AJ Brown blames lack of execution for Eagles’ collapse vs Cowboys
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown describes what changed in the second half of the Eagles’ loss to the Cowboys
- Star running back Saquon Barkley is on pace for less than 1,000 rushing yards and is currently dealing with a groin injury.
- Injuries to key offensive linemen, including Lane Johnson and Cam Jurgens, have contributed to the team’s difficulties in the running game.
- Coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts emphasize that finding ways to win is more important than committing to a specific offensive identity.
PHILADELPHIA − It was simple for the Eagles in 2024. Get a lead. Give the ball to Saquon Barkley. Run out the clock.
That run-first identity took the Eagles to the Super Bowl.
But that hasn’t been the case this season. The Eagles have taken leads, given the ball to Barkley, only to get stopped. Against the Cowboys on Nov. 23, the Eagles passed their way to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Then they tried involving Barkley and the running game. It didn’t work. The Eagles didn’t score another point while the Cowboys won 24-21. Barkey had just 22 yards on 10 carries.
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That has led to much hand-wringing about Barkley. One season after rushing for 2,005 yards, he’s on pace for less than 1,000.
And now there’s a new problem.
Barkley has been limited this week in practice with a groin injury, the second time this season he has shown up on the injury report with the injury.
Even if Barkley plays as expected against the Bears on Nov. 28, will the injury affect him? Will the Eagles have to adjust their game plan? Could Tank Bigsby, who’s averaging 9.1 yards per carry this season in limited opportunities (18 carries for 164 yards) have a bigger role?
And, most importantly, what’s wrong with Barkley?
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni says nothing is wrong.
“I see explosiveness. I see power. I see all the things that have made him a great football player in the NFL,” Sirianni said. “Sometimes it’s not happening in the run game. But you see that explosiveness also in the pass game … We just have to find ways to get him the ball, and get him in space, and that’ll be our focus.”
There are many factors that go into the success of the running game. Sure, Barkley has a lot to do with it. But so does the offensive line.
And the Eagles are struggling here, too. Right tackle Lane Johnson is missing his second game with a foot injury. Center Cam Jurgens has missed two games and parts of two others with a knee injury then a concussion. Left guard Landon Dickerson has dealt with injuries throughout the season while coming off knee surgery in August.
“I think it’s on all of us,” Jurgens said. “We can definitely play better as an offense as a whole. I’m not going to put anything on (Barkley). We gotta do better and open up bigger holes for him … I’m not going to focus on how many yards he has, or what our stats are, or whatever. I’m just worried about how I can be better, and there’s room for me to improve, for sure.”
It certainly doesn’t help that teams are focused on stopping Barkley first, then forcing the Eagles to beat them with the passing game. The Cowboys, for example, stayed with a five-man defensive front, designed to stop the run, even as the Eagles took their 21-0 lead by passing the ball.
Of course, the Eagles have Jalen Hurts at quarterback and top receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, along with tight end Dallas Goedert to make teams pay for focusing on the run. Smith, by the way, hasn’t practiced this week because of chest and shoulder injuries along with an illness. It’s not known if he’ll play against the Bears.
Clearly, many of the Eagles’ problems will be solved if the running game can work.
“We’re trying pretty much anything and everything we can to find ways to get (Barkley) going,” offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo said. “I know that the guys are excited for something new this week to see if we can get it going.”
And that takes us back to the Eagles’ identity. As in, what is it? And does it matter?
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“It’s important to go into a game, find a flow, have an identity,” Hurts said. “But from a bigger point of view, nothing takes precedence over finding ways to win. And so that’s the most important thing … settling on an identity, commit to it, and then we fine-tune those things knowing that there’s going to be some ups, there’s going to be some downs.
“But we’re all confident in what we’re doing, and we’re all confident in the direction that we’re going in.”
Then Hurts was asked what should that identity be?
“The identity needs to be something everybody is in alignment with,” Hurts said. “So it’s not a matter of how it looks. I don’t care how it looks. I don’t care who does it. I’d just like for it to get done.
“I remember getting a question about the pass game taking a step (forward) after a loss. But it’s like, who cares? We didn’t win. So nothing takes precedent over finding ways to win. That’s what really matters.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the “Eye On The Eagles” newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday monring. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
