PHILADELPHIA — Many consider new Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to be the biggest problem with Philadelphia’s struggling offense.
Through four weeks, the Eagles rank 30th in total offense, 15th in rushing, 31st in passing, 25th in yards per completion, 29th in yards per rush, and dead last in three-and-out rate and explosive plays.
Most of the blame has fallen on Patullo, who spent the four previous seasons as Philadelphia’s pass game coordinator.
After the Eagles finished with minus-1 yards of offense in the second half of last Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Patullo’s criticism increased.
Fans are calling for his job, football analysts have criticized his play calling and Eagles players have expressed frustration with the team’s lack of offensive success.
“It’s very unfair,” Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata told NJ Advance Media about the heat Patullo is facing. “I just think it’s very easy to want to blame somebody. Easy target. It’s an execution (issue). There’s nothing else to it.”
In conversations with NJ Advance Media, Mailata and other Eagles players took accountability for the offensive struggles and defended Patullo, but ultimately, coaches usually take the fall for poor performances.
Later in the season, Patullo could be on the hot seat if Philadelphia’s inept offense causes the team to lose games.
Two years ago, the Eagles fired then-new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson after the offense struggled late in the 2023 season, which contributed to a historic collapse. Patullo has to improve as a play caller to avoid that same fate.
“We go to work every day, so it’s going to click sooner or later,” Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith told NJ Advance on Thursday.
Common criticisms of Patullo include his inability to put wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in advantageous situations, being too predictable with shotgun and from under-center/pistol looks, not utilizing enough motion, play action and run-pass options, and relying too heavily on condensed sets.
“I go on X and see people (talking about Patullo), like most of them think they can call the offense basically, and it’s like they’re pinpointing certain screenshots of a play or something,” Dotson said. “You don’t know what’s really going on. You don’t know if someone messed up a motion or if someone’s not on the same page as the quarterback. You have no idea. You think you know what you see from a screenshot, which doesn’t tell the whole picture. So it’s a tough job, but he’s built for it.”
In a Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Eagles scored three offensive touchdowns in the second half after only scoring one touchdown and finishing with 34 total yards in the first half.
Before quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 0 of his 8 passes in the final two quarters against Tampa Bay’s defense, the Eagles scored 24 points and amassed 201 total yards in the first two quarters.
It is not ideal that Patullo’s offense sputters for long periods, but the Eagles are confident their consistency can improve.
“It seems like a lot of the stall-outs are more so on miscommunication on our part,” Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said. “I’m assuming we’re going to get more dialed in as a unit, him as a play caller and everything like that. But in this building, though, we have full faith in him and trust that we’ll right the ship offensively.”
Dotson added: “The past two games, you’ve seen if we put the second half of the Rams game and the first half of the Bucs game together, we probably beat any team in the league by 30-plus points.”
Players remain optimistic that the offense is heading in the right direction, but are frustrated that it hasn’t clicked yet.
“One of the great things about this team is that we don’t really point fingers,” Eagles backup tight end Kylen Granson said. “We all could have done things better. So I don’t think necessarily that (it is Patullo’s fault). Blaming isn’t what we do here. We’re all about accountability and trying to be the best players we can be.”
Patullo needs to do a better job of adjusting to unscouted looks.
“Lately on third down, teams are showing pressure, bailing out on Cover 2,” Goedert said. “You don’t see that very often. They’ve been doing it against us, and we need answers for that and be able to convert on those.”
“We are getting everybody’s best shot,” Eagles backup running back AJ Dillon said. “Against Kansas City, we got 15 all out (blitzes). I’ve never been a part of that.”
Granson said Patullo has excellent plans for every game, but self-inflicted wounds, such as not moving to the line quickly enough, have led to their struggles.
Over the next 13 weeks, Patullo could help the Eagles’ offense reach its full potential or contribute to its downfall. A good offensive performance this Sunday against the Denver Broncos could get him back in the favor of Eagles fans.
“It seems like we’re having these same conversations with (former Eagles offensive coordinator) Kellen Moore last year, so it’s too early in the year to jump ship one way or the other,” Goedert said.
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