A month into the NFL season, one team — Team A, let’s call it — has yet to gain more yards than any of its opponents.
Team A’s passing offense is ghastly. Last week, its rarely thrown-to star receiver posted a cryptic message on Twitter after the team failed to complete a single pass after halftime. Another MVP-level offensive weapon isn’t producing as expected, either. And statistically speaking, its defense ranks around average.
Those might sound like the hallmarks of a team going nowhere. But Team A isn’t the 0-4 Jets, Titans or Saints, or the stunningly 1-3 Ravens, either.
It’s the Philadelphia Eagles, who have followed a Super Bowl title last season with a 4-0 start to the new season. They join Buffalo as the lone undefeated teams remaining entering Week 5.
These are the same Eagles who have won 20 of their last 21 games and whose 12-game home winning streak is the second-longest in franchise history, since nearly World War II.
By record, the Eagles are unblemished. Yet that doesn’t mean it has come without drama.
Much of it has been sparked by whether they have a dynamic enough offense to repeat as champions.
When quarterback Jalen Hurts went 0-for-8 after halftime last week against previously unbeaten Tampa Bay, star receiver A.J. Brown posted on X a Scripture passage: “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
Did Brown intimate he wanted to be on his way out of town, after averaging just 3.5 catches per game?
Nick Sirianni, the team’s head coach, said he didn’t doubt Brown’s willingness to be an Eagle and be a “good teammate.”
“He wants to contribute into these wins, and he’s had a couple games where he hasn’t been able to, for different reasons of why we haven’t in these games,” Sirianni said.
Brown later deleted the post and said it was not directly at anyone specific.
“We have a lot of talent on offense and, to be honest, defense and special teams, have been low-key carrying us,” Brown said Wednesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“We need to clean up what we need to clean up and get on the same page and play to the ability that we say we can, and be who we are called to be. It’s a standard that we preach. So it’s easy to have that frustration. I think it’s fair to have that frustration. But I just can’t let that boil over.”
Yet the fact remains that no offense has gained fewer first downs via passes than the Eagles, who have also completed the league’s third-fewest passes. They are averaging 6.0 yards per pass attempt, which is nearly two yards behind last season’s average. A passing game that brought back most of the players who helped produce 12 explosive plays of 40-plus yards last season, tied for second-most, has generated just one in four games. The offense is run by a first-year coordinator, after his predecessor, Kellen Moore, parlayed last season’s Super Bowl run into a head-coaching job in New Orleans. But Brown’s post also rekindled speculation about the strength of the working relationship between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts — a topic of debate for two years in Philadelphia.
“It’s good,” Hurts told reporters this week.
“I’m not gonna analyze or speculate” about Brown’s post,” Hurts said. “He’s always willing to contribute, and that remains.”
The kinks in the passing offense wouldn’t be as worrisome if the Eagles’ vaunted running game wasn’t also enduring its own. The combination has led to Jekyll-and-Hyde performances where the offense has sometimes looked explosive, and sometimes produced kaput.
“We got to be more consistent,” Sirianni said this week.
While turning the “Tush Push” quarterback sneak into a nearly unstoppable (and nearly banned) weapon in short-yardage situations, and blocking for running back Saquon Barkley as he became only the ninth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history last season, the Eagles’ offensive line earned a reputation as the NFL’s very best. This season, however, three players are coming off either offseason surgery or playing through injury, while a fourth is in his first season as starter.
Last season, that line created so much room for Barkley to run that he gained an average of 3.8 yards before being hit, the highest of any running back, according to Pro Football Reference. This season, that average has dropped to 1.7 yards before contact, and Barkley has had defenders in his face much quicker.
Through four games, Barkley has gained half as many yards per carry than at the same point last season. And Barkley, last season’s offensive player of the year, has yet to gain more than 100 yards from scrimmage in a single game.
“When the running game is going bad, I’ve got to own it,” Barkley said after last week’s win in Tampa. “The beauty of it is we’re not running the ball too great and we’re 4-0.”
What else we’re watching for in Week 5:
Minnesota (2-2) vs. Cleveland (1-3): The league’s third international game this season, in London, is the backdrop for Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s first career start after replacing Joe Flacco. The last Browns quarterback to win in his first start was Eric Zeier in 1995.
Denver (2-2) at Philadelphia (4-0): The Broncos have lost five consecutive road games dating to last season but lead the league with 15 sacks.
Las Vegas (1-3) at Indianapolis (3-1): The Colts could become the first team since 1945 to go three consecutive home games without a punt. The Raiders, meanwhile, have lost seven straight games against winning teams.
Houston (1-3) at Baltimore (1-3): Division winners from last season who harbored similar playoff aspirations this year find themselves in a world of trouble. The Texans are coming off only their third shutout in franchise history. Baltimore’s Derrick Henry is one rushing touchdown from tying Walter Payton (110) for the fifth-most in NFL history.
Giants (1-3) at New Orleans (0-4): After a win in his first career start, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart will try to end his team’s seven-game losing streak on the road. His Saints counterpart, Spencer Rattler, is 0-10 for his career.
Dallas (1-2-1) at Jets (0-4): The good: The Cowboys lead the NFL with 404.3 yards per game. The bad: Their defense has allowed even more, ranking dead last. The Jets have yet to force a turnover — the only team yet to do so.
Miami (1-3) at Carolina (1-3): The Panthers recommitted to Bryce Young as the starter. All three of their losses have been on the road. Miami is 21-8 against teams with losing records under coach Mike McDaniel.
Tampa Bay (3-1) at Seattle (3-1): Can Seattle end its struggles at home? Since 2022, the Buccaneers have lost six straight games when playing without receiver Mike Evans, who will miss this game with a hamstring injury.
Tennessee (0-4) at Arizona (2-2): The Titans are trying to avoid their first 0-5 start since 2009, while the Cardinals have lost two straight.
Washington (2-2) at Chargers (3-1): Chargers running back Omarion Hampton leads all rookies with 380 yards from scrimmage this season; that includes 110 through the air. The Commanders are 0-2 on the road.
Detroit (3-1) at Cincinnati (2-2): While obvious the Bengals would struggle without quarterback Joe Burrow, they’ve also become the first team since the 2009 Raiders to fail to gain more than 200 yards in three of their first four games.
New England (2-2) at Buffalo (4-0): Josh Allen has 34 touchdowns and two turnovers in his last 13 games. If the Bills win, they’ll be 5-0 for the first time since 1991.
Kansas City (2-2) at Jacksonville (3-1) on Monday: Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for more touchdowns (four) last week than he had in his first three games combined. The Jaguars have forced a league-best 13 turnovers.
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