Kevin Patullo pushes back against idea Eagles had conservative plan vs. Rams

Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo pushed back on the idea that they had a conservative game plan against the Rams.

By Dave Zangaro • Published September 24, 2025

The Eagles eventually turned things around on offense in their miraculous 33-26 win over the Rams on Sunday.

But it sure was an ugly start.

"It was a tale of two halves for sure,” offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo said on Tuesday. "I think when we looked back at the game, we were able to make the adjustments we needed to get it going in the second half.”

But why did it take that long?

And why did the Eagles seem so conservative on offense in the first half?

Those are fair questions. The Eagles trailed by 19 points early in the third quarter before the passing game came alive, scoring touchdowns on three of the final four possessions against the Rams in the win.

The Eagles had five real possessions in the first half and four of them resulted in 3-and-outs. After the win, both Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown talked about the desire for the offense to be more aggressive.

Patullo on Tuesday pushed back against the idea that they had a conservative game plan going into Week 3.

"When we go into every week, that's what we want to do. We want to be the aggressive person, right?” Patullo said. "The word this past week for the offense of when I spoke to the offense was ‘attack.' We want to be in attack mode, and going into the game, that was what we wanted to do.

The first drive was a good drive. We went for it on fourth down, we threw the ball down into the red zone at the goal lines. We were in an attack mode.

"We got stuck in those weird situations where we just couldn't get it out of there and get it going. And then the second half, obviously, we had to play a little bit differently, but we were able to get it going. So I think they know what we want to do and I think it was just exciting for it to happen and come back. When you get emotional after games, you get excited because we were able to do something that was very difficult to do and all the plays.

"And the guys played tremendous. The players themselves were awesome in those moments and the conversations and getting that done was such a big moment. It was really cool for everybody.”

The Eagles scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game after getting the ball on the Rams’ 38-yard line thanks to a Zack Baun interception on the first series. 

But after that? It got ugly.

Here’s a look at their next five drives (excluding the final kneel down of the first half):

• They got the ball on their own 20 — 3-and-out with -5 net yards

• They got the ball on their 19 — 3-and-out with -8 net yards

• They got the ball on their 9 — 3-and-out with 3 net yards

• They got the ball on their 14 — 3-and-out with 1 net yard

• They got the ball on their 10 — 2 plays, 0 net yards, lost fumble

"No, I wouldn't say conservative is the word,” Patullo said. "I think when those things happen, like we went three-and-out obviously a few times. You look at, 'Okay, where was the drive starting? What was the breakdown on the play? What happened? How do we stop this? How do we get out of this?' 

"So I think when we look back on it, there's obviously things we can always learn from that, but you don't go into it saying like, 'Hey, I got to be really conservative here.' That's definitely not something you want to do. I think it's just a matter of just going forward, learning from those moments and how to get ourselves out of those situations.”

Obviously, getting horrible field position because their returners couldn’t handle the "dirty kicks” from Joshua Karty was an issue in this game, but it can’t be the only reason for the offensive ineptitude. Because on their three touchdown drives, the Eagles started the ball at their own 21-, 13- and 9-yard lines. So they actually had a worse average starting position (14.3) on their touchdowns than they did on those five awful possessions listed above (14.4).

So what else changed for the Eagles’ offense?

Well, there was clearly less of a choice to throw the ball once you get down three scores. And then the Eagles used some tempo to get in a rhythm. And they also replaced Matt Pryor with Fred Johnson at right tackle to shore up the protection.

Maybe the Eagles’ plan entering Sunday wasn’t to be conservative but it’s hard to argue that they became that early until they had to become more aggressive to stage a comeback.

"I think by nature, if you look around the league, when you start to have those kinds of games,” Patullo said. "you've got to do things a little bit differently to get yourself back into it and steal extra possessions, which is what we did by doing it the way we did it. So yes, I think there is a little bit.”

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/kevin-patullo-eagles-offense-rams-conservative-aggression-jalen-hurts-aj-brown/685686/

When you don't throw the ball more than 10 yards in the air, consistently call run plays for 2 yards, and do "coward's draws" on 3rd and long...is, in fact, "conservative".

I believe him. But yet, I don't believe him.

He's definitely struggling, as a first time play caller. So let's see if he can get better at it. Fortunately, he's got some really good players that can bail him out. He, and Nick, better appreciate that.