Why can't Kevin Patullo just run a normal offense with the Philadelphia Eagles?
Initially joining Nick Sirianni's staff in 2021 after working together with the Indianapolis Colts, Patullo has watched the offense shine under Shane Steichen, struggle under Brian Johnson, and then become a run-heavy juggernaut helmed by Kellen Moore and through it all, he's seemingly take notes of what has worked, what hasn't, and what he would do as an offensive coordinator should he be afforded a chance to call plays.
During the offseason, Sirianni clearly liked the pitch Patullo presented and opted to promote from within instead of targeting an outside option like Klint Kubiak, Bobby Slowik, or even one of his mentors, Doug Pederson or Frank Reich, who have both been fired from their post-Eagles head coaching opportunities. Sirianni and Patullo both said all of the right things during the offseason, and when preseason football began, the Eagles' offense showed just enough to get fans hyped about all of the creative opportunities Philadelphia could have up its sleeve during the fall.
And yet, with 12 weeks of game film now available for fans and opposing teams to comb through, it's hard to really understand what the Eagles are doing on offense, and not in a fun, Ben Johnson sort of way.
Some weeks, the Eagles seemingly forget how to throw the ball like against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4. In other weeks, they got away from their usually effective run game, with the Birds recording less than 75 yards on the ground in their losses to the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and Dallas Cowboys. But in almost every single game this season, either for a quarter, a half, or even longer, the Eagles' offense just seems to go silent, with one play failing to build off the one before it, and Brandon Mann forced to bail the team out with a deep punt.
Fortunately, in Week 13, the Eagles have drawn a Bears team that isn't particularly good on the defensive side of the ball. While the Bears could put up points thanks to Johnson's Vic Fangio-approved offense, the Eagles should be able to hang right up there with them all game long.
The Eagles need to commit to running the ball against the Bears
Through 12 weeks of the 2025 NFL season, the Bears' defense has been bad. How bad? Well, they rank 27th in points allowed, having surrendered three more points than they've scored, 21st against the pass, and 28th against the run, with an average of 5.2 yards surrendered per run play.
Now normally, the Eagles would see a rushing defensive number that low and lick their chops, as every Nick Sirianni team has been at least a top-10 rushing team in the NFL, but in 2025, they've really struggled to get much going on the ground, ranking 21st in rushing yards despite ranking eighth in rushing attempts.
How does a team that runs the ball more than 24 other teams have the 21st-ranked rushing offense? Well, part of that has to do with Saquon Barkley's incredibly ineffective season, with the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year averaging half as many yards per game as last season on just 3.7 yards per carry.
Despite having the fifth-most rushing attempts of any back in the NFL at 185, Barkley ranks 14th in total yards and is tied for 37th in rushing yards per attempt, tied with Jalen Hurts, Tony Pollard, Chuba Hubbard, Woody Marks, and Christian McCaffrey. Tank Bigsby has a high yards per attempt at 9.1, AJ Dillon sits at an even 5.0, and even Will Shopley has a higher total at 4.1, albeit on just 20 carries.
If ever there was a team for the Eagles to get their run game back on track, it would be against the Bears, as the vast majority of their opponents in 2025 have been able to clear the 100-yard mark on the ground regardless of the game's final outcome.
Of the 11 teams the Bears have played in 2025, all but two have rushed for at least 115 yards, with the lone exceptions coming in Week 7, when the 29th-ranked New Orleans Saints ran for 44, and the Cincinnati Bengals recorded 46 with their 30th-ranked run game. The Cowboys ran for 121, the New York Giants put up 169, both the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens hit 177, and the hapless Las Vegas Raiders, who haven't found much success at anything in 2025, somehow put up 240 rushing yards on the Bears, even if they didn't ultimately secure the win.
Of the five defensive linemen the Bears play regularly up front, Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter Sr., Grady Jarrett, Austin Booker, and Montez Sweat, only one, Sweat, has even an average PFF run blocking rating, and their linebacking core isn't looking much better, with Tremaine Edmunds on IR and TJ Edwards dealing with a hamstring injury that held him out of action on Tuesday.
Throw that all together, and the Eagles have a chance to do some damage on the ground in Week 13.
Now granted, the Eagles have faced off against multiple “bad” run defenses in 2025 and still couldn't get much going on the ground, like against the Cowboys in Week 12. Philadelphia only attempted four runs in the second half against Dallas despite having a 21-7 lead coming out of halftime, and when the game was on the line, tied up at 21-21 at the two-minute warning, the Eagles opted against running the ball to control the game and the clock. But after that miserable performance, marred across the board by fans, pundits, and detractors alike, it's safe to assume Patullo will look to run the ball early and often in Week 13, with Barkley and hopefully Bigsby moving the chains early and often on the ground.
