The clock showed just 43 seconds in a wild-card game against the San Francisco 49ers. Eagles‘ offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo hovered over his play sheet on the sideline, red pen in hand, flipping through options. Quarterback Jalen Hurts stepped in close, trying to lock in the next move, and a few feet away, head coach Nick Sirianni listened intently. After a quick back-and-forth, the call came down to something simple: ‘four verts,’ the same play the Eagles had just tried moments earlier. But this time, it failed.

Later, a team source would point out that Hurts had been the one to suggest going back to it. And in that small, failed decision sat something much bigger: a reminder of the questionable decisions. So, there’s a reason why, even after Philadelphia won the 2025 Super Bowl, the conversation around Hurts building a dynasty in Philly never fully took off, and now, a new report doubles down on what fans already suspected.

“Close observers point to a lack of creativity and synergy in the Eagles’ attack. The pass game wasn’t always properly tied to the run, and there’s a level of predictability that allows opposing defenses to get a bead on what’s coming,” Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler wrote in their report for ESPN. “Though there is plenty of blame to spread, Hurts has had a hand in the offense becoming calcified, according to several team sources who spoke to ESPN on condition of anonymity.

“He has pushed back on changes that would diversify the scheme, sources said, including when it comes to him going under center more. He has shown a reluctance to let it rip at times, particularly against zone coverage. He diverts from the game plan and changes playcalls to what some feel is an excessive degree.”

The passing game, in particular, has stalled over the past few seasons with Hurts leading the offense. That shift has forced the Eagles to lean heavily on the ground game, led by running back Saquon Barkley. That hesitation in the passing game was clear during the 2025 season. Soon, the offense regressed, and locker room tension became noticeable, especially with A.J. Brown. The wide receiver had publicly voiced frustration, pointing out that the team has been relying more on its defense to close out games.

The drop-off shows up clearly in the numbers. Under Kellen Moore, the Eagles ranked 8th in total offense with 6,242 yards in 2024. Under Patullo, that number fell to 24th at 5,291 yards just a year later.

Hurts’ individual numbers followed a similar trend. He finished 16th in passing yards with 3,224, 27th in yards per attempt at 7.1, which marked a career low, and 34th in completion percentage at 65%.

Still, according to ESPN, the issue goes beyond production. It points to structure and decision-making. As McManus and Fowler noted:

“His strong preferences, coupled with the coaches’ efforts to play to his strengths, which include his deep-ball accuracy and throws to the perimeter, limit the breadth to which the offense can expand—or at least that’s the way it has gone in the past.”

Now, heading into the offseason, those issues have carried over. Patullo is out after a disappointing run, and the Eagles have brought in Sean Mannion.

The passing game remains a major question. And while that’s been the primary focus, offensive tackle Lane Johnson recently pointed out why the ground game, which once looked like the team’s foundation, took a step back in 2025 despite its success the year before.

Lane Johnson addresses why the Eagles’ ground game struggled in 2025

Heading into this offseason, fixing the ground game has become one of the bigger priorities for the Eagles, which naturally brings up a simple question. How did it get here, especially after how dominant they were on the ground in 2024? Lane Johnson shed some light on that in March.

“I think when it goes down to it, if you look at it, loading the box up, there are miscommunication issues,” Johnson said on Jon Gruden’s Barstool podcast. “Whether it’s old linemen or if it’s at running back, not hearing it, I feel like we had a lot of inefficient runs and so people unaccounted for, which is unacceptable. It’s like coaches can coach all they want, but at a certain point, people know what football is.

“And that’s something we’ve got to fix as a line. So, it was definitely frustrating going from what seemed like every play was a roller coaster to—it was gritty. Those yards came hard for shape.”

That explanation lines up with what showed up on tape. Miscommunication played a real role in the drop-off. In 2024, the Eagles rushed for 3,048 yards. In 2025, that number fell sharply to 1,908.

Individually, Barkley crossed the 2000 mark in 2024. And while he still produced last season, finishing with 1,140 yards, the efficiency dipped. His yards per carry dropped from 4.91 to 4.1. The overall volume also took a hit, with total rushing attempts falling from 621 to 459. And explosive runs of 10-plus yards declined by more than 30 percent.

At the same time, Hurts’ impact on the ground wasn’t the same. So, when you put it all together, the regression makes more sense. The efficiency dropped, the volume dropped, and the unpredictability that once defined their run game faded. And in the bigger picture, that offensive dip in 2025 is a big reason why the Eagles haven’t quite been viewed as a team ready to build a dynasty, with Jalen Hurts often sitting at the center of that conversation.