Eagles' bye-week checklist: Fix almost everything

Despite what many consider one of the NFL's most talented rosters, the Philadelphia Eagles entered their bye week with a 2-2 record after ugly losses to Atlanta and Tampa Bay.

Philadelphia made mass changes in the offseason - both with coaching and personnel - but the bad habits that led the team to close the 2023 campaign with a 1-6 record are still very present.

Let's assess the current state of the franchise.

Offense

Quarterback Jalen Hurts is two seasons removed from leading the Eagles' run to Super Bowl LVII and finishing as the MVP runner-up behind Patrick Mahomes.

Hurts was rewarded with the largest contract extension in franchise history (five years, $255 million) in the ensuing offseason. Regression was expected, but his level of play has dropped significantly.

Through four games, Hurts has career-worst marks in success rate, EPA per dropback, yards per pass attempt, and sack rate. He's also already committed a league-high 11 turnover-worthy plays, according to Pro Football Focus, after finishing with 16 of them last season and just 12 in 2022.

Hurts has been gifting opponents with extra opportunities at an alarming rate, too. He owns three red-zone turnovers this season; no other NFL quarterback has more than one. And the 26-year-old has been sacked 13 times for an average of 3.25 per contest, up from 2.12 in 2023.

The miscues under center aren't the result of poor offensive line play: the Eagles still rank among the top 10 in both pass- and run-blocking despite Jason Kelce's retirement. Hurts is clearly still trying to find his comfort zone with new offensive coordinator and play caller Kellen Moore.

Luckily for the Eagles, reinforcements are en route. Right tackle Lane Johnson (concussion) and wide receivers A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion) are expected to return this week. That should help Hurts get back to the passing game - his bread and butter.

Running back Saquon Barkley has been better than advertised: Despite the bye week, he's still the league's third-leading rusher with 435 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

But the Eagles have frequently neglected to prioritize Barkley early in the game - and the results are damning. Philadelphia is the only team that hasn't scored in the first quarter this season.

Whether head coach Nick Sirianni is still too involved in Moore's game planning or Hurts is making his own adjustments at the line of scrimmage, it's inexcusable for a roster loaded with this much offensive talent to be 18th in the league in scoring at 21.5 points per game.

What's more, the Eagles haven't won a game by more than one possession since Week 7 of the 2023 season - more than 350 days ago.

Coming out of the bye, the Eagles need to limit their turnovers, tighten up their game plan and opening scripts, and prioritize getting their star playmakers more touches.

Defensive personnel issues

When general manager Howie Roseman strong-armed head coach Nick Sirianni into replacing former defensive coordinators Sean Desai and Matt Patricia with Vic Fangio, he imagined Fangio would successfully implement his scheme, which has been copied repeatedly throughout the league. Roseman also banked on young talent to step up and contribute.

The personnel hasn't meshed with Fangio's scheme, which typically relies on the defensive front winning with four pass rushers. Second-year defensive tackle Jalen Carter has flashed brilliance, but the former first-round pick isn't consistent enough yet, and he's handling the most snaps (76.25%) among defensive linemen. Edge rusher Nolan Smith, another 2023 first-rounder, has no quarterback hits or sacks.

Aside from the team's 15-12 win over New Orleans in Week 3, Philadelphia's defense has reeked of incompetency - and Roseman should shoulder more of the blame.

Roseman's biggest free-agent signing, defensive end Bryce Huff, has no sacks, quarterback hits, or tackles for loss, and just one solo tackle. Huff's salary is the seventh-highest on the team - he's making more than Barkley, tight end Dallas Goedert, cornerback Darius Slay, and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

Gardner-Johnson, another free-agent addition, has the most missed tackles (eight) on the team. Whiffed attempts and poor tackling are commonplace with the Eagles - they credited themselves with 15 missed tackles in their loss to the Bucs.

While Hurts gives away the ball on offense, the defense isn't forcing enough turnovers. Philadelphia is tied for the fewest takeaways in the league (two, both Reed Blankenship interceptions). Three other teams - Jacksonville, Las Vegas and Tennessee - have only two takeaways, and they have a combined record of 4-10. The Eagles haven't won the turnover battle in 12 straight contests and own the NFL's second-worst turnover differential (minus-6).

Philadelphia ranks 27th in total defense, 24th in pass defense, 21st in run defense, 30th in opponents yards per play, and 22nd in points allowed.

Multiple reports suggest Fangio plans to make some tweaks, with rookie back Cooper DeJean expected to start over Avonte Maddox at nickel cornerback. But adjustments can only help so much if the problems are rooted in Roseman's roster construction.

Pressure's on Sirianni

Sirianni is 38-22 in his four campaigns as head coach and has never missed the playoffs. But the team's collapse last season and the uneasy start to this campaign have tensions rising in Philadelphia, where many believe it's Super Bowl or bust. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie even lamented moving on from Sirianni in favor of Bill Belichick after the Eagles were bounced early from last season's playoffs.

Sirianni should reconsider many of his coaching decisions - and his in-game management should be near the top of the list. He's made multiple questionable fourth-down decisions that haven't gone Philadelphia's way, and he's doubled down on his thinking. If the Eagles are unable to reestablish themselves as a dominant contender, Sirianni's job security could be a serious concern.

Still, Hurts publicly backed his coach coming out of the bye.

"We are the two leaders of the team," the signal-caller told reporters Wednesday. "I'm happy and fortunate that we were able to come together in harmony and have the same goal in mind and try to get this thing right. I got a ton of confidence in him. A ton of confidence in what he brings. Everything he has been able to accomplish.

"Everybody goes through different moments. Everybody experiences adversity. We've experienced different moments of adversity together. We are excited for what's to come."

The Eagles have the third-weakest remaining strength of schedule, with their opponents owning a combined .446 winning percentage, according to Tankathon. Coming out of the bye, Philadelphia will play the Browns (1-4), Giants (2-3), Bengals (1-4), and Jaguars (1-4). The Eagles won't see an opponent that currently owns a winning record until their Week 10 trip to take on the Cowboys (3-2) in their first division game of the season.

This next month feels like an opportunity for a team with such heightened expectations. But if the Eagles don't respond to Sirianni's bye-week adjustments and don't seem reinvigorated in pursuit of the franchise's second Lombardi Trophy, then Lurie could be forced to act.

If that happens, many will wonder why it didn't happen sooner.

Josh Tolentino is theScore's lead NFL writer.