In Nick Sirianni’s own words, the Philadelphia Eagles offense got “ a little bit stale ” toward the end of the 2023 season.
That’s putting it mildly. Philly's offense was unimaginative and predictable during a brutal collapse that saw the team lose six of its final seven games, including playoffs, following a 10-1 start.
New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was viewed as the perfect deodorant. His scheme is known as being unpredictable, predicated on disguising tendencies and getting the ball out quickly to a vast array of weapons. The Eagles even bulked up their skill positions by adding Saquon Barkley in free agency and Jahan Dotson via trade at the end of training camp.
Six weeks into 2024, Sirianni and the Eagles have not handed Moore the keys to the offense he was hired to call, according to NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky .
During Thursday’s episode of Get Up! on ESPN, Orlovsky dropped this take about Philadelphia's scuffling offense that has now historically gone five consecutive games without a point in the first quarter:
I do not believe that the Eagles are running Kellen Moore’s offense. I believe that the Eagles have gone back to that 2022 — specifically in their pass game — offense.
Listen, I like some of the stuff where they just go, ‘Hey, A.J. (Brown), we’re going to put you by yourself, or sometimes in 2-by-2, and you’re going to run a go route, or a stop route, or a short in, or a slant. I do like some of that. But that’s all their pass game is, or maybe the mesh route concept that we saw them score with DeVonta Smith (against the Browns).
What’s wrong with their offense? Part of it is they get no leads. They’re the slowest starting offense in the NFL. That’s not up for debate. They get into relatively predictable formations. They get into relatively predictable pass concepts. The main reason why they have success in their pass game is because A.J.’s a freak. That’s really it.”
The deodorant has worn off from Philly's Week 1 win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil, when Moore was praised for his play calling and usage of DeVonta Smith in the slot . The Eagles produced season highs for points (34) and first downs (25) against the Packers, and had its second-highest yardage output (410) through five games.
Injuries have definitely played a factor, but the Eagles haven’t looked right since Saquon Barkley’s brutal third-down drop against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.
Before Moore was hired, Sirianni implied the offense would be a combination of concepts with the new offensive coordinator. But based on Orlovsky’s analysis — and his use of the word “predictable” multiple times — the Eagles appear to be too fixated on rekindling the magic of the 2022 season, and not focused enough on evolving around their elite collection of skill position talent in 2024.
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