One Thing in Defense of Kevin Patullo:

It feels like it’s a matter of when, and not if, the Eagles fire offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

If they don’t, there will be a riot at NovaCare that will make January 6th look like amateur hour.

But in the interest of keeping things real, and holding to the mantra that more than one thing can be true, how many offensive players had good seasons in 2025? How many played at the same level they did in 2024?

Not many.

And sure, it’s a chicken and egg kind of thing. Maybe they stunk because the offensive coordinator stunk, but consider that:

• Lane Johnson was out for most of the season. Fred Johnson, who was acquired in a quiet trade before the season began, ended up starting eight games, plus the playoff game.
• Cam Jurgens had offseason back surgery, came in banged-up, and was never fully healthy.
• Landon Dickerson wasn’t close to 100% at any point this year, and told reporters on Sunday that playing through the pain was “shitty.”
• Tyler Steen played his first season as a starter, and while he generally held up in pass protection, he wasn’t the run blocker that Mekhi Becton was.
• Jordan Mailata had a down year. It seemed like he got better towards the end, but he wasn’t great in the first half and would probably agree with the assessment himself.
• Saquon Barkley wasn’t his typically-explosive self. The line is a large reason why, but it look him a bit to realize that the holes just weren’t going to be there this season, and that he’d have to put his head down and fight for yards.
• A.J. Brown was mopey and dramatic throughout, sent cryptic tweets, dropped some passes. He still got to 1,000 yards but wasn’t the player he was in previous years.

It’s hard to know how to judge Jalen Hurts since we’ll never have detailed information on decision making, audibles, and things of that nature. Were running attempts way down because of Patullo or because of Hurts? How much does avoiding the middle of the field fall on the quarterback himself vs. the offensive design? Hurts threw for a career-high 25 touchdowns with just six interceptions, but 3,224 passing yards was 16th in the NFL and his completion percentage was the lowest its been since 2021. Jalen was hardly the biggest problem out there, but we have seen better from him.

Truthfully, the only guys who really consistently brought it all year long on the offensive side of the ball were Dallas Goedert and DeVonta Smith. Goedert had a career year while Smitty showed up every game, like he usually does.

As for the supporting cast, Tank Bigsby always ran hard. Jahan Dotson was the fifth option in the passing game. Will Shipley and A.J. Dillon barely touched the ball. There wasn’t much else in depth because you had a lot of money wrapped up in the superstars from the starting unit.

So that’s...