Eagles signed veteran Kenny Moore to the practice squad, then promoted him to the 53-man roster on Sept. 29.
So it's possible that Moore will become the starter as soon as the Eagles' next game, on Oct. 4 against the Rams.
How offensive line became a weakness
Remember back in the draft when the Eagles took wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round at No. 20 overall instead of an offensive lineman?
Well, you could make the argument that the three linemen the Eagles targeted all went well before their spot at No. 23, making a major trade up very difficult. Instead, the Eagles traded up three spots to get Lemon.
Lemon hasn't been great. He still gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage on screens. But he also had a 19-yard reception against the Bears and a 14-yarder the week before against the Titans.
The bigger issue is that the Eagles needed to fortify their offensive line, and they didn't. That came back to bite them when left guard Landon Dickerson became a turnstile in the opener, then went on injured reserve with a knee issue.
So when it came to replace Dickerson, the Eagles moved center Cam Jurgens from center to left guard, a position he has never played before − at any level. They inserted Drew Kendall, a fifth-round pick in 2025, at center. The results pretty much have gone as one would expect.
Dickerson was a Pro Bowl player from 2022-24. But his injuries and surgeries over the years have clearly caught up with him. He was hardly that caliber of player last season and in the opener this season. In addition, right guard Tyler Steen hasn't been very good either.
It won't be getting much better. Right tackle Lane Johnson, still playing at an elite level at age 36, has already said he's retiring after the season.
When the Eagles went to the Super Bowl in 2022 and 2024, the offensive line was dominant. When the line wasn't dominant, well, they didn't. So far, they're not dominant this year, either.
"When it comes to self-sabotage, we did that a lot (against the Bears)," Johnson said. "So that's on us. But if we can move forward and capitalize on the stuff that we did improve on, and avoid the costly mistakes, hopefully we'll get a different outcome."
Bad starts to 2nd half
Hurts made a mention of this after the game. The Eagles had won the coin toss in each of their three games, thereby deciding to get the ball to start the second half.
This time, the Eagles scored as time expired in the first half to cut the Bears' lead to 10-7. It appeared as if the Eagles had all the momentum, getting the ball to start the third quarter. And it looked promising when Barkley gained 7 yards on the first play after getting 73 yards on 11 carries in the first half.
But Hurts' pass to Barkley lost 2 yards, setting up third-and-5. Then Hurts threw incomplete trying for Zach Ertz. The Eagles went 3-and-out on their next possession, too. The Bears, meanwhile, got a field goal on their first possession, then a touchdown on their second.
Just like that it was 20-7.
"Just gotta be better," Hurts said. "That's a complete team effort that starts with me making sure we're in the right play, making sure we're managing it in a way where we're ahead of the sticks. Situationally, I've got to play better ball."
They all do. Barkley, it should be noted, had three carries for 2 yards the rest of the way.
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the "Eye On The Eagles" newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eagles have several problems, but these 3 might not be fixable
Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.