Eagles news: Rookie safety likely headed to IR; Nick Sirianni not changing play-calling duties; playoff updates

Landon Dickerson said after the game that the Eagles were surprised by Dallas’ frequent use of a five-man front. Jalen Hurts said “that’s how they’re built now” after the Cowboys acquired Quinnen Williams and retooled their defense.

The front gave the Eagles fits at times, especially as they tried to establish a run game that never got going. Saquon Barkley rushed 10 times for 22 yards.

Dallas showed that five-man front a week earlier vs. Las Vegas. So, were the Eagles prepared for it or were they not?

One day after the Eagles’ offense stalled and was shut out after building a 21-0 lead 18-plus minutes into the game, Nick Sirianni said the Eagles are “searching for answers” for their ailing offense.

But the head coach said there won’t be any changes to who is calling plays.

“I haven’t considered that,” Sirianni said when asked on Monday if he had considered taking play-calling duties away from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

The NFL last October allowed Tom Brady to purchase 5% of the Raiders. Brady was not required to leave his post as the top Fox Sports NFL broadcast analyst, despite the clear conflict of interest.

Brady has been instrumental in the hiring of staff, including retread head coach Pete Carroll and failed Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, the offensive coordinator who was fired Sunday after 11 games. The Raiders reportedly are on the hook for the remainder of Kelly’s three-year, $18 million contract, the amount it took to pry Kelly away from the coordinator job at Ohio State.

More evidence that Kelly — who also failed in San Francisco — might be able to manage lesser beings in the NCAA, but he clearly lacks the depth to coach the elite, independent athletes in the NFL. Also more evidence that Brady, who reportedly met with Kelly at least twice a week to discuss strategies, is unable to manage the roles he now fills.

After the epic collapse, the Eagles face a short turnaround as they prepare to host the Chicago Bears on Black Friday. The two teams last met during the 2022 season, a 25-20 road win for the Birds.

This time around, the game will be in Philly as the Eagles attempt to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to their division rivals. Meanwhile, the Bears are heading into Friday’s game on a four-game winning streak, including their latest over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. Despite the divergent results, sportsbooks are favoring Philadelphia by a touchdown, with the Eagles opening Week 13 as seven-point favorites.

FanDuel

Even before Sunday's game, Nick Foles seemed to have a theory about why the Eagles “superpowered” offense hasn’t been able to get into a good rhythm this year. It's the playcalling, according to the former Eagles QB, and a lack of creativity.

Foles called out the team’s route designs, which haven’t put A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in the best position to get open, which also prevents Saquon Barkley from finding the holes he found last year. The former Eagles quarterback told cohost Evan Moore that the Eagles utilize “simplistic” route trees (or the combination of routes a player can run at a given time) that don’t create space for the players, forcing them to get open and make plays on their own.

“The great teams, those guys are wide open. Even when I’m watching with [my wife] Tori, she’s like, ‘Why are these guys so wide open?’” Foles explained. “And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s a complementary route to a deep route. ... You need those downfield shots because it puts more pressure on the [defensive backs], it opens up more one-on-one matchups, but you’ve got to have complementary [routes], because then the DB can’t key and can’t guess.

There was a disagreement in the visitor’s locker room at AT&T Stadium, 20 minutes and 20 feet apart.

“I’m in a little funk right now,” Saquon Barkley said at his locker stall after he totaled just 22 rushing yards on 10 carries, his lowest output in a game with at least 10 carries since 2022.

Jordan Mailata doesn’t agree.

It is still a little too early to speculate, but the Eagles could be looking at a makeshift secondary for a pivotal Black Friday game vs. the Chicago Bears (8-3) in just four days.

The unit was decimated during Sunday’s defeat.

Adoree’ Jackson, who left the Eagles’ Week 7 game in Minnesota and missed their Week 8 home game vs. the New York Giants due to a concussion, suffered another head injury Sunday. He was being evaluated for a concussion and never returned to the game.

The Eagles couldn’t run the ball again, and yet, after they jumped out to a 21-0 lead, Saquon Barkley rushed on four first downs in the next five possessions.

He gained a total of five yards on the carries.

The play-calling defied logic after the offense had used an 8-18 run-pass ratio to score touchdowns on their first three drives. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo powered down the engine, but make no mistake, it was coach Nick Sirianni who was at the commands.

The Los Angeles Rams' (9-2) blowout win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5) Sunday night bumped the Eagles (8-3) down to the No. 2 spot in the NFC.

The Birds' last-second loss to the Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1) dropped Philly's odds of landing the No. 1 seed (and a first-round bye) down to 33%, according to the New York Times playoff simulator.

The Eagles will face the Chicago Bears (8-3) on Friday, with the winning team gaining a crucial tiebreaker as the top NFC teams remain bunched together in the standings.

Can we go a single week without a bad penalty impacting a game?

During the Eagles' loss to the Cowboys Sunday, Cooper DeJean was called for pass interference on a 48-yard Cowboys pass that seemed very clearly to be offensive pass interference by CeeDee Lamb. Though neither Tom Brady nor Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira seemed to notice.

"A little hand fighting," Brady said during the broadcast.

The Eagles won't get to face their former head coach after all.

The Las Vegas Raiders fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly following a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the team announced Sunday night.

“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” head coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”

No rest for the weary.

The Eagles (8-3) will be back in action in just a couple of days, taking on the Chicago Bears (8-3) the day after Thanksgiving on Amazon's Black Friday game.

The Bears are coming off a narrow win against the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), where Caleb Williams threw for three touchdowns and Aaron Rodgers didn't play due to a fractured left wrist.