Kevin Patullo is the Scapegoat, the Players are the Problem

Since the first drive of week 1, fans have pounded on Kevin Patullo for the Eagles’ offensive struggles. He is the easy target, since he is the biggest change that happened on that side of the ball after the Super Bowl.

While Patullo has obviously been bad this year, the offensive struggles, to me, are more on the players than the coaches.

After the game, when asked why the offense is struggling, A.J. Brown said, “execution.”

No Run Game

The biggest problem with the Eagles’ offense is their inability to run the football effectively. Saquon Barkley finished today’s loss with 13 carries for 56 yards. It has been a tough season for last year’s offensive player of the year. Barkley has just 684 yards on 185 carries this season for a poor 3.7 yards per rush. The biggest problem with the run game is the offensive line, which, because of injuries and poor play, has taken a massive step back this season. Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson have been playing through injuries, and Lane Johnson is obviously out with his foot injury. I give those guys credit for toughing it out and playing, but they are just not playing good football right now.

While many people want to say that Saquon is the same player physically as last year, after 12 weeks of games, it’s hard to say he is. If you are going to put all the blame for the run game this year on the offensive line, then they deserve all the credit for Saquon’s season last year. The truth is, they both deserve credit for last year, and they both deserve blame for this year. I am not worried that Saquon will never be able to return to his form in 2026, but 2025 may be a lost year for Saquon and the Eagles’ running game.

Jalen Hurts is What He Always Has Been

While Eagles fans refuse to put any blame for the offensive struggles on Hurts’ shoulders, the reality is that he is a big reason why the offense has struggled this season. Today’s loss to the Bears was by far his worst game of the season, but it highlighted a problem the Eagles have had all season long, and in years past. The passing game has never carried the team. While Nick Sirianni and Hurts have been in Philadelphia, they have always had a great running game, but their passing game has mostly struggled. That’s ok when you can set franchise records on the ground, but a great running game can only mask a mediocre to poor passing game for so long. Unfortunately, this season is showing the wart that had been covered up the last few years; the passing game is inconsistent at best.

Hurts has many strengths, including raising his play in both Super Bowls that he has played in. But, as a whole, he has led below-average passing attacks. He struggles to pull the trigger, rarely throws the ball over the middle of the field, and has been inaccurate. Offensive coordinators build offenses around the strengths of their signal caller and what they like to do. The Eagles run the offense they do because it is what they believe is best for Hurts. You may disagree that this is what is best for Hurts, but the offense has been very similar for multiple years in a row, with multiple coordinators. Jalen has not shown the ability to carry the offense consistently as a passer, and his inconsistency has reared its ugly head without a dominant run game.

Yes, Patullo Is Still To Blame

With all that being said, Patullo cannot be fully absolved of all blame for the offensive struggles this season. There have been many times this season where situational play-calling has been dumbfounding, including the “cowards draws” on third and longs. Another criticism of both Patullo and Sirianni has to be the penalties. In the second play of today’s game, Brown got a false start penalty. What were you working on all week after having 14 penalties in Dallas? The undisciplined nature of this team is a direct reflection of coaching.

Another criticism of Patullo has been the inability to make adjustments in-game. The Eagles have struggled in multiple first halves this season, and they have not had noticeable adjustments made in the second half of games. Today was a great example. While Hurts played his worst game of the season today, the offense came out sloppy again to start the second half. Vic Fangio does a great job of in-game adjustments, but Patullo has really struggled with it.

The problem with promoting from within after winning a Super Bowl is that everyone is studying your offense all offseason to try and figure out how to stop it, but you are complacent. It is pretty obvious that complacency set in for the Eagles with the promotion of a passing game coordinator who coordinated the 29th-ranked passing offense in the NFL. Sirianni promoted his long-time friend, who had not been doing a good job to begin with, and the Eagles are struggling because of it.

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