They’ve been to the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.
They’ve reached two of the last three Super Bowls.
They are the defending world champs after blowing out the previous defending world champs in humiliating fashion.
They have the most wins (43) of any team in the NFL since 2022.
They have a head coach and quarterback that has won more than 70% of their games together over the last five seasons.
And yet, little to no benefit of the doubt.
The 2025 Eagles are fortunate to be 4-2. They’ve been outgained in each of their first six contests, an unsustainable situation if they plan to continue winning football games, division titles and Super Bowl championships. Thursday’s loss to the Giants was truly awful, unsound and sloppy in every phase of the game, and there’s no doubt the team looks much different right now than it did when they walked off the field in New Orleans back in February.
All that is undeniable. But for a team as successful as the Eagles have been over the last five seasons, and for a head coach who has had more success than virtually every head coach in NFL history, the lack of benefit of the doubt this franchise receives from its fanbase and some prominent voices in the national media is astounding.
Everyone is terrified of another 2023 late-season collapsed. It scarred everybody. No one wants to be fooled again. But wouldn’t you think that winning the Super Bowl in dominant fashion just a few months ago would have chilled everybody out just a little?
No, it was never going to be as easy as it was down the stretch last year and, just to jog everyone’s memory a bit, it was not all sunshine and roses even as the Eagles were winning 12 out of their last 13 regular season games.
Last season, the Eagles were 2-2 heading into their bye. Fans and media, myself included, weren’t sure if Sirianni was going to survive the season. They struggled to form an identity and had just come off a season in which they’d lost six of their last seven games, including an embarrassing wild card loss in Tampa.
A little over one year later, the Eagles enter their mini-bye at 4-2. They are in better shape, although there are a number of concerning issues. The retirement of Za’Darius Smith leaves an already weak edge rushing group even weaker, especially with Nola Smith out until after the bye. They are not as strong at cornerback, and Jalen Carter’s shoulder is sapping some of his effectiveness from him. The offensive line is beat up and not playing to its normal standards, the playcalling has been stale and, overall, the offense is predictable and stoppable, despite the massive amount of talent assembled on that side of the roster.
And it’s no small thing that Jalen Hurts simply hasn’t played all that great this season.
This is one of those rare occasions where the eye test matches the numbers. Nothing about the Eagles’ offense is good enough right now, and it’s fair to be flabbergasted at how a team with this many stars, with the same offensive-minded head coach and an offensive coordinator that’s been a major part of this coaching staff for the past five seasons can’t seem to figure out how to get his uber-talented roster to secure a first down against a zone defense.
It shouldn’t be this hard, and that is what is exceedingly frustrating about all this.
But haven’t Hurts and Sirianni shown us that they can overcome struggles and frustrations? Haven’t they shown us over the last five seasons that they usually find a way to figure this stuff out?
It’s entirely possible Howie Roseman’s cost-saving moves on defense prove to be too much to overcome. Maybe Patullo truly is overmatched and won’t be able to figure out how to call plays effectively. Maybe there is friction inside the locker room between the quarterback and the rest of the offense that is preventing things from running smoothly. But the opinion seems to be this is the more likely scenario rather than not.
I would argue it’s more likely than not that things will turn around, that the problems on offense aren’t too big to fix, that Vic Fangio can figure out a way to put pressure on the quarterback and keep opposing offense out of the end zone, and that Sirianni will fix any issues inside the locker room that may exist.
If another 2023-like collapse happens while I optimistically sit here waiting for things to get better, so be it. All I know is the Buffalo Bills have lost two games in a row, including an inexcusable loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night, and despite having never won a Super Bowl over the last five seasons, the discourse about their last two weeks will be nowhere near as sharp as what’s coming at the Eagles.
In fairness, a number of NFC contenders are not playing great football.
The Packers lost to the Browns two weeks ago. The Cowboys just lost to the Panthers. The 49ers couldn’t figure out a way to defeat the injury-depleted Bucs. The Commanders lost to the Bears at home. The Lions were stomped by the Chiefs in Kansas City. Good teams have hard times. It happens. It just hasn’t happened to the Eagles very often of late.
The Eagles ran up a 4-0 record during the hardest part of their schedule, beating those same Chiefs, Bucs, Cowboys and Commanders. The losses to the Broncos and Giants were uncharacteristically ugly, and the Eagles have a number of things to address.
But they should get the benefit of the doubt that they will, until they don’t.
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