There’s been plenty of chatter around new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and the current state of the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense.
These conversations are nothing new to Eagles fans. Their team changes offensive coordinators like water filters, and early-season struggles on that side of the football have become the norm. To the credit of head coach Nick Sirianni, Philly tends to get those kinks ironed out in short order.
No one should be worried about the Eagles’ offense. The defense was always going to make or break this year’s run at a Super Bowl repeat, given all the young and inexperienced players now commanding key roles.
Through three games, the last two against formidable opponents, it’s clear that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is molding another championship-caliber group — and it’s only September.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense has been dominant in the second half to start the 2025 season
Philly’s defense isn’t yet tipping the scales when it comes to advanced analytics. They're mostly in the middle of the pack in terms of yards and points allowed per play. All we need is one simple stat, though, to understand the ultimate advantage the Eagles possess over their opponents.
The Eagles know how to close out games — and Fangio’s defense continues to be the closer.
It got some heroic help from the special teams on Sunday, but Philadelphia has held its opponents to 4.7 points per game in the second half so far this year. After blanking the Dallas Cowboys in the third and fourth quarters in Week 1, Philly surrendered just 14 points combined to the Kansas City Chiefs and L.A. Rams.
The Eagles defense only gave up 7 points to the Chiefs in the second half after giving up no points to the Cowboys in the second half. The Eagles defense has made adjustments. pic.twitter.com/lTAfEYlOfG
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 15, 2025
Even better? The Chiefs scored their touchdown in garbage time, after trailing by 10 points in the final minutes of regulation. The Rams scored theirs Sunday early in the third quarter, after a Jalen Hurts strip sack gave L.A. the ball at Philly’s 10-yard line.
The Eagles improved to 3-0 and haven’t come close to playing their best four quarters of football yet. The offense has struggled to find a rhythm early in games and is still trying to unlock the 2024 version of Saquon Barkley. The defense, meanwhile, has surrendered 78 percent of its points in the first half this season before shifting into closer mode.
Read more: Eagles' 2 wild field goal blocks vs. Rams overshadows a special teams fatal flaw
That winning quotient is unique to Philadelphia, and when Patullo's offense catches up to what has been an encouraging start for Fangio's defense, this team will once again be a formidable force to contend with week in and week out.