The training wheels are officially off for Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. It's time to get this offense rolling as soon as possible.
Week 1 ended with a 24-22 win for the Eagles over the Washington Commanders, which was good news. Philly's offense finished with 318 total yards, including 136 yards on the ground. That seems like a solid start.
Mannion called a solid game, but the Eagles unit still has things to work on moving forward. Eagles fans gave him a pass since it was his first game, and he earned the win. Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans is different; fans want a blowout performance.
Sean Mannion needs a much better encore performance for Eagles in Week 2
The Eagles' offense had plenty of issues in Week 1. Saquon Barkley was hit behind the line of scrimmage seven times, with 42 of his 83 rushing yards coming on one play that required him to break multiple tackles.
Philly's offense had five drives in the game that ended in three-and-outs. That was a big reason they lost the time-of-possession battle, with the Eagles only having the ball for over 26 minutes.
Sound familiar? That's because the Eagles faced the same problems with Kevin Patullo as their offensive coordinator. Patullo ran a much simpler offense that leaned heavily on running the ball on first and second down, with a pass on third down.
The main reason Mannion got a pass was that elements of the Eagles' offense looked very different in Week 1 than they did last year. All their pre-snap motions led to big plays. Jalen Hurts threw the ball well, with three passes for 30 or more yards in the win.
These explosive plays in the passing game are what the Eagles had, but they didn't have as many as the Commanders. The Eagles had some really nice moments, and even with the three-and-outs in the second half, they still got points on the board and scored a touchdown. That's a lot better than last year.
Another reason Mannion needs to coach a better game is that the Titans are not a good football team. They allowed a New York Jets offense to put up 367 total yards, including 152 yards on the ground.
That is a clear opening for Mannion to get creative with the running game. Getting the ball to Barkley and Tank Bigsby on outside zone runs is the perfect way to keep the Titans' defense off their game.
It also creates opportunities to use Hurts in different ways. They can call more QB-designed runs and play action to get Hurts moving. He had 46 yards rushing, mostly from scrambling and picking up yards himself.
Read more: 5 reasons Eagles can't overlook Titans in potential Week 2 trap game
Mannion passed his first test against the Commanders, but now he faces a team the Eagles should absolutely blow out. Even if it is a low-scoring win for Philly, Eagles fans won't be happy with Mannion, so he'd better be ready to put up yards and points against Tennessee.
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