What is happening with the Philadelphia Eagles?

The Philadelphia Eagles confronted third and 20 early within the fourth quarter in opposition to the New York Giants on Christmas Day, and the followers at Lincoln Monetary Subject had been greater than stressed.

They had been on the verge of anger.

Regardless of the Eagles holding a 20-3 lead on the halftime break, the group had watched New York climb again into the sport. A surprising Choose-Six from Adoree’ Jackson, and the two-point conversion, had made it a 20-18 sport early within the fourth quarter, and the Eagles had been on the verge of going three-and-out on their ensuing possession, and the group felt it.

That’s when quarterback Jalen Hurts stepped up — actually and figuratively — and delivered the kind of momentum-shifting second you hope to see from one of many sport’s highest-paid QBs:

The diploma of problem on this connection is nearly off the charts. An inside stunt from the Giants forces Hurts off his spot early within the play, however the quarterback manages to step up and climb the pocket, creating a bit of time for the vertical routes to develop downfield. With the Giants in zone protection, A.J. Brown finds house alongside the proper sideline, however Hurts has to navigate the specter of Isaiah Simmons lurking within the curl/flat zone between Hurts and his goal.

The QB places simply sufficient air on the throw to get it over the outstretched fingers of Simmons, and into Brown’s succesful fingers for the primary down.

The completion purchased the Eagles a contemporary set of downs, and calmed the uneasy devoted within the stands. When Kenneth Gainwell ripped off this 22-yard run on the very subsequent play, a lot to the enjoyment of these Eagles followers clamoring for extra within the working sport in current weeks, it appeared as if order was on its method to being restored:

Certain sufficient, the Eagles would end the drive with a D’Andre Swift landing run from 5 yards out, pushing Philadelphia’s lead again to 9. They might lengthen that lead by three on their subsequent possession, due to a Jake Elliott discipline objective. With a 30-18 lead, Philadelphia followers began to loosen up.

However that’s when the Giants caught as soon as extra. Tyrod Taylor, within the sport having changed a struggling Tommy DeVito, related with Darius Slayton on a surprising 76-yard landing cross, the Giants’ longest play of the season. All of the sudden the Giants had been proper again within the sport.

Whereas the Eagles held on, enhancing their playoff standing with the 33-25 victory over the Giants, the temper was something however brilliant on the sideline through the sport, and within the locker room after. Head coach Nick Sirianni was visibly pissed off prowling the sideline through the contest, and varied gamers expressed their very own frustration within the locker room after the win. Martin Frank, who covers the Eagles for Delaware On-line, requested why the workforce was so “depressing” in his post-game column, outlining how Brown stored his feedback to a minimal within the locker room.

“I bought nothing good to say,” Brown mentioned. “I used to be taught if you happen to don’t have something good to say, don’t say something. If I’ve to take a advantageous, I’ll take it.”

Brown was not alone. DeVonta Smith, who caught a landing cross within the win — extra on that play in a second — outlined his personal frustration with the Eagles’ play. “I’m not glad. Yeah, we bought 11 wins. I’m not blissful,” mentioned Smith. “It must be higher. What I need to do, what all people else in right here needs to do, what we need to be, we’re nowhere close to that, so I’m not blissful.”

Sirianni addressed his sideline … let’s say “dialogue” … with Philadelphia line of defense coach Jeremiah Washburn close to the top of the sport:

“I get animated rather a lot. There are issues that when errors are occurring, or making an attempt to get the communication going, just a bit little bit of that. That occurs all through a sport. It’s going to be between gamers and gamers, coaches and gamers, coaches and coaches.

“However when you might have the relationships that we now have and the connections that we now have, we’re capable of transfer on shortly. The blokes know all what we’re making an attempt to do and coaches know all we’re making an attempt to do is get all people to play their greatest.

“Typically that’s with a smack on the butt, and generally that’s with a yell.”

You’ll be able to see that second right here:

What could be underlying the frustration? Actually the Eagles’ current outcomes could possibly be a giant motive why. Just a few weeks in the past the Eagles had been 10-1, and on the cusp of clinching the NFC East in addition to closing in on the top-overall seed within the convention. Nonetheless, three-straight losses, coupled with this underwhelming victory over the Giants, have seen the frustration mount.

Their inner angst may also be boiled right down to a single quantity.

26.

That represents the Eagles’ level differential this season, a far cry from a 12 months in the past. A 12 months in the past the Eagles had a degree differential of 133, which trailed solely the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Payments in that class, good for third within the league. At present, the Eagles sit tenth within the NFL in that stat, behind NFC rivals such because the 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.

In addition they path the Detroit Lions — a workforce they could see within the postseason — and the New Orleans Saints, a workforce which may not even make the playoffs.

Issues have simply been harder for the Eagles this 12 months, and the huge margin for error they appeared to get pleasure from a 12 months in the past appears all however evaporated.

One thing that additionally appears to be lacking? A capability to assault the center of the sphere constantly within the passing sport. Final season, Hurts was one of many more practical passers focusing on that space, as proven by this chart utilizing Professional Soccer Focus information:

Now, a have a look at 2023:

My pricey pal JP Acosta dove into this in his personal evaluation of what ails the Eagles a couple of weeks in the past, noting {that a} season in the past Hurts was “ … 176/220 on passes between the numbers, and far more environment friendly throughout the board.”

Now this 12 months, forward of their sport in opposition to the Giants, Hurts was “… 130/165, a paltry quantity in comparison with the place Hurts was final 12 months.”

That sport didn’t bolster his numbers. For comparability, have a look at Hurts’ spray chart from Christmas Day in opposition to the Giants:

The overwhelming majority of his throws got here in the direction of the sidelines. Just one throw — the aforementioned landing to Smith — got here between the hashmarks:

The opposite throw, which got here alongside the proper hashmark, was this completion to Brown off of play-action:

Apart from that, all the pieces else went in the direction of the surface, or deeper down the sphere. It leads some, like JP, to explain the Eagles’ offense as a James Harden-esque system the place all the pieces is both a layup, or a deep three. The Eagles are both counting on deeper throws downfield which have a smaller likelihood of being accomplished, or throws to the surface and/or screens in the direction of the boundary, which require efficient blocking and/or gamers making defenders miss in house.

Once more, it will get again to the margin for error. Proper now, that appears to be minimal for the Eagles.

As for a possible repair, Eagles followers have been clamoring for extra within the working sport in current weeks, and there may be proof to help that proposition. Check out this from RBSDM.com, which outlined EPA per dropback, in addition to EPA per dashing try:

The Eagles have the most effective dashing assaults within the league, by way of EPA/Rush. In addition they have the fourth-best “success fee” on dashing performs, behind solely the Ravens, the Payments, and the 49ers.

They’ve the tenth-best success fee on passing performs.

We have now seen the Eagles do that earlier than. Throughout the 2021 season, Hurts’ first 12 months because the full-time starter, Philadelphia leaned into the working sport down the stretch, and it translated right into a stunning run to the playoffs.

Will we see that down the stretch and into the postseason once more?

We would. However it appears obvious that proper now the Eagles are nonetheless in search of solutions as January approaches. Possibly they will determine these solutions out in time for an additional deep run.

Or perhaps the simmering frustration in Philadelphia boils over.