When the Philadelphia Eagles came up short against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12, it felt like a fluke.
Now granted, the team had its usual issues and errors on the offensive side of the ball, which, when coupled with a surprising number of penalties, made the game a lot closer than it should have been. But if Nick Sirianni's squad just made a few more plays, or Vic Fangio's defense made just one more stop, the Birds likely would have left the evening with a win.
When the Philadelphia Eagles came up short against the Chicago Bears in Week 13, it did not feel like a fluke, as they got pretty consistently outplayed by Ben Johnson's squad for a full 60 minutes and probably should have lost by more than nine points.
Dashed by the run, penalized above their usual standards, and largely embarrassed by a below-average Bears defense that seemingly knew where the ball was going before Jalen Hurts clapped his hands, the Eagles laid out a blueprint for their own demise down the stretch that will be religiously followed by opponents until they can prove it no longer works.
Fortunately, in Week 14, the Eagles are facing off against a Los Angeles Chargers team that has been defensively porous at times in 2025, especially against teams with a solid running game. Considering Justin Herbert just had surgery on his hand and will either be playing through a pretty major injury or out for the contest, the Eagles' offense has a perfect chance to get things right with their star players at SoFi Stadium without having to fight tooth and nail for points on every drive in another shoot-out.
The Eagles have a chance to get their offense right against LA's defense
When the Eagles' offense has succeeded in 2025, they've gotten things going on the ground.
Sound obvious, right? One of the best rushing teams of all time in 2024, Philadelphia brought back almost the exact same personnel as last season heading into 2025, with only Kellen Moore and Mekhi Becton replaced by Kevin Patullo and Tyler Steen. And yet, the Eagles have only passed into triple digits in five games so far this season, all of which just so happen to be wins.
No, of the Eagles' eight wins in 2025, all but one saw the team rush for at least 86 yards on the ground, with the lone exception coming against a Minnesota Vikings team that struggled mightily with Carson Wentz under center. In their four losses, by contrast, only one saw the Birds rush for more than 75 yards, with Patullo's offense getting to 87 in Week 13's Black Friday loss.
Why aren't the Eagles running the ball as often? Well, some believe it's because Hurts isn't running the ball as often, removing a key element from their signature RPO, and that isn't incorrect. Hurts ran the ball at least nine times in each of the team's first four games, scoring four touchdowns in the process. Since then? Hurts has only run the ball eight or more times once, reaching 10 against the Detroit Lions in Week 11, with just four total touchdowns to show for his efforts.
Saquon Barkley, too, has been an issue for the Eagles in 2025, with Patullo rarely putting him in the best position to succeed and the PSU product doing his part by rarely ripping off the sort of field-flipping runs that became his signature in 2024. His rushing yards per game have been cut in half, and the Eagles have recorded the 24th most rushing yards of any team in the NFL on the 15th most overall attempts.
If the Eagles are going to win on Monday Night Football in Week 14, they are going to need to get into triple digits on the ground one way or another, taking advantage of the time of possession boost such a strategy affords.
Through Week 13, the Chargers have actually been fairly susceptible on the ground, allowing six of their 2025 opponents to go for over 100. In those games, the Chargers are 2-4, with their wins coming over the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins, and their losses to the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, Indianapolis Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Granted, the Eagles are averaging fewer rushing yards per game than the Giants, Commanders, Colts, and Jaguars, sitting at just 108.5, but the threat of running is always there, which could translate into actual production if Philadelphia finds their usual SoFi magic.
Through the air, one of the bright spots in the Eagles' recent sea of struggles has been the play of AJ Brown, who likely appreciates his uptick in targets to the tune of 22 catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns during the losing streak. Though he still trails Smith on the season overall, both Swole Batman and Slim Batman have been eating as of late, with the Heisman winner having 11 catches for 137 for his troubles despite being questionable to play on Black Friday.
If the Eagles can just get that trio going, with Dallas Goedert eating on under routes against the Chargers' underwhelming linebackers and safeties down Derwin James, they have a chance to make some serious waves on national television once more.
Could the Eagles collapse down the stretch once more? Most certainly, as, at this point, Philly's track record makes betting against that a fool's errand. But if Sirianni is going to right the ship and show that this recent adversity was for the best, as he suggested to Brandon Graham on Hard Knocks, Monday Night Football presents as good a chance as any to get it done, as the Chargers do have weaknesses the Eagles can exploit if they play their cards correctly.
