Eagles Offense In Need Of Big Game With Red Hot Panthers Offense On The Horizon
Sean Mannion lamented the Eagles' mistakes on Saturday but was pleased with the communication of the coaching staff and quarterbacks. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
The Eagles are in desperate need of a great offensive performance.
Five weeks into the 2026 NFL season, and the Eagles offense has been downright dreadful to watch. They’ve scored 92 total points, which comes out to 18.4 points a game, which ranks as the fourth-lowest in the league.
On top of their abysmal points per game, their offensive rankings aren’t any better, ranking bottom tier in many major offensive categories, most notably ranking 28th in yards per pass attempt and 31st in completion percentage.
The offense just isn’t there right now. Yes, injuries to top playmakers like DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley haven’t helped, but even wth those guys in the lineup, this offense wasn’t moving the ball well enough. Jalen Hurts has worked with what he’s had and has managed to win this team two games, and you can argue that they could have four wins.
“Nobody is waiting on us. We’ve had opportunities to take advantage of these games, and we haven’t,” Hurts said. “That leaves us an opportunity to grow. We’ve got to take advantage of that. It’s as simple as that. But as a whole, to play team football, play together. We’ve got to establish ourselves in that identity, and I think we’ve been intentional on trying to establish aspects of our game.”
However, the tests aren’t slowing down; in fact, it’s heating up, as up ahead they have three division matchups before their bye, but before that, a test against one of the NFL’s best offenses this season, the Carolina Panthers.
Shockingly enough, the Panthers find themselves as one of the NFL’s more interesting teams this season. Coming off an NFC South championship last season, Carolina, at least on offense, has gotten off to a hot start, being one of the league’s surprise standouts.
They rank third in yards per game, fourth in points per game with 30.3, and despite having their bye week already, are ranked 11th in total points scored. The duo of Chuba Hubbard and Tetairoa McMillan have had fantastic starts to the 2026 season, both being considered “breakouts” so far through five weeks.
However, the “breakout” of this offense has been the stellar play from quarterback Bryce Young. This season, Young has thrown for 1,268 yards, posted a 9/2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and a 74.9 QBR. He’s also added a touchdown on the ground.
“He’s playing really good football,” Sirianni said. “He’s a good athlete. What I see when he gets himself out of trouble, when something breaks down, is he does a good job of keeping his eyes down the field, finding his receivers. So obviously that’s going to be really important that we keep him in the pocket. He’s playing good football, and they’re doing a good job as coaches. We’ve got a really solid team coming in here this week with a really solid quarterback.”
While their offense has been good, their defense, on the other hand, hasn’t had the same success. While they have playmakers like Derrick Brown and Devin Lloyd, the Panthers defense has allowed the fourth most yards per game and the seventh most points per game.
The big issue for Carolina has been stopping the run, as they’ve allowed the second most rushing yards per game at 156.5. Their worst performance of the season came in Week 1 when they allowed a team-high this season of 59 points and 291 rushing yards to the Chicago Bears. Chicago scored six rushing touchdowns in that game, with three players scoring one each.
The Eagles are banged up at running back, as Will Shipley and Tank Bigsby are out for the foreseable future and Barkley is still trying to rehab to return. Perhaps this is the week Jalen Hurts begins to use his legs more and get mobile.
So far this year, Hurts has rushed for just 107 yards, as the totals are falling week by week. Rolling out of the pocket, scrambling, and even designed run plays with Hurts aren’t happening. It’s been a huge part of the offense in the past, and you’d wonder what they could do to get it rolling again.
This week, Hurts could do something similar to what Caleb Williams did to this group in the Panthers Week 1 game. Williams was all over the pocket, using his legs to extend and finish drives, throw on the run when needed, and keep the offense at a consistent pace. With the Panthers’ awful run defense, exploiting it may be the key to victory come Sunday’s game.
Whether it is on or not they figure out the run, the Eagles need to solve the biggest issue and fix their second-half woes. Philadelphia’s second-half offense is on pace to be the worst in NFL history, and over the past six second-half quarters, the team has scored just three points.
“We’re looking at that hard each and every week. As a staff, how to find our rhythm, find our footing in the second half,” Mannion said. “I think we’re closer. You know, I know the result hasn’t been what we want or what we hold ourselves to as an offense, but I felt like we were getting closer in the second half. We really just have to finish some of those drives.”
This weekend proves to be an opportunity to steer the ship in the right direction against an opponent you know you need to score against. While the Eagles’ defense has been playing better, Carolina is going to get theirs, and the Eagles can’t settle for another second half of pretty much no points.
At some point the offense has to start rolling, or at least improving, because the season isn’t getting any younger. The Eagles have to finish drives because if they don’t, keeping up with the Panthers offense is going to be tough. This is a defense that’s capable of breaking just enough for Philadelphia to find some good momentum.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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