The Philadelphia Eagles face critical decisions about their offensive staff after a 23-19 wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers ended their season. Quarterback Jalen Hurts repeatedly used the term \"home base\" during his final interview, emphasizing the need for offensive identity and systemic stability.
The Eagles became the highest-spending offense in NFL history in 2025, allocating approximately $247.3 million to offensive players. Despite this investment, they produced the lowest offensive EPA per play in coach Nick Sirianni\'s five-year tenure under first-time coordinator Kevin Patullo.
Philadelphia could not score a touchdown in the second half against San Francisco, marking the sixth time this season they failed to reach the end zone after halftime. The Eagles scored on two of their first three drives before going four consecutive possessions without a first down.
\"It\'s been a common theme for us this year,\" running back Saquon Barkley said. \"We haven\'t done a good enough job of playing complete football, putting two halves together.\"
The offense averaged 21 points across 18 games despite returning 10 of 11 starters from their Super Bowl LIX championship team. Nine of those starters played Sunday, with only Lane Johnson missing due to a foot injury.
Hurts offered no opinion when asked if he wanted Patullo to return as offensive coordinator. The quarterback would be playing for his seventh play-caller in seven seasons if changes occur.
\"We\'ve had a different OC for the last number of years,\" Hurts said. \"So, that\'s a big part of it. That change of voice, it does impact that. And that kind of gives the backside to what I mean by home base.\"
Hurts finished 20 of 35 for 168 yards, one touchdown and 14 rushing yards. He threw incomplete on fourth-and-11 from the 21-yard line on the game\'s final drive, targeting Dallas Goedert in traffic instead of A.J. Brown one-on-one along the sideline.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown did not record a catch in the second half and had two drops on the final drive. He was involved in a sideline confrontation with Sirianni in the second quarter when he was slow coming off the field before a punt.
\"I was trying to get him off the field because we were about to punt and that was really it,\" Sirianni said. \"I love A.J. I think he knows how I feel about him.\"
Brown did not speak after the game and did not attend Monday\'s locker room clean-out availability. He has expressed frustration with the offense throughout the season, warning in November that the team could not keep \"slapping a Band-Aid over that and expect to win late in the year.\"
The Eagles struggled with philosophical consistency all season under Patullo. The team used pre-snap motion on 44 percent of plays per Sharp Football Analysis but rushed decisions with an NFL-high 253 plays with two seconds or less on the play clock per TruMedia.
\"We were trying it all,\" wide receiver Jahan Dotson said. \"I feel like we were just kinda just throwing a lot of things out there and just trying stuff, instead of, last year, it felt like we had a staple of what we were gonna do each and every game.\"
The passing game produced the lowest EPA per dropback in the Sirianni era at 0.14 per TruMedia. The Eagles faced increased zone coverage designed to limit one-on-one mismatches that fueled their Super Bowl success.
Sirianni fired former offensive coordinator Brian Johnson after the 2023 season despite a more efficient system than Patullo\'s. The Eagles have now struggled under two consecutive first-time NFL play-callers, suggesting the organization should pursue experienced coordinators.
Sirianni has a .694 win percentage, the franchise\'s best mark. His most successful seasons came when delegating play-calling duties to experienced coordinators.
Left tackle Jordan Mailata defended Patullo, saying blame was unfair. \"You look at it from a player\'s standpoint, execution plays a massive role,\" Mailata said. \"And there were just so many plays in games where we just weren\'t executing.\"
The Eagles\' historic offensive spending included nearly $95 million allocated to the offensive line. Ten of the team\'s top 12 salaries belonged to offensive players in their top-heavy financial model.
Hurts expressed openness to being involved in offseason decisions but focused on self-improvement. He condemned the team\'s postseason cycle of alternating between wild-card exits and championship runs.
\"I don\'t like the trend of wild-card, big-time, wild-card, big-time, then wild-card,\" Hurts said.
Via The Athletic