There's no two ways about it, Week 5 was a death by a thousand cuts for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Part of it was playcalling, with Kevin Patullo opting for a pass-happy attack that once again failed to take advantage of the middle of the field or intermediate action. Part of it was execution, with AJ Brown slowing down on a would-be touchdown and the offensive line failing to produce up to their usual level once Landon Dickerson left the game. Part of it was great coaching calls from Sean Payton, whose decision to go for two down one, 17-16, may just change NFL strategy moving forward. And part of it still belonged to the officiating, with a number of penalties – or lack thereof – deciding the day's drives one way or another.
And yet, despite all of those issues, the Eagles had a little over a minute to score a touchdown and might have accomplished the feat if Dallas Goedert had been correctly flagged for pass interference on the penultimate play of the game. The Eagles attacked the middle of the field when they should have been targeting the sidelines, were predictably defended on the outside by Vance Joseph's very good defensive backs, and still put a viable Hail Mary in the air that came surprisingly close to being completed to DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown, considering they were basically parked in the exact same spot.
Fortunately, the Eagles have a chance to get things right in a major way in Week 6 when they drive a few miles up I-95 to the Meadowlands for Saquon Barkley Bowl III. Though the week may be short and Nick Sirianni doesn't exactly have time to completely retool Philly's offense in just four days, his team has drawn the perfect opponent to right the ship heading into Week 7 in the New York Giants, with a chance to gain some confidence heading into the middle portion of the season.
Saquon Barkley finally rushes for over 100 yards
To say Saquon Barkley's 2025 season hasn't gone as planned would be an understatement.
Fresh off one of the best running back seasons of all time in 2024, breaking Terrell Davis' full-season rushing record on the way to Little Caesars commercials, Madden Covers, and a Super Bowl ring, Barkley's production has more than halfed versus his high-water mark, averaging just 53.4 yards per game months after averaging 125.3.
But what gives? Sure, opposing teams have Barkley at the top of their scouting reports, and have been keying in on how to prevent him from ripping off 30, 40, 50, or even longer touchdown runs all season long to very good results, but Barkley isn't exactly taking advantage of the runs he's receiving this year either, with his yards per carry dropping from 5.8 last season to just 3.2 this fall.
Fortunately, the Eagles are facing off against one of the worst run-defending teams in the NFL on Thursday Night Football in the Giants, who have allowed an average of 140 rushing yards per game on the way to their 1-4 record.
While the Giants don't have the same defensive coordinator from when Barkley was on the team, with Shane Bowen taking over for Wink Martindale last season, that hasn't stopped No. 26 from turning in one of the best games of his career. Making his Meadowland debut as a visitor in Week 6 of last season, Barkley had one of his most efficient games of his career in New Jersey, rushing the ball just 17 times for 176 yards and a touchdown, good for the third-best rushing yards per attempt mark of his career at 10.4.
Even if the Giants' defensive line is their strength, this could be the game where Barkley finally gets his game back on track and runs for more than 100 yards for the first time since Philly's NFC Championship win over the Washington Commanders.
Philly has a Meadowland sack party
After saying goodbye to three quality defensive linemen during the offseason, the Eagles' pass rush has been a work-in-progress early in the 2025 season, a fact made all the more challenging when Nolan Smith landed on IR with a triceps injury.
Facing off against a Broncos team that has allowed less than a sack per game on Bo Nix, Philly was only able to bring him down twice, with Zach Baun and Za'Darius Smith each recording one at the Linc, but for the most part, Bo Nix was able to operate in the clean pocket for much of the game.
In Week 6, the Eagles find themselves with a much less effective opposing front, with Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart having been sacked 14 times already, including six by the Chargers in Week 4 alone. While the Chargers' defense is impressive, they just traded for a defensive end to help bolster their front in Odafe Oweh, and are on a two-game losing streak.
Even with Smith out, the Eagles have already found a quality rusher to take his place in Azeez Ojulari, the former Giant who was inconspicuously inactive for the first four weeks of the season. After an underwhelming training camp, Ojulari was fairly productive for the Eagles in his debut, recording three tackles, a tackle for loss, and a QB hit while earning more defensive snaps than Josh Uche and Patrick Johnson. If Ojulari can take things up a notch in Week 6 now that he knows he'll be playing, having another reliable option off the edge could make Fangio's defense front all the more impressive, especially with Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Moro Ojomo all producing on the interior.
The Eagles keep their foot on the gas to a win
In 2025, the Eagles' biggest issue hasn't been scoring points. They're averaging 25 points per game, which isn't great but isn't bad either, and have had drives, quarters, and even games where they looked like a certified Super Bowl favorite.
No, the Eagles' biggest issue has been maintaining their momentum over a full 60-minute contest, with the team either taking their foot off the gas prematurely or coming into a contest unprepared, only to have to play catch-up down to the wire.
Fortunately, even if Dart has given the Giants some new life on the offensive side of the ball, that doesn't mean the team has been all that much better, with the New Orleans Saints securing a win over the Ole Miss quarterback in Week 5 after a surprising win over the Chargers in Week 4. No, after taking four days of guff for their inability to play a complete game, the Eagles will almost certainly enter this game looking to make a statement on both sides of the ball and will be happy to do so at the expense of an NFC East rival.
