Thud

Posted January 11th, 2026

There is no joy in Mudville. Nor is there enough offense in Philly. The Eagles ended the 2025 season in predictable fashion, playing tough defense, erratic offense and blowing a late lead. The Niners made a couple of more plays than the Eagles and won 23-19.

In a way, this was a good outcome. The Eagles were clearly a flawed team throughout the season. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman could see some stark differences in their team and the Niners on Sunday evening. One team played together and overcame tough circumstances. The other team got in their own way and looked like a bunch of individuals all trying to do their own thing. I’ll let you guess which team is which.

Kyle Shanahan had answers when his team needed them. The trick play TD was a great call and even better execution. That’s what you want from a coaching staff. SF also had a great call on their final TD. They had plays ready in key situations. The Eagles did not have good answers for most of the second half. They were given some really good situations and failed to take advantage of them. That’s how you lose.

That isn’t to say the loss is all on Kevin Patullo, Nick Sirianni and other coaches. Eagles players failed to make plays. AJ Brown had a bad drop and failed to make key catches on a couple of other situations. Saquon Barkley dropped an easy pass. Jalen Hurts bailed from clean pockets too often. There were too many missed blocks in the second half. Seeing Dallas Goedert get pushed back by Bryce Huff on a run play told you all you needed to know.

The Eagles still have a bright future. There is plenty of talent in place, with much of it being young talent. Losing this game should serve as a wake-up call to Eagles management that some changes need to be made. There will be coaching changes for sure. It also feels like Nick Sirianni’s messaging will need some work. Too often this group felt more like individuals than a team. Maybe that’s the price of winning a Super Bowl and having so many guys pulled in different directions. Whatever happened, it needs to be fixed.

The team itself could tell something was up. They talked about the need to have more joy. Things felt forced and awkward this season.

2024 was a magical season. 2025 was anything but. There were some great moments to be sure, but it was like an engine that kept grinding to a halt. You couldn’t get it started and keep it running. There was no flow. There sure as heck wasn’t any magic.

If the Eagles had made it another game or two, they might have talked themselves into things being better than they are. By losing at home in the opening round in a favorable matchup, there is no escaping the hard truth. Changes are needed.

This team was good enough to compete with anyone. They were also flawed enough to lose to just about anyone.

Now the Eagles can focus on getting rested and healthy for 2026. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens were a mess all year long. Lane Johnson had his health issues. Jalen Carter was banged up for part of the year. If the Eagles can get back to having their key guys healthy, that will make a huge difference next season. One thing is for sure. They must improve their OL depth moving forward. This season’s moves didn’t pan out as hoped. They will need to be more aggressive this offseason. This team is built around the OL and that hurt them all season long.

I didn’t want to be writing about 2026 tonight, but here we are. Let’s hope the team learned some key lessons this season that will serve them well moving forward.

https://igglesblitz.com/2026/01/thud/