The Eagles Must Fix Defense After Losses to Cowboys, 49ers or Forget Super Bowl Run

Jalen Carter and Haason ReddickKevin Sabitus/Getty Images

The Philadelphia Eagles entered Week 14 with the best record in the National Football League. Provided that the Eagles win their final four games, the team will be the NFC East champion for the second successive season. The top seed in the NFC is very much in play.

But those things aren’t Philadelphia’s goal this year—a return to the Super Bowl is. And after falling 33-13 to the rival Cowboys on Sunday night for the team’s second consecutive defeat, that ultimate goal isn’t looking especially likely.

Simply put, the Eagles have a serious problem on defense. A problem that has been laid bare over the past few weeks. A problem that is going to derail the Eagles’ season before they get anywhere near Las Vegas.

Last week, the Eagles were drilled 42-19 by the San Francisco 49ers in a game where the Niners seemingly did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Leading up to Sunday night’s contest, head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters that the team was busily working to find ways to shore up a pass defense that entered the matchup with the Cowboys 28th in the NFL.

“We’ll be doing some different things this week, and we’re continuing to try to find ways,” said Sirianni. “Obviously, that’s unacceptable on our end. That’s everybody. That’s coaching. That’s playing. We have to fix that. To say, ‘We’re going to do this, this, and this,’ obviously I won’t say that. I know it’s going to be a long two days of us grinding through it and trying to get things right.”

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Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia broke down the Eagles’ defensive struggles over the past month. And folks, the picture he painted wasn’t pretty.

“The Eagles have allowed an average of 435 yards in their last five games—3rd-most in franchise history in a five-game period—as well as 29.4 points per game—2nd-most in the league,” he said. “They’ve allowed 15 passing TDs—4th-most in franchise history in any five-game span—and 306 passing yards per game—5th-most in franchise history over five games. But it’s not just coverage and tackling. The Eagles have not pressured well lately, especially the last three weeks. In wins over the Chiefs and Bills and the loss to the 49ers Sunday, the Eagles faced 121 pass attempts and managed just four sacks. They also had just one in the second Washington game. And they’ve fallen off big-time against the run as well.”

Well, if it makes you feel any better, the Eagles didn’t allow 435 yards of offense against the Cowboys—it was only 394. But the Cowboys converted nine of 16 third-down attempts, went three-for-three against Philly’s 28th-ranked red-zone defense and scored on all four drives in the first half.

Now, after last week’s embarrassing loss to the 49ers, center Jason Kelce told reporters that the offense shoulders some of the blame for the team’s defensive struggles.

“I think the defense is catching a lot of flak right now, but I mean, both sides of the ball are,” he said. “The defense, obviously a rough outing for them, we’ve got to do a better job on offense of keeping them off the field. They have played a record amount of snaps through the last two games. In NFL history, no defense has played more snaps than our defense, it’s not fair to them. I think part of that is self-inflicted – they’ve got to get off the field on third down, and they’ve got to make stops. But part of it it’s us putting drives together that, you know, maintain control of the game. And I think that we haven’t been consistent enough on offense at times, we are there, and we are clicking, and they’re great.”

Kelce has a point. Against Dallas, three Eagles turnovers didn’t do the defense any favors. And for whatever reason, the offense hasn’t been as consistent of efficient the past couple of weeks.

But the reality is, Philly’s defense just isn’t very good right now.

Yes, the Eagles have endured a gauntlet of contenders over the past month—Buffalo, Kansas City, San Francisco and now Dallas (again). But news flash—once the postseason starts, Philly won’t be taking on Tommy DeVito and New York’s non-existent wideout corps.

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The Eagles pass defense has sat at the bottom of the NFL most of this season. Darius Slay has been solid at cornerback, but batterymate James Bradberry has been victimized repeatedly this season—his passer rating against this year is 107.8, which is over double the year before. The Eagles acquired veteran safety Kevin Byard in large part because that position has been a concern.

The linebackers haven’t been a whole lot better. Due in part to injuries, the linebackers have been average, and cracks are showing in Philly’s run defense as a result. Nicolas Morrow is a serviceable veteran, but no better. Zach Cunningham has bounced around the NFL In recent years, playing in just six games in Tennessee last year. The Eagles tried an in-season upgrade at the position with the signing of Shaquille Leonard, but Leonard isn’t the same player he was when he won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2018. If he was, the Indianapolis Colts wouldn’t have released him.

Even Philly’s vaunted defensive front isn’t what it was a year ago.

In 2022, the Eagles had one of the best sack seasons in NFL history, piling up 70. Edge-rusher Haason Reddick is having another big year after notching two more sacks Sunday night, but as a team the Eagles rank well outside the top 10 in the league this season.

That’s a big part of the problem. The Eagles aren’t getting the pressure on the quarterback they did a year ago. Opposing quarterbacks have more time to survey the field, and they are picking Philly’s vulnerable secondary apart.

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Now, none of this is really going to matter over the final month of the regular season. Philly benefits from a gravy schedule the rest of the way that includes two games with the hapless Giants and a home date with a three-win Arizona Cardinals team. The Eagles will most likely head to the postseason as a 13-4 or 14-3 team.

But the Eagles have already lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to San Francisco. Home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a first-round bye aren’t guaranteed.

What is guaranteed is that if the Eagles play defensively against teams like the 49ers or Cowboys in the postseason, they are going to get bounced. Period.

And there is no easy fix for a defense that has become the sort of liability that ends seasons.