NFL Week 5: Eagles’ offensive line is the problem; Brian Daboll’s Giant woes; fire Jonathan Gannon?

Eagles Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens had back surgery in the offseason.

Lane Johnson, the Eagles’ future Hall of Fame right tackle, left Games 3 and 4 with a recurring stinger.

Landon Dickerson, the Eagles’ left guard who’s gone to the last three Pro Bowls, had knee surgery that cost him most of training camp; fought through back issues in Weeks 1 and 2; and sprained his ankle in Sunday’s loss to Denver.

The Eagles’ offensive line has, for the last three seasons, not only been the best unit on the team, but it has been, in aggregate, the best offensive line in the NFL. It is nothing close to that this year.

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That, more than anything else, is why the Eagles rank 30th in offense. More than new coordinator Kevin Patullo. More than the continued shortcomings of Jalen Hurts. More than the continual caterwauling of franchise receiver A.J. Brown.

The sudden descent of the offensive line into mediocrity is the root cause of the Eagles’ offensive woes.

This will not change until it gets healthier and is allowed to play together for an extended period.

It might get healthier in the next few weeks. After they visit the Giants on Thursday, the Eagles have a 10-day layoff before visiting Carson Wentz and the Vikings, then face the Giants again, then enjoy their bye week. So, a lightweight game, a 10-day break, a road trip, another lightweight game, then 15 days off before heading to Green Bay, a possible playoff preview.

Or, if the O-line doesn’t get healthier and better, maybe not.

The most heartening story of the season continues to be the resurrection of Daniel Jones’ career. Jones went nowhere under head coach Brian Daboll and the Giants.

Jones’ 2025 passer rating of 105.1 in Indy is more than 20 points higher than his last three seasons, all under Daboll, who was hired, in part, to develop him. The Colts are 4-1.

Meanwhile, Daboll and the Giants, who host the Eagles on Thursday Night Football, are 1-4 after turning the ball over five times and falling to the formerly winless Saints and former Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni says defense affected missed ‘dagger’ from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown: ‘I’m not here to assign blame’

Daboll is the sort of guy you root for. A native Canadian who was a Division III safety at Rochester, Daboll has coached both sides of the ball, learning under both Bill Belichick in New England and Nick Saban at Alabama, before landing his career-altering job as offensive coordinator in Buffalo under former Eagles DC Sean McDermott. There, Daboll he groomed reigning MVP Josh Allen in his first four seasons.

Allen needed grooming: He was a junior-college QB who landed a spot at Wyoming because of traits that mirrored Carson Wentz, a project QB who’d recently surged into the NFL from FCS school North Dakota State. When Daboll left Buffalo, Allen was 34-15 as a full-time starter with one Pro Bowl appearance.

Notably, like Jones, Allen got even better when separated from Daboll. So did running back Saquon Barkley, who left the Giants and had a historic season with the Eagles in 2024.

Just sayin’.

As former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen thrives in Indianapolis, former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon continues to founder in Arizona. Not only did one of his players negate a 72-yard touchdown by nonchalantly flipping the ball away before he crossed the goal line, but also, after berating the disconsolate player, Emari Demercado, on the sideline, Gannon appeared to strike Demercado as he walked away.

Such an action not only is reprehensible, it is utterly unprofessional. If Gannon hit Demercado, the coach should be fined and suspended by the NFL. He also should be fired by the Cardinals, whose players must be wondering which one of them he’ll take a shot at next. Talk about losing the locker room.

It would be no great loss. The Cards are 2-3 this season, 14-25 in Gannon’s two-plus seasons, quarterback Kyler Murray has regressed, and Marvin Harrison Jr., the No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft, has been a disappointment.

Furthermore, should any employer see fit to hire Gannon in the future, it should require him to undergo anger-management training.

If he’s hired off the street, at least this time there won’t be any tampering.

» READ MORE: Sources: The Eagles are furious with Jonathan Gannon after tampering case with Cardinals

This must be delicious for those who foster little love for Bill Belichick. The Hoodie, formerly the NFL’s greatest coach, whom the NFL has cast into the netherworld of the NCAA, not only is 1-3 against Division I competition at UNC, he has again been embarrassed by his pettiness.

Due to his ongoing feud with the Patriots, Belichick won’t allow New England scouts to come to UNC facilities. Until Monday, he also reportedly would not allow UNC social media functionaries to post positive messages about former UNC players in the NFL, especially Drake Maye, the second-year Patriots quarterback who has been sensational lately.

That tweet originated from @RossMartinNC, who covers college sports for 247Sports and CBS Sports. The tweet was amplified by @JoePompliano, who covers the business of sports nationally and has more than 600,000 followers on Twitter/X.

Within two hours UNC had posted a hype tweet about Maye, and had, according to Pompliano, had denied to him any such policy.

Whatever.

At any rate, Maye was magical in upsetting the Bills in Buffalo on Sunday Night Football, a win by walk-off field goal featuring the triumphant return of former Bills receiver Stephon Diggs. He caught 10 passes for 146 yards in a game he called “100% personal,” considering his acrimonious departure from Buffalo via trade (to Houston) in April 2024.

The Cowboys are trending in the right direction after a bizarre tie with the Packers two weeks ago and a 15-point win at the winless Jets. ... A week after losing to the Steelers in Dublin, Ireland, Wentz, the disgraced former Eagles QB, threw a game-winning touchdown pass with 25 seconds to play to beat the Browns in London.