That’s a wrap on the 2026 Philadelphia Eagles season. At least when it comes towards winning the NFC East and making a run at the playoffs.
The Eagles won’t be making the postseason, not after a 19-11 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday. In this crucial three-game stretch against NFC East opponents, the Eagles went 0-3 and lost by a combined score of 84-32 against the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, and New York Giants.
For those counting, that’s a -52 scoring differential against three teams
with a combined record of 11-12-2 this season. Three of those wins have come against the Eagles.
The Eagles are 2-7 for the first time since 1999 and lost seven straight games for the first time since 2012. This season is over.
There still are eight more games to play, but this season isn’t getting turned around. Here are some thoughts following the latest loss.
1. Someone on this coaching staff needs to be let go during the bye week
The Eagles have to make a significant move on this coaching staff, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. What this offense is doing in the second half of games is unacceptable.
The Eagles had 99 total yards in the second half, scoring just three points. They had zero total yards in the third quarter, running 9 plays and going 3-and-out on all three possessions in the period.
Philadelphia is the only team averaging under 2.0 points and 50 yards in the third quarter this season. Doesn’t matter who the quarterback is. The system remains the same, inefficient and ineffective.
The offensive line allowed seven sacks, and had Joe Milton under duress throughout the day. They continue to have miscommunication up front, missing assignments and gaps in run blocking and allowing too many free rushers in pass protection.
This falls on Sean Mannion or Chris Kuper if Nick Sirianni isn’t let go. One of these three coaches can not be back when they take the field again in two weeks.
2. The third quarter woes continue.
The Eagles have the worst third quarter offense in the NFL, but somehow reached a new low against the Giants.
Their third quarter possessions went like this:
- 3 plays, -2 yards — Punt
- 3 plays, 0 yards — Punt
- 3 plays, 2 yards — Punt
Drew Kendall had a holding penalty, Joe Milton was sacked for a 10-yard loss, and Landon Dickerson had a holding penalty that was declined. The Eagles running backs had -3 rushing yards in the quarter while Milton averaged 2.2 yards per attempt.
The Eagles dropped their scoring average in the third quarter to 1.4 points and their average yards to 39.2. the yards per play also dropped to 3.0. Somehow, they came out worse after halftime.
Nick Sirianni claims adjustments are being made. They’re not working.
3. Joe Milton didn’t provide a spark
This isn’t Joe Milton’s fault, but it was foolish to this this offense was going to be better due to a quarterback change.
Milton finished 18-of-34 for 169 yards with 0 TD and 0 INT and a fumble lost. He was sacked seven times thanks to the offensive line and their communication issues and no run game to help him settle in.
The run game was Milton, who had nine carries for 64 yards — 69.6% of the Eagles’ rushing yards. The Eagles offense might have been worse if Tanner McKee was back there with the Giants pass rush having a significant amount of wins up front. McKee might have been sacked 10+ times in this one.
Milton couldn’t show off his deep ball because he didn’t have time to throw it. He was just 6-of-13 on throws traveling 10+ air yards, and the accuracy issues were on display throughout the game.
Milton deserves another start, but does it really matter behind this offensive line? The Eagles also have an extremely limited Saquon Barkley and were without DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks again.
Hard for Milton to have a fighting chance with the personnel he had to work with.
4. The run game is abysmal
The Eagles don’t have much to work with at running back with Saquon Barkley on a pitch count and Elijah Mitchell being elevated from the practice squad to be his backup. The duo combined for 16 carries for 28 yards, 1.8 yards per carry.
Barkley was so limited he had just three carries in the second half — for 0 yards. Nether Barkley nor Mitchell had a rushing yard in the second half. Mitchell’s impact — or lack thereof — in the second half is coming next.
Neither Barkley nor Mitchell are getting much to work with up front, as the communication issues on the Eagles offensive line also carry over to the run game. Look at the 4th-and-1 play in the second quarter where Barkley loses a yard, due to the missed assignments in multiple gaps.
The offensive line isn’t helping the run game either. Notice a pattern.
5. What was Elijah Mitchell doing?
That final desperation drive by the Eagles were not Mitchell’s finest moments. Mitchell didn’t get the first down on the 3rd-and-8 possession right before the two minute warning, just falling down a yard short and not rolling over for the first down showed a lack of situational awareness.
Mitchell somehow toped that moment by not getting out of bounds on a reception with under 20 seconds left, forcing the Eagles to chew even more clock in a 19-11 game. While the Eagles offense was abysmal all afternoon, they still had somewhat of a chance to score a touchdown in the final minute.
Mitchell wouldn’t be on this team is Tank Bigsby or Will Shipley were healthy. Dameon Pierce was waived with an injury settlement and Carson Steele is out, so the Eagles really had to dig just to find a running back who knew the offense (which was Mitchell from his stint in the summer).
Hard to see Mitchell taking any more snaps for the Eagles after that final possession, but that lack of situational awareness exists across the board. This is above Mitchell.
6. The defense allows points in the 4th quarter because of the offense
There’s a lot to be said on how the Eagles defense falls apart in the second half, but look how long they were on the field in the third quarter on Sunday.
The Eagles offense had the ball for just 4:55 in the third quarter, meaning the defense was on the field the other 10:05. Going 3-and-out on all three possessions took its toll on the defense, who did give up the go-ahead touchdown on the Giants’ second offensive possession in the quarter — which took up 7:56 of game time.
Philadelphia didn’t have a single drive over 3:00 of game time in the second half, having a time of possession of 10:58. The defense is on the field for an average of 16:44 in the second half, which is third worst in the NFL.
This isn’t absolving the defense, who have allowed 193.3 yards (31st in NFL) and 5.7 yards per play (24th) in the second half. There’s just a method toward their struggles, and that’s being on the field too much.
They still allowed 13 points, but were on the field for nearly 20 minutes. This offense just can’t sustain drives.
7. Makai Lemon is still learning on the fly
There was a lot to like about Lemon’s performance, as he finished with six catches for 61 yards (on nine targets). Lemon was the only reliable wideout on the Eagles Sunday, as his route running and separation was better than at any point this season. Joe Milton had an 85.9 passer rating when targeting Lemon, higher than any wideout with multiple targets on Sunday.
While Lemon is showing progress over the last month, he still had two bad drops that he mentioned and took accountability for after the game. That’s four drops over the last three games, which Lemon has to improve if he’s going to become a reliable pass catcher in the league.
Lemon can be a good WR3 this year, and eventually become a reliable WR2 over the next few years as a complimentary piece to DeVonta Smith (assuming Dontayvion Wicks isn’t with the Eagles after 2027).
This has been a typical rookie season for a wideout. Some ups and some downs, but it’s clear Lemon can play in this league. Where he fits in the grand scheme of the Eagles’ future is still up for debate.
8. The pass rush exists!
Credit to the Eagles pass rush for getting home this week. Whether it was due to the Giants offensive line or JJ McCarthy not recognizing pressure, it was nice to see this pass rush live up to their potential.
The Eagles finished with six sacks and 20 pressures on the afternoon. Jonathan Greenard looked 100% healthy with a sack and four pressures while Zack Baun had two sacks.
Vic Fangio did dial up the pressure more to put the heat on JJ McCarthy — and it worked. McCarthy struggled against pressure, looking indecisive when the Eagles did decide to send more than four rushers. Even the four-man rush was able to get McCarthy — who was sacked five times.
The Eagles had just 10 sacks going into Sunday. They now have 16.
This is still a disappointing unit, but perhaps the pass rush can build upon this performance in the second half of the year,
9. Nolan Smith is having a good season
The offseason speeding incident was the highlight of Smith’s offseason, as the former first-round pick faced an uncertain future with the franchise. Smith is showing this season he wants to stick around past 2027 (when his fifth-year option and rookie contract ends).
Smith had a sack and three pressures on Sunday, finishing with a 15.8% pressure rate. He is having his best season to date basked on sacks, having 5.0 sacks through eight games played. Smith is actually on pace for 9.5 sacks this year, which would easily pass his career high of 6.5 from two seasons ago.
The pressure rate is down for Smith, dropping from 15.4% last year to 11.8% this year, but it’s down across the board amongst the Eagles’ pass rush. Jalyx Hunt doesn’t have a sack and a 10.5% pressure rate while Jonathan Greenard has a sack and a 10.7% pressure rate.
Of the edge rushers this season, Smith has been the best one on the Eagles. Perhaps he’s done enough to play his way into consideration for a contract extension.
10. So who’s getting traded?
The Eagles are going to be sellers at the deadline, but it’s unclear how many players they’ll trade to other teams.
The obvious candidates are Riq Woolen and Dallas Goedert, who are in the final year of their contracts. Moro Ojomo could be had at the right price, and same with Landon Dickerson.
Philadelphia doesn’t have a reliable tight end after Goedert, and Eli Stowers isn’t ready for an elevated role yet. The Eagles wouldn’t get that much for Goedert.
Woolen likely won’t be back after this season, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would like to keep Ojomo. Perhaps the Eagles will unload Dickerson’s contract and give Willie Lampkin an opportunity to start for the remainder of the year. The same could be said with Tyler Steen.
This team has to stockpile draft picks, especially with a top-10 pick (at worst) coming their way. The rebuild can be quick, as Howie Roseman has shown in the past.
