What the national media is saying amid the Eagles’ three-game losing streak: ‘Concern is quite high’
Pundits aren't holding back about the Birds: “Fifth graders are playing EA Sports Madden who know how to manage this game situation,” The Ringer’s Diante Lee wrote. We all know what he's referring to.
The Eagles entered the season with expectations of competing for another Super Bowl. Five weeks later, national analysts are questioning whether coach Nick Sirianni can turn things around.
The Birds (2-3) have lost three consecutive games, including Sunday’s 19-17 defeat at the hands (or feet) of the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. The Eagles now return to Lincoln Financial Field to face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS Philadelphia), with mounting criticism surrounding Sirianni, quarterback Jalen Hurts, and an offense that ranks among the NFL’s worst.
Some national analysts are predicting that Carolina (2-2) will hand the Eagles their fourth consecutive loss.
CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan was among the analysts picking the Panthers and questioned whether another loss could put Sirianni’s job in jeopardy.
Sullivan pointed to the Eagles’ offensive production, which ranks in the bottom five in scoring (18.4 points per game), total offense (262.2 yards) and passing offense (170.6 yards).
He also emphasized Carolina’s rest advantage. The Panthers are coming off their bye week, while the Eagles are returning from a trip to London.
According to his CBS colleague, John Breech, this will be the fifth time in NFL history that a team returning from an international game immediately faces an opponent coming off its bye week. The teams returning from overseas lost the previous four matchups, averaging just 15.25 points.
Breech also noted the Eagles’ difficulty running the football amid injuries to Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, and Will Shipley, despite Carolina allowing 156.5 rushing yards per game entering Week 6, the second-most in the league.
Stopping the skid
But the concern surrounding the Birds extends beyond Sunday’s matchup.
ESPN insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano examined the Eagles’ struggles Wednesday, particularly the offensive line’s reconstruction and the team’s difficulties adjusting to first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.
“My sense is the concern is quite high,” Fowler wrote.
Fowler pointed to the Eagles’ inability to establish the play-action passing game the coaching staff envisioned, along with Hurts’ struggles throwing over the middle of the field. The Eagles rank 31st in total offense.
Graziano highlighted the unexpected retirement of longtime right tackle Lane Johnson and the injuries that have forced inexperienced players into prominent roles along the offensive line.
Fowler acknowledged that the expected returns of Barkley and wide receiver DeVonta Smith could improve the offense, but questioned whether getting healthy would resolve the team’s broader problems.
Sirianni’s late-game decision-making also drew sharp criticism from The Ringer’s Diante Lee, who questioned the Eagles’ clock management on their final possession against Jacksonville.
“Fifth graders are playing EA Sports Madden who know how to manage this game situation,” Lee wrote.
» READ MORE: An ‘absolute embarrassment,’ an ‘idiotic decision,’ and what else they’re saying about the Eagles loss in London
Lee criticized Philadelphia for throwing passes rather than forcing Jacksonville to exhaust its remaining timeouts before Jake Elliott’s go-ahead field goal. The Eagles eventually left enough time for the Jaguars to return the ensuing kickoff and win on Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal.
Lee argued that the Birds’ problems went beyond the final kick, pointing to consecutive losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Jaguars in which the Eagles had opportunities to win.
“Now it feels like their season is slipping away,” Lee wrote.
Not every national analyst expects another Birds loss, however, as CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco believes the Eagles’ defense can carry them to a much-needed win.
Even as national analysts wonder whether the issues are fixable, the Eagles have an opportunity to reverse their slide with consecutive home games against Carolina and the Dallas Cowboys before visiting Washington.
The Eagles are back from London, looking to leave the disappointment of a last-second defeat behind while choosing instead to focus on lessons they can learn from a third straight loss. And you know what? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane actually thinks there were encouraging takeaways from the game, outcome aside. He and Mike Sielski discussed why the Eagles’ sky, despite being gray, isn’t falling just yet, and what the team can build on to if it hopes to reverse its fortunes during a key stretch of the schedule that begins Sunday. Listen here.
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