After a horrific blowout to the Cowboys live on Monday Night Football, the Eagles dusted off their pants and looked a bit better against the Chiefs last Sunday. But their problems are only growing. 

Poor play calling and penalties continue to plague the Eagles. After a game where they had three designed run plays, the Birds failed to make any impact or at least attempt the run game. To add insult to injury, our own defense continued to be pummeled against the run game for a second straight game. 

It’s not that they didn’t have many opportunities. For a while it looked like they had a shot to win against the Chiefs. They had plenty of chances but could not score in the red zone because of stupid mistakes. They had three touchdowns called back because of penalties, and the team was forced to either kick a field goal or turn it over on downs. These aren’t the generic penalties either, they were completely undisciplined penalties like offensive pass interference, ineligible man downfield or stepping out of bounds and catching the ball. The blame for these penalties doesn’t land in the front office.

First-year head coach Nick Sirianni took full blame for the loss in his press conference and even for some of the penalties, including one (of many) of offensive tackle Andre Dillard’s. 

“That’s my fault. I gotta get better at that,” Sirianni said, “It’s not Andre’s fault that he was downfield on that one, because the timing was pretty good. And the referees I thought did a pretty good job of refereeing it.” 

How he’s coaching the offensive line on plays arguably cost the Eagles a shot at the game. This bumbled coaching, along with his poor play calling, ultimately led to their failures in the red zone.

In a sea of negatives, it’s hard to think positively, but there were some bright spots. Quarterback Jalen Hurts’ performance was notable (despite the interceptions), as he needed to play his best in order for the Eagles. He was able to connect with rookie wide receiver Davonta Smith, who racked up 122 years. Hurts accumulated 434 total yards on Sunday alone — his career high so far.

While some Eagles fans may be panicking about Hurts, this performance shows he has potential to be the elite quarterback the Eagles need. Even Hurts after his career performance had this to say, “Have to do more, have to do better. And this is what I will say. You have every opportunity to learn, every opportunity, everything that you do, you learn from it.” Strong words from the young quarterback who has already shown incredible leadership towards his team. 

The Eagles have a long way to go till they’re at the Chiefs level, but are closer than most fans may think. The Eagles problems have to be from the management side, as the front office has failed this organization through so many wasted draft picks and money on players. They continue to fail at bringing in quality free agents that will make a greater impact on the team. The front office has even had an effect on the field. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman would berate former head coach Doug Pederson for running the ball too much — even after wins. This kind of toxic environment is the kind that creates a difficult space for players and coaches to get on the same page.

On the field, the biggest problem is the complete lack of a run game. A solid offense will have a balance of the run and pass game. Sirianni, who is known for his run game with the Colts, has to be frustrated. Or are Lurie and Howesman giving Sirianni the Pederson treatment already?

With two huge losses and to start the season 1-3, the Eagles have a lot to fix in a very long season ahead of them. The blame seems to be all around from the players to the coaches to the front office. The Eagles just keep failing to efficiently run an offense and continue to make stupid unnecessary mistakes, which keep shifting momentum both offensively and defensively. The Eagles can turn it around — or else we might all be saying “trust the process” yet again in Philly.