Have you ever started a grill with half the coals lit and the other half stone cold? That’s the 2025 Eagles offense—one side sizzling, the other side raw enough to send you to the ER. One half looks like the ‘04 Patriots, the other like the ‘90 Buccaneers. Fans keep waiting for the whole bag of charcoal to catch, but the lighter fluid keeps missing a corner.
This Jekyll and Hyde act is becoming their signature, a confusing plot twist for a team loaded with superstars.
And head coach Nick Sirianni addressed the most puzzling mechanical failure on Monday. He openly questioned the efficiency of the running game led by Saquon Barkley. When asked about the film review and the "stalled out" running game, Sirianni stated, "Yeah. We had some hits. We had some misses, right? And what happens sometimes on the misses is when it turns into a negative, it puts you behind.”
He concluded, “I think at the end of the day, we weren't efficient enough. And that's going to be something that we'll do everything we can to make sure we're playing efficiently in the run and the pass, because we know when we do that, good things happen for our offense.” Now, this admission is staggering.
Barkley, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, is averaging a meager 3.1 yards per carry. That is almost half his production from his record-setting 2024 season. The explosive plays have vanished. He has zero runs over 20 yards after ripping off 17 of them last year. And the offense is struggling to find any rhythm. How does a unit this talented become so stagnant?
The problems are multifaceted. The offensive line, a bedrock of last year’s championship run, is banged up. Lane Johnson has been in and out of the lineup. Landon Dickerson appears to be playing through significant pain. Furthermore, opposing defenses are completely selling out to stop Barkley. They are stacking the box, daring the Eagles to beat them elsewhere. This strategy is working alarmingly well.
Are the Eagles Following a Sustainable Formula?
Despite the ground game woes, the Eagles are 4-0. They are finding ways to win, much like the 1985 Chicago Bears, who often relied on a legendary defense to compensate for offensive inconsistencies. And Barkley himself highlighted this paradox.
“The beauty of it is we’re not running the ball too great, and we’re 4-0,” Saquon said. However, he quickly added a sobering reality check. “The way we played the second half this week and the first half last week—especially on offense—we’re going to have a hard time winning football games.” Besides, the statistics reveal an unsustainable path.
The Eagles are the first team in NFL history to start 4-0 while averaging fewer than 260 yards per game. They have been outgained by their opponent in every contest. This trend cannot continue against the league’s best teams. The offense must evolve beyond these wild swings in performance. The question is no longer if they will fix it, but how quickly they can.
Read more: Jalen Hurts reacts to Nick Sirianni’s warning after Eagles win over Buccaneers
The Eagles are at a crossroads. They possess immense talent but lack offensive harmony. The solution requires a collective effort, from Sirianni’s play-calling to the line’s execution and Barkley’s elusiveness. Sirianni closed his presser with a shrug: “We’ll do everything we can.” The rest of the league is taking notes, and the clock is already ticking toward winter.