All year, we waited for the Philadelphia Eagles to play a complete game. Unfortunately, in 2023, it never happened, including Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers(10-8) in the Wild Card game.
All the issues that have plagued the Eagles(11-7) over the past seven weeks came to light against Tampa. The defense missed tackles and allowed the Bucs to move up and down the field. The offense could not effectively navigate Tampa’s blitzing defense, and ultimately, the reigning NFC champions would fall to the Buccaneers 32-9 at Raymond James Stadium.
Philly’s defensive struggles were on full display. Tampa Bay had 426 total yards, and Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns.
On offense, the Eagles were just as bad. Philadelphia collected a season-low 13 first downs. In addition, Tampa Bay held the Eagles to 0-for-9 on third-down conversion attempts.
This was a very winnable game for the Eagles, who finished the season losing six of their last seven games after being 10-1; they were more talented than the Bucs, but this season was lost, for whatever reason, before the playoffs started.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who threw for 250 yards and a touchdown but, like the rest of the offense, struggled, was asked why things fell apart for Philadelphia after their 10-1 start.
“Yeah, I don’t think — I think for us this year,” Hurts said. “I don’t think we played well enough. Didn’t play well enough, you know, and the identity, the consistency, the execution for us, the turnovers, everything, all of those come into play when you’re talking about having an opportunity to win championships. You know, something we have to be able to learn from, you know. Something we have to be able to learn from.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni could possibly lose his job after his team’s collapse. According to Sirianni, he’s not worried about that right now.
“Like I just said over here, I’m not thinking about that,” he said. “I’m thinking about the guys. Again, there is a lot of guys in that locker room, all the guys in that locker room, every single one of them, that put their heart and soul into this. I”‘m not worried about me, I’m not. You know, as the head coach, I’m just trying to be there for our guys and staff right now through a tough time. Obviously, we didn’t finish anywhere near where we wanted to finish. And so, again, my heart feels for these guys, we’re are all taking it hard and that is where my mind is right now.”
Hurts said he has not heard anything about Sirianni’s job security.
“I didn’t know he was going anywhere,” Hurts said about Sirianni.
Sirianni, who is 34-17 in his three seasons with the team, has done enough to keep his job; he’s been to the playoffs every year, including a Super Bowl appearance, but it does appear he has lost the team, and if that’s true, there’s a good chance he won’t be able to get it back.
The Eagles had many missteps in 2023, including switching defensive coordinators, which is on Sirianni, but in the end, Hurts may have accurately summed up the 2023 Philadelphia Eagles.
“We took a turn this year, and things didn’t end the way we wanted, but it’s simply not our turn,” Hurts said. “It’s not our turn. We got a taste of it last year, winning the conference championship and having an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. It wasn’t our turn then.”
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