By now, Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has figured out that it’s not always sunny in Philadelphia.
As a fifth-year assistant to Nick Siranni, he has been around long enough to know that long periods of heavy rain (and bad play) in South Philadelphia can result in flash floods and critical reviews.
Sometimes, offensive and defensive coordinators even get swept away by them.
At the moment, the water is up to Patullo’s knees and rising fast.
The Eagles, after a fragile 4-0 start, have lost two straight and if the fans were in charge of dispatching the life boats, Patullo’s best chance of survival would depend upon his ability to swim.
This is what Sirianni calls adversity and it’s a formidable adversary the head coach has encountered before.
“Adversity can do a couple things to you,” Sirianni said in the midst of the Eagles’ 2023 collapse. “It can break you or it can make you way better. I know that everybody in that locker room has been through (stuff) in their lives and everybody has made it to this point. They’ve made it to this point because of the (stuff) they’ve been through. And so that adversity in that locker room has made us where we are today.”
That speech came after an ugly loss to the Dallas Cowboys two seasons ago that left the Eagles with a 10-3 record after a 10-1 start. The Eagles, of course, ended up collapsing under an avalanche of late-season losses and made a first-round playoff exit.
Sirianni lived to coach another season and we know how that turned out for him and the Eagles.
It should be noted, however, that offensive coordinator Brian Johnson did not survive the great fall of 2023. I’m quite sure it had nothing to do with his ability to handle adversity and everything to do with the Eagles’ dissatisfaction with how he called the plays.
Was Johnson a scapegoat?
Yes, of course he was. It wasn’t his play calling that led to the Eagles’ collapse that season. It had a lot more to do with Jalen Hurts’ turnovers (the quarterback had a career-high 20 of them that season, including six during the Eagles’ 1-6 finish). It also had a lot more to do with Hurts accounting for 29 touchdowns in the first 11 games and just 10 in the final seven games.
The Eagles’ offense was also a victim of a bad defense that season. The Eagles allowed more than 400 yards in eight of their final 11 games and the offense had to play from behind in 22 of 28 quarters over the final seven games.
Johnson, in his own way, came out on the other side of adversity by taking a passing specialist job with Washington and helping the Commanders, with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, reach the NFC Championship last season.
So how much blame can be assigned to Patullo for the Eagles’ offensive struggles so far this season?
We’re going to say more than Johnson at any point two years ago. At least two seasons ago the Eagles started hot, averaging 28.2 points and 364.3 yards per game during their 10-1 start.
The 2025 Eagles have failed to compile 300 yards in three of their six games with their season high coming Thursday with 339 yards. The Eagles are 30th in yards per game and that’s by far the most disappointing statistic about this team. They are 25th in rushing yards and 29th in passing yards.
The Eagles were an explosive offense with a dominating offensive line and a superstar running back last season, but the line is banged up and the star running back is banging his head against the wall trying to figure out a way to run free again.
“We’re not very good right now,” veteran right tackle Lane Johnson said. “Last year, we ran play action and fed off each other. Defenses had a hard time guessing what it was going to be. Feel like the last two weeks, you know what it is. You know when the pass is coming. You know when the run is coming. ... We’ve got to do a better job of that.”
Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards last season and is on pace to rush for 921 this season. He doesn’t buy the argument that the Eagles’ offense has become too predictable.
“Last year, we were predictable,” he said. “Everyone knew we were running the ball and we still got it off. I think we also got to get back to that attitude, that mindset of not really give a (bleep) about what people are trying to do. I still believe we have the best offensive line in the National Football League.”
That hasn’t been the case so far this season, but it’s still no excuse for Patullo calling so few running plays during the Eagles’ two losses. Barkley averaged 4.9 yards per carry in the Eagles’ two losses, but he only carried the football 18 times.
That’s on Patullo.
That said, the Eagles’ players have to help their coordinator, too.
Here’s what we mean:
* Brett Toth, filling in at left guard for Landon Dickerson, was flagged for holding on first down on the team’s first play of the fourth quarter and the result was a three-and-out series.
* An illegal shift penalty on Barkley negated a 30-yard gain and an Eagles’ first down at the Denver 21-yard line on the team’s second series of the final quarter.
* Hurts missed on a deep pass to A.J. Brown that would have been a touchdown against the Broncos and then missed another one to DeVonta Smith again Thursday against the Giants. Those were two outstanding play calls that should have been touchdowns.
* Hurts also threw a crushing interception in the red zone against the Giants that cornerback CorDale Flott returned 68 yards to set up the Giants’ game-clinching touchdown.
“I’ve got to be better,” Hurts said. “I’ve got to be better. I take ownership for it.”
Patullo has to be better, too. But it’s not raining so hard in South Philadelphia yet that the offensive coordinator needs to be swept away never to be seen again.
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