Jordan Mailata says lack of ‘want to’ is leading to Eagles’ offensive struggles
Mailata sent a loud message to his teammates, particularly on offense, in the wake of the Week 6 defeat.
Jordan Mailata stood in the center of the locker room, his game jersey still soaked and eye black dripping down his face, and loudly shouted toward reporters that he was ready for questions.
He hadn’t even stopped at his locker yet. Clearly he was eager to get his message out.
Shortly after the Eagles’ 25-14 loss to the Panthers — their fourth loss in a row — the All-Pro tackle held court in the quiet dressing room, fielding questions for nearly 30 minutes about what, exactly, is going wrong with the 2026 Eagles.
Mailata mostly spoke about the offense, which posted 222 total yards Sunday, including a meager 35 rushing yards. His prognosis for their issues was simple:
“Focus and ‘want to,’” Mailata said. “That’s it.”
He expanded on his thoughts when pressed on it later.
“It’s the focus, the lack of focus, and then you’ve got to have the ‘want to,’” Mailata said. “So if you’re not focusing in the moment, you’re not wanting to focus. That’s why I say the ‘want to.’
“The ‘want to’ to be focused. The ‘want to’ to understand your assignment. The ‘want to’ to not cause any false starts and try to jump the cadence because you gotta prove it, you know?
“These are silly little errors that we can’t control. And again, it’s something that we have to correct, and we have to ‘want to’ correct. If it means staying back out to practice and getting these reps, that’s what it means.”
The Eagles, now 2-4 for the first time since 2021, have the record they do in large part due to the offense. They’re averaging just 17.7 points per game this season, which is the lowest in the Howie Roseman era.
» READ MORE: Eagles grades vs. Panthers: Offense remains disjointed, run defense and special teams struggle in 25-14 loss
Injuries have hampered them, no doubt. They’re without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts at least for the next three games. They’re down to the No. 4 and No. 6 running backs on their depth chart following Carson Steele’s shoulder injury on Sunday. They have just two remaining starters from Week 1 on their offensive line (Mailata and Tyler Steen).
Mailata isn’t letting anybody use injuries as an excuse, however.
“No, I could not have seen [the injuries coming],” Mailata said. “But then again, like… so what? Now what? This is the hand we’ve been dealt. We’ve got to play with these cards. … Where there’s adversity, there’s opportunities. There’s a little opportunity for guys to come in, step in, and contribute to the game.”
Nick Sirianni, who has never had a four-game losing streak as a head coach until now, was asked about Mailata’s comments following the game.
“Like I said to you guys, I didn’t question our guys’ toughness,” he said. “I don’t question the effort. We’ve got to get better at the detail stuff.”
So, what’s the reason for optimism in the Eagles locker room now? These comments seem bleak. What makes Mailata so confident they can turn the season around?
“Because we got the men in the locker room,” Mailata said. “I am very confident that we can turn this around. I command the locker room to do it. We just need to, again, execute, have the ‘want to,’ have the focus and stay together.”
His teammates agree.
“We still got hope,” guard Willie Lampkin said. “We have 11 games left. It’s still the same thing, the same focus. Got to be disciplined.”
