Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles finished 11-6, won the NFC East for the second straight year, and watched their Super Bowl defense end in the Wild Card round with a 23-19 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers. This title defense never found its footing. They started 8-2, looked like the class of the conference, and then got muffed — a stunning Week 12 collapse in Dallas, blowing a 21-0 lead to lose 24-21, kicked off a three-game skid that reshaped the season. Vic Fangio's defense was consistently excellent, first-year play-caller Kevin Patullo's offense was consistently frustrating, and the gap between those truths is the story of 2025. Statement wins over the Chiefs in Week 2 and the Lions in Week 11 proved the ceiling was still championship-caliber. They just never got back there when it counted.

The Eagles averaged 21.5 points per game on offense and allowed 18.4 on defense — a positive differential, but a far cry from the juggernaut of their Super Bowl year. Per play, the offense generated plus 0.04 expected points added per pass and plus 0.01 per rush — expected points added is the league's best measure of how much each snap helped your scoring chances, and those are barely-above-water numbers. The defense posted minus 0.12 expected points added allowed per pass and minus 0.02 per rush — and on defense, negative is elite, because the opponent's offense got worse every snap. Third down was a grind both ways — 38 percent converted, 41 percent allowed — and the team finished at plus 8 in turnover differential with 20 takeaways. A steady, grinding team with a defense that set the floor and an offense that too often failed to raise the ceiling.

Now let's talk about the passing offense. The Eagles threw for just 205.8 yards per game and finished with plus 23.2 total passing expected points added — a middling number for a unit that returned the entire Super Bowl cast, and steady floor, low ceiling all year. They gave up 35 sacks and hit only 51 explosive plays of 20-plus yards across 17 games, an attack stuck in mud with predictable formations and the same play called out of the same look multiple times a game. Jalen Hurts was the engine: 3,224 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, just 6 interceptions, plus 34.3 passing expected points added, and another 421 yards and 8 scores on the ground. When the unit hit, it hit big — like Hurts finding DeVonta Smith down the middle for a 79-yard touchdown against the Vikings in Week 7, a single snap worth plus 6.58 expected points that showed what this offense could still be. The problem was how rarely they unlocked it — 38 on the Giants in Week 8, then shut down by the Bears in Week 13.

Now let's dig into the rushing offense. 118.2 yards per game, 17 rushing touchdowns, and plus 2.48 total rushing expected points added — a replacement-level run game, a stunning regression from a year ago, with steady volume but low explosiveness. Saquon Barkley carried 280 times for 1,140 yards and 7 touchdowns — a 1,000-yard season that felt like a disappointment after his 2,005-yard explosion the year before, with his rushing expected points added landing at minus 24.1. The offensive line was the culprit: All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson missed seven games with a Lisfranc injury, and Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens never looked fully healthy. The bright spot was the red zone, where Philadelphia's 70-percent touchdown rate led the league and the short-yardage tush-push remained a cheat code. Between the 20s, it was a slog — a run game that couldn't set up anything else.

Next up, the pass defense. This unit carried the Eagles. They allowed just 204.5 passing yards per game, gave up only 14 passing touchdowns all season, and posted minus 72.4 expected points added allowed against the pass — elite, top-of-the-league stuff, and it trended up late in the year. The pass rush got home 42 times, the secondary forced turnover after turnover, and Fangio's scheme made offenses work for every yard. The signature performance came in Week 14 against the Chargers: they pressured Justin Herbert on 68 percent of his dropbacks and sacked him seven times, including a Nakobe Dean strip-sack that Byron Young recovered. Corner Quinyon Mitchell — who grabbed two interceptions of Brock Purdy in the Wild Card loss, finishing as the anchor of a back end that smashed all year. This unit was the reason the Eagles won 11 games.

And the run defense. 125.1 rushing yards allowed per game with 20 rushing touchdowns given up is softer than you'd like, but the per-play math told a better story — minus 0.02 expected points added allowed per carry and minus 11.8 on the year, and again, negative is good on defense. That's a steady floor, low ceiling profile. They surrendered 54 explosive plays overall, and the front got cracked at times — the 34-point loss at the Giants in Week 6 being the ugliest example. But the unit was steady far more often than not, complementing a dominant pass defense and keeping opposing offenses one-dimensional. A solid B-plus group on a defense whose headline work was done in the back seven.