We’ve reached the point of the NFL season where teams have shown their stripes, and that’s exactly why fans of the Philadelphia Eagles are worried about their 8-2 football team.
On one side of the coin, the Eagles have the makings of another dominant defense, one with shades of last year’s Super Bowl champion; no team in football is allowing less points per game than the Eagles over their last three, including shut-down performances against NFC North powers Green Bay and Detroit.
It’s the offensive side that continues to leave fans unsettled about their team’s chances of a Super Bowl repeat.
Nick Sirianni’s group can’t get out of its own way, entering Week 12 ranked 24th in yards per play, 16th in scoring, 28th in passing, and 17th in rushing. For a team with Jalen Hurts at quarterback, and Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert at the skill positions, those numbers are inexplicable.
Philly’s problems have been widespread, stemming from the play calling, to route spacing, to the overall scheme and execution.
If Sunday night’s grind-it-out, 16-9 win over the Lions was any indication, Sirianni could flip the script by directing one strategic point of emphasis entering Week 12 and beyond.
A lack of YAC, or yards after the catch, has been crushing the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense
No NFL fan would mistake Sirianni for Ben Johnson when it comes to scheming his skill position players into open space, but the Eagles have taken a glaring step back in that department over their first 10 games of 2025.
Per Zach Berman of The Athletic, the Eagles generated a season-low 2.9 yards after the catch in their win over Lions, and now rank 30th in the NFL overall.
“And the problem isn’t limited to the Lions game,” Berman wrote. “The Eagles rank No. 30 in the NFL in yards after catch percentage. They’ve never been near the top of the league in this area, but never this low. Their 4.3 yards after the catch per completion is the lowest average during the Sirianni era. A.J. Brown, who has been a YAC machine in his career, has a career-low 2.8 yards after the catch this season compared to 6.3, 4.5, and 5.3 in his first three years with the Eagles. They’re not asking me for input on the offense, but that’s one place I’d look.”
First-year play caller Kevin Patullo made an effort to get Brown more involved in the Lions game, noticeably sending the star wide receiver on more routes over the middle. Brown’s YAC production declining by more than half, per Berman, is a major red flag, but it’s one that some simple coaching adjustments should be able to fix.
Have an 8 Eagles Thoughts column tomorrow morning with one item on lack of YAC. The route concepts would seem to be a contributing factor.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) November 19, 2025
The Eagles rank No. 30 in the NFL in yards after catch percentage. Their 4.3 yards after the catch per completion is the lowest average… https://t.co/ox17KAGGlT
Sirianni has to emphasize getting his playmakers the ball in space, which can be done by scheming up mismatches, calling more run-pass options, and getting the ball out of Hurts’ hands with more urgency. Simply getting Brown, Smith, and Barkley the ball with room to run and make plays up the field would jumpstart this offense in the snap of a finger.
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The Eagles have been stubborn this year, running a laughable amount of hitch routes while relying too heavily on low-percentage deep throws down the sideline. It’s obviously not working, and Sirianni shouldn’t have to squint to see the underlying problem.