The noise in Philadelphia is going to be deafening with all kinds of criticism towards Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo after the devastating 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card game.
It was just another example of the offense forgetting how to play the same brand of football they had in the first half, as they finished with 114 yards and six points in the second half. Adding the three three-and-outs they had, and it's just an ugly nightmare of a dream that is unfortunately a reality for Eagles fans.
After the game, Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata was asked about the criticism that Patullo is facing for the performance. Mailata stood up for his coach and shut down that narrative.
"That’s very unfair," Mailata said via The Athletic's Zach Berman. "You look at it from a player's standpoint, execution plays a massive role. And there were just so many plays in games where we just weren’t executing.”
Jordan Mailata's latest block is nice, but not 100% accurate
He's not 100% wrong about player execution, as there were plenty of moments that looked bad. The offensive line struggled to block, as Eagles running back Saquon Barkley had too many moments when two to three defenders were already in the backfield by the time he got the ball, forcing him to make guys miss. How about the endless number of drops by the receivers, including two from A.J. Brown?
Even Philly's favorite unit, the defense, had their own struggles despite creating two turnovers. The secondary allowed too many big plays in the passing game by the 49ers to keep their hopes alive in the game.
With that being said, at least for the offensive side of the ball, Patullo is the one calling those plays and putting his players in bad positions. Barkley only had that problem because Patullo was so predictable with having runs on nearly every first down that the defense was ready for it. All the passing routes were either out routes, hitches, or slants, as usual.
The new wrinkle Patullo added was clearing out his top two receivers so the ball could go to either Dallas Goedert or Jahan Dotson. While Goedert is great, even Patullo had Goedert going deep when he is not a deep threat, and as for Dotson, well, he won't be on the team in 2026, so that should tell Eagles fans everything they need to know.
Read more: A.J. Brown just did what Eagles fans expected him to do after devastating loss
Eagles fans can appreciate Mailata standing up for his coach, but the damage is done, and the fan base has eyeballs, so they know that Patullo ultimately deserves all the blame for the loss and the season's failure.