Yes, Philadelphia Eagles fans and players can complain about the "predictable" play calling all they want, but the number one issue with this offense right now is the lack of a running game.
Over the last two games, it has been fascinating to see how the Eagles transitioned from not getting A.J. Brown the ball to completely taking carries away from Saquon Barkley, the guy who won Offensive Player of the Year in 2024. While the running game has been a problem for a good portion of the year, it reached new heights against the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants.
Starting with the 21-17 loss to the Broncos, it started with a shockingly awful 45 yards on 11 carries. Barkley had just six carries for 30 yards in the game, but what threw fans into anger was that he had one carry for zero yards in the last 32 minutes of the game.
It slightly improved four days later in their 34-17 loss to the Giants as Barkley ran for 31 yards on the opening drive. Promising start, right? He finished with 58 yards on 12 carries, while the team had 73 yards on 20 touches.
After two straight games with under 100 yards as a team, the question has to be asked, "What's going on?"
Kevin Patullo sheds some light on the running game and wanting to get it going
Philadelphia's most targeted man for criticism, Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, had to face the media after the mini bye week and address the issues of the running game. Patullo knows he wants to run the ball, but once again pinned it indirectly on Jalen Hurts with the RPO calls being made.
"I would like to increase it, obviously. Some of that that we talked about a week ago is those kind of RPOs that we run where sometimes the runs called, then the ball gets pulled and thrown, and they've been successful. But yes, we need to continue to grow in that area."
Eagles fans can certainly appreciate that Patullo wants to run more RPO plays, as this approach makes the offense work with Hurts' athletic abilities. At some point, though, he has to get old school with it and just run the ball down the defense's throats the old-fashioned way.
The Eagles are 25th in the NFL in rushing yards, averaging just 95.3 yards per game. Under Nick Sirianni as head coach, the Eagles' running game has never ranked outside the top 10 by the end of the season.
Read more: Eagles' Kevin Patullo directly responded to Lane Johnson's criticism head on
Philly's identity on offense is to run the ball, so Patullo needs to find a way to make it happen and get the ball into their best player's hands. At this rate, the offense is going to spiral out of control, and Patullo will lose the trust of his offensive players if something doesn't change.