The Philadelphia Eagles were 5-0 coming into Sunday’s game against the New York Jets…somehow. It’s not like the Eagles had been ‘bad’ up to that point, but they were nowhere near the ceiling of what we all experienced just one year beforehand. Many felt that this was a positive, that the Eagles still had plenty of room left to grow into the season…but there was also the other side of the coin to bear in mind. If it hadn’t been thought of before, it certainly is now.
Jets punch the Eagles in the face
New York didn’t steal a victory on Sunday. It was gifted to them on a silver platter by a team that failed to execute across the board. All three phases of the game were sloppy, and a bad team playing well is always going to be a threat against a good team playing poorly. The truth is, the Eagles have been walking a tightrope throughout the opening stanza and have been lucky to escape with 5 wins. That luck ran out on Sunday.
Where they go from here is what matters. For 5 weeks, Brian Johnson’s play-calling has put the team behind the 8-ball and forced Sean Desai’s limping defense to somehow bail the offense out and put them back into an advantageous situation.
For 5 weeks, Jalen Hurts has been ‘good’ at best, and ‘average’ at worst.
For 5 weeks, crucial errors have been masked by outstanding plays from impact players.
Winning cures all in the National Football, but when the winning stops, the pressure begins to grow.
Nick Sirianni was quick to preach accountability after the defeat and Jalen Hurts gave his traditional press conference ticking all the right boxes, but where does the team actually go from here?
The Eagles have to put up
If accountability really is the name of the game, then surely there has to be an intervention at offensive coordinator. The Eagles called 45 passes against the Jets in what was a 2-score game for most of the day…and a game where they led for the majority of the time. The initial drive was fantastic, and then the wheels started to wobble.
This isn’t new. The offense has been susceptible to questionable play calls all season long and this game was no different, it was just the first to yield a punishment.
Eagles fans experienced a month of the same problems, but chosen to ignore them because D’Andre Swift decided to break a couple of records, the defense became one of the fiercest in Football, and the team was 5-0. They’re now 5-1. Sure, injuries played a role, but make no mistake that this was a game the Eagles should’ve won…and easily.
With the Dolphins on deck, there’s no way the Eagles can afford to perform the way they did against the Jets. If nothing changes and the offense falls flat on its face once more, then surely the whole ‘accountability’ schtick is going to start wearing thin.
Albert Einstein once said that ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.’
The Eagles have been able to talk the talk all season long, but now it’s absolutely necessary that they walk the walk and find actionable solutions to very clear problems.
AP Photo/Adam Hunger
