The Eagles lost their second game in five days on Friday, falling to the Bears at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia by the score of 24-15.
Similar to Philly’s disastrous loss to the Cowboys on Sunday in which they blew a three-touchdown lead, there were zero positive takeaways to their loss to Chicago. The Jalen Hurts-led offense struggled mightily yet again and managed only three points in the first half; equally as problematic was the Eagles’ defense getting pushed around by the Bears, giving up an astounding 281 yards rushing by the end of the game. It was a combined poor effort to lose the game but another week of ineptitude from the offense has inspired intense frustration among fans and analysts alike. During halftime of Friday’s game on Amazon Prime, Richard Sherman showed just how frustrated he was watching Philadelphia play offense.
Speaking to his coworkers on the Prime halftime set, Sherman ripped embattled Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo for the “incompetency” he’s shown and called for head coach Nick Sirianni to make a change.
“The halftime speech I’m giving the defense is, you gotta man up and you gotta stand up,” Sherman said of the Eagles’ first-half performance. “Ay, this is a grown man game and we’re just getting manhandled. We gotta change that.
“Offensively, you gotta find something else! You gotta put your glasses on, Sirianni, and maybe get your wand out and find you a new offensive coordinator. Because right now Kevin Patullo does not have the answers. He’s shown incompetency over the last couple games. You gotta change that, baby. You need a little Wingardium Leviosa.”
The Eagles were so bad offensively to begin Friday’s game that boos rained down from the Philadelphia faithful in the first two quarters of play. Matters improved slightly in the second half. The Eagles were finally able to get into the end zone by way of two A.J. Brown touchdowns. Yet the production wasn’t enough and they got handed yet another loss, the team’s second straight.
Patullo’s unit has been bad for a month now. They haven’t scored over 21 points in a game since October. They rank near the bottom of the league in every offensive statistic. It’s bizarre to see the defending Super Bowl champions struggle so mightily given the talent they have on that side of the ball. It’s also tempting to place the blame at the feet of Patullo given he’s a first-year coordinator replacing Kellen Moore, who left to coach the Saints after leading Philly to a top-10 finish in most offensive stats en route to a championship.
Nick Sirianni addresses Kevin Patullo’s status as Eagles’ offensive coordinator
Nevertheless, change will not be coming on that front. Sirianni was asked about Patullo’s status after the game and stated he will not be taking Patullo’s play-calling duties away. Sirianni seems to believe the improvement will come despite the lack of progress under Patullo this season.
The Eagles are running out of time to figure it out. Their latest loss puts Philly at 8-4 on the season. They’re in great position to earn a playoff berth by winning the NFC East but with only a few weeks left in the season it’s hard to see how Philadelphia can play well enough offensively to beat multiple contenders en route to another title.
Sherman seems to believe change is needed. Sirianni doesn’t agree right now. Next Monday’s game against the Chargers will be a very important one for Philadelphia.
