The Philadelphia Eagles are nearing the end of their bye week, as they have a long road ahead, sitting at a 6-2 overall record.
This has been a season filled with drama, from A.J. Brown's issues to Jalen Carter's spitting incident to Kevin Patullo's struggles on offense. Philly has faced every situation head-on and has emerged as one of the top teams in the NFL in the process.
During the bye week, there have been some bright spots that fans have either discussed at length or not discussed as much. There are also some hard truths they have faced early in the season.
Bright Spot: Dallas Goedert, TE
Before the season, Goedert was mentioned as a potential trade target for the Eagles, but he's actually having a career season for Philadelphia. He leads the NFL in receiving touchdowns with seven, while adding 30 receptions for 289 yards. Goedert isn't getting the love he deserves, but there's still a strong chance he's a free agent after the season. At least he'll have a better chance to get paid as a starting tight end, whether it's in Philly or elsewhere.
Harsh Truth: Eagles' edge rushers have struggled mightily
This has been a problem that every Eagles fan has noticed, as the edge rushers have recorded over 5.5 sacks in eight games. They lost Za'Darius Smith to retirement while Nolan Smith, Ogbo Okoronkwo, and Azeez Ojulari are all on IR. The hope is that Brandon Graham and, hopefully, another edge rusher in a trade could help Philly turn it all around.
Bright Spot: Zack Baun, LB
It was kind of expected after his All-Pro season in 2024, but Baun picked up from where he left off last year with another stellar season. Baun currently has 64 tackles (team-high), five tackles for loss, five pass deflections, four quarterback hits, three sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception in eight games. He's well on his way to having just as good a season as he did last year.
Harsh Truth: Kevin Patullo's struggles with play-calling
For most of the season, first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has struggled with getting into the flow of a game and knowing when to balance running the football with throwing it, especially with Jalen Hurts. It really wasn't until the last two games against the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants that Patullo discovered playing more under center and adding Fred Johnson as an extra lineman had helped spark some of the old magic from last year. Kudos to Patullo for improving, but consistency will be the key to earning the trust of the fan base.
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Bright Spot: Jalen Hurts, QB
Sure, he had a two-game stretch in which he missed DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown on potential deep ball touchdown passes against the Denver Broncos and New York Giants, but he has played well this season. Hurts has completed over 70% of his passes for 1,677 passing yards and 15 touchdowns to one interception, adding 207 rushing yards and five more touchdowns. Everyone went from disowning Hurts as a quarterback to now mentioning him in the MVP conversation.