Defending Super Bowl champion Eagles flop against 49ers, could lead to staff changes
The NFL won’t have a repeat Super Bowl champion.
Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles were eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC wild-card game on Sunday.
Now, the heat will be turned up on coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
Sirianni’s job shouldn’t be in jeopardy. He’s been a winner since he arrived in Philly in 2021. Five playoff appearances, three division titles, two Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi trophy in five seasons.
But there will be accountability for a stagnant offense that plagued Philadelphia throughout the season and showed up again in a one-and-done performance.
Patullo is the likely scapegoat though there’s plenty of blame to spread around.
“There will be time to evaluate everybody’s performance,” Sirianni said. “Right now, I feel for all our guys in the locker room, all the players, all the coaches, the front office, everybody that works so hard, the fans that come out and support us, Mr. (chairman/CEO Jeffrey) Lurie. I feel for all of us, all of them, and there’ll be time to evaluate everything coming up.”
The Eagles managed just 19 points and 307 yards facing a defense missing its two best players: five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Nick Bosa and four-time All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, among others.
Hurts couldn’t get on track despite an effective run game. Barkley had 106 yards rushing on 26 carries but his success didn’t open things up for the passing attack. Hurts was 20 of 35 for 168 yards with one touchdown. A.J. Brown caught only three of seven targets for 25 yards.
The final sequence summed up the team’s struggles.
Down 23-19, Hurts completed five of his first six passes to move from Philadelphia’s 35 to San Francisco’s 20. After he took a sack, the Eagles faced a second-and-11 with just under one minute to go.
Hurts scrambled out of the pocket and threw incomplete. Fox analyst Tom Brady, who has been one of Hurts’ biggest supporters, questioned his decision. Brady said the “pocket was perfect” but Hurts got “antsy” and escaped, taking away half the field. The seven-time Super Bowl champion added that has been a tendency for Hurts.
On third down, Hurts again threw incomplete. On fourth down, the play call was questionable. Four receivers ran vertical routes against a four-corner defense that’s designed to take that away. Hurts threw incomplete into double coverage, ending Philadelphia’s bid to follow up Kansas City’s repeat with another one.
Patullo followed Sirianni from Indianapolis to Philadelphia and was promoted from pass game coordinator and associate head coach after Kellen Moore left for New Orleans. The Eagles (11-7) dropped from eighth in total yards to 24th and from seventh in scoring to 19th.
Shane Steichen was Sirianni’s offensive coordinator the first two seasons. After he left for Indianapolis, Brian Johnson took over and was fired after one season. Moore came in after spending serving as the OC for the Chargers and Cowboys. Expect Sirianni to look outside the organization if Philadelphia makes a change.
“Anytime you lose, anytime you don’t perform the way you want to as coaches and players, yeah, you’re frustrated,” Sirianni said. What I said to the guys is: ‘Adversity shapes you to who you are if you allow it to.’ There’s a lot to be thankful for, but you’ve got to use this adversity to shape you and that’s for everybody in that locker room: myself, the coaches, the players. Let the pain shape you to what you want to be, and we will use this like we used it at the end of ’22, ‘23 because all that was necessary for ’24. We’ll see what the future holds.”
Resilient 49ers
The 49ers (13-5) lost star tight end George Kittle to a torn Achilles tendon and still found a way to pull off the upset in hostile Philly, where they lost the NFC championship game three years ago after Purdy was injured in the first quarter.
Despite losing key players all season, the 49ers keep winning in what has been Kyle Shanahan’s best coaching job yet.
Now, the Niners are heading to Seattle (14-3) to face the top-seeded Seahawks on short rest because the NFL decided to make them play on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Bears will host the Rams on Sunday even though both teams played on Saturday.
The 49ers and Seahawks split the season series with each winning on the road. Seattle won 13-3 in San Francisco in Week 18 with the No. 1 seed on the line for the winner.
“They played us real well,” Shanahan said. “Definitely beat us, but I know we can play better than that. I’m glad we have another shot.”
MVP shows out
Josh Allen displayed why he’s the reigning NFL MVP, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 27-24 comeback victory in Jacksonville.
Despite getting battered by the Jaguars, Allen kept getting up and got his team to the divisional round for the sixth straight season under coach Sean McDermott.
The Bills (13-5) also have to play on short rest next Saturday at Denver.
Patriots dominate
So much for the experts who said New England had a soft schedule and would flop in the playoffs.
The Patriots (15-3) dominated Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in a 16-3 victory on Sunday night. They will host the winner of Monday night’s game between the Texans-Steelers.
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