The Philadelphia Eagles scraped out a 24-20 win against the Tennessee Titans, and honestly, the passing game looked way better than Week 1. Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith were flat out elite, carrying the offense for long stretches and posting a sweet +0.17 EPA per passing play. They found answers against the Titans’ coverage, attacked those weak spots, and converted third-and-long like it was nothing. But here’s the kicker: this offense is making life ridiculously hard on itself, and it’s not sustainable.
The Eagles Are Playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Football
Get this: the Eagles converted an absurd 11-of-18 third downs, a 61.1% rate. That’s why they sustained drives! Seriously, it’s wild. But here’s what’s really bugging me: they averaged only 4.7 yards per play, turned the ball over twice, and rushed for a measly 89 yards on 32 attempts. Winning on third down is good, obviously, but needing Hurts to repeatedly pull off elite throws on third-and-long? That’s not how you build an offense. The early-down numbers are absolutely bonkers. Per SumerSports, the Eagles have the largest difference in early down offensive success rate versus late down success rate to start a season since 2022. Their early downs are at a pathetic 31.5% success rate (3rd percentile!), while late downs jump to a 60.6% success rate (96th percentile!). Talk about a tale of two offenses.
This Run Game Is a Full-Blown Calamity
The contrast between the pass and run games couldn’t be clearer. While passing was great, the Eagles produced a soul-crushing -0.20 EPA per rushing play. We all saw it. That opening play felt like the most Eagles run of all time. They came out in 12 personnel, condensed the formation, basically begging the Titans to stack the box. There was zero numbers advantage, no misdirection, nothing to manipulate the second level. They just ran straight into it. What could go wrong? Everything. Johnny Mundt hilariously hit the deck, Dallas Goedert was asked to climb to a linebacker he had no shot at, and the Tyler Steen and Drew Kendall combo was a mess. The interior double-team never developed, Cam Jurgens couldn’t get up to the linebacker, and Lane Johnson just plowed into the traffic. It was a complete disaster, but the design itself made every error more likely. They ran 79.2% of their snaps from 11 personnel and only 19.4% from 12. Sean Mannion and the offensive staff have to figure out why they keep wasting those early downs before asking Hurts and Smith to bail them out again and again. The passing game is there, it’s potent, but without a functional early down attack, especially on the ground, this team is always going to be climbing uphill. They gotta find that balance, and fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleeding Green Nation.
Leave a Reply