Henry McKenna
NFL Reporter
The Philadelphia Eagles feel a little flimsy.
Weak. Fragile. Maybe even on the verge of fracture.
They certainly looked broken in a 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Jalen Hurts took six sacks while averaging 5.3 yards per attempt, less efficient production than running back Saquon Barkley, who averaged 8.4 yards per carry. But because the Eagles were trailing — and their defense couldn’t stop Baker Mayfield — Philly had to pass with Hurts instead of run with Barkley.
It looked systemically dysfunctional: the defense failing the offense, then the offense failing the defense — and the cycle continued.
And it’s not just this year. The Eagles’ dysfunction goes back to their late-season collapse last year. They lost five of their final six regular-season games and — who else? — the Buccaneers bounced Philly from the playoffs in a 32-9 rout.
The difficult part about what happened on Sunday was that it was the same result despite a totally different process. The 2024 Eagles deconstructed their identity from last year in search of something new. Thing is, they have yet to find it.
Just like last year, the problems center around Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni.
“I think there are a lot of teams at this point in the season that don’t really have an identity. I think we’re still trying to figure it out,” Hurts said postgame Sunday. “I think it’s challenging when you’ve had different moving pieces throughout. … It’s truly a so-what, now-what mentality.”
At the end of last season, Sirianni and Hurts were not seeing eye to eye — their relationship was frayed, according to reports.
It’s unclear if they’re on solid footing now. Hurts was asked Sunday after the game whether he and Sirianni will get together to discuss how to address the team’s identity.
“We have our moments,” Hurts said.
Doesn’t really answer the question.
And also … awkward.
Sirianni, meanwhile, has been…
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Publish date : 2024-10-02 21:56:57
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