The champs are gone because the offense never arrived: Philly’s 19-point wild-card exit was the predictable finish to a season-long slide in creativity, connection and confidence.
A year after bulldozing the NFC for 36.3 points a game en route to Super Bowl 59, the Philadelphia Eagles limped out of the playoffs with 19 points and a season-low sense of offensive identity, falling 23-19 to a San Francisco 49ers team missing its starting quarterback, top two receivers and both starting tackles.
The box score tells the story in miniature: 168 net passing yards, 4.3 yards per play, 0-for-2 in the red zone after halftime, and a final fourth-and-11 incompletion that sealed the loss with 2:54 left. Every wart the fan base complained about since September—Jalen Hurts‘ flattened deep ball, A.J. Brown‘s disappearing targets, a rushing attack that no longer tilted the field—showed up at the worst possible time.
From record-setting to remedial: how the Eagles lost their edge
- 2024 playoffs: 361 total yards per game, 5.0 yards per rush, 10 passes of 25-plus yards
- 2025 regular season: 307 yards per game, 4.1 yards per rush, 18 passes of 25-plus (t-22nd)
- Wild-card round: 307 total yards, 3.8 yards per rush, 1 pass of 25-plus
Kevin Patullo’s first season as play-caller started with optimism—pre-snap motion, heavy personnel, Hurts’ legs as a constraint—and devolved into a predictable diet of horizontal throws and delayed quarterback draws on third-and-long. The Eagles finished 19th in points, 24th in yards and 22nd in yards per play, the steepest year-over-year drop by a defending champion since the 2014 Seahawks.
The cracks were audible. Asked last week why his rushing attempts dipped from 8.5 per game in 2024 to 5.9 in 2025, Hurts answered, “The approach this year, and the way the games have been called with this coordinator…it’s just kind of gone that way.” Translation: the quarterback—who once audibled into QB power at will—felt handcuffed.
Stars dim at the moment of truth
A.J. Brown’s first-quarter grab was his last; he finished with three catches and 25 yards, then vented on the sideline at Nick Sirianni for the second time this season. DeVonta Smith dropped a slant that would have set up first-and-goal inside the two. Saquon Barkley averaged 3.4 yards on 14 touches, his lowest mark since Week 4. Even the normally automatic Jake Elliott pushed a 48-yard field-goal try wide right.
Meanwhile, San Francisco’s third-string receivers and a seventh-round rookie tackle cobbled together enough chunk plays to flip field position. Brock Purdy’s replacement, Sam Darnold, didn’t throw a touchdown, but he didn’t turn it over either—something Hurts couldn’t say. A second-quarter red-zone pick on an overthrown fade to Brown was the Eagles’ eighth giveaway inside the 20 this season, most in the NFL.
What this collapse means for 2026
Philadelphia will still tout a top-five roster on paper: an MVP-caliber quarterback, two alpha wideouts, an elite left tackle, a war-ready front seven and a coach who won 11 games while managing internal combustion. Yet the to-do list is glaring:
- Reset the play-calling hierarchy. Sirianni ceded duties to Patullo but still owns Sundays. Either he reclaims the headset or the Eagles shop for an experienced coordinator who can merge motion and vertical concepts with Hurts’ unique skill set.
- Re-engineer the vertical passing game. Hurts’ completion rate on throws 20-plus yards downfield fell from 42% (2024) to 27% (2025). Adding a field-stretching tight end or speed slot could force safeties out of the box and revive Barkley’s cut-back lanes.
- Lock up the trenches. Lane Johnson turns 35 in May; Jason Kelce retired last offseason. Investing early-round picks on the interior line protects Hurts’ legs and resurrects the sneak-and-power identity that defined 2024.
Cap space is plentiful—spotrac projects $42 million in room, fifth most in the league—but so is pressure. The Eagles have never missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons under Sirianni, and owner Jeffrey Lurie has short patience for offensive regression after titles.
Bottom line
Championship windows slam shut faster than they open in the NFL. Philadelphia’s defense remains championship caliber, but football in 2026 is still a 25-point league; 19 won’t cut it. Until Hurts regains his deep-ball confidence and the coaching staff rebuilds an attack that scares coordinators, the Eagles risk wasting a prime roster on one-and-done January trips.
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