Eagles wasted a rare opportunity to do something special in 2025

The Eagles had a legitimate chance to do something special in 2025 and they squandered the opportunity.

By Dave Zangaro • Published January 14, 2026

At some point before the start of next season, the Eagles will raise a banner at Lincoln Financial Field for winning the NFC East in 2025.

It will be dwarfed by the "2024 World Champions” banner next to it.

And it’ll hang as a reminder of what could have been, a reminder of the disappointing end in the wild-card round, and a reminder that the Eagles this season wasted a rare opportunity to do something truly special.

Just nine teams have ever repeated as Super Bowl champions and the 2025 Eagles seemed to have as good a shot as any. They brought back 10 of 11 starters on offense, they had a mastermind running the defense and this was a year where the playoffs appeared to be wide open.

There’s a reason repeating as Super Bowl champs is rare and this week Jalen Hurts spoke to that difficulty.

"I think it’s easy to take and hard to keep,” Hurts said at locker cleanout day. "What I mean by that is it’s easy to go out there and have the drive, and collectively speaking now. We’ve got to go win a championship and you’re talking about duplicating a championship, you’re talking about repeating, it’s hard to keep it. It’s easy to take but it’s hard to keep. 

"I’ll be working my ass off to create the opportunity once again to try and do what we weren’t able to do this time around. But it’s base one, it’s back to work. Whatever it takes for me.”

For most teams, winning 11 games and taking a division crown would be a good season. But for this team? A first-round playoff exit was extremely disappointing. And if you’re a fan of the Eagles, you have every right to be disappointed too. That’s why booing the team was warranted at times even after a Super Bowl win last year.

Expectations were rightfully high in 2025 and the Eagles didn’t live up to them.

That was especially true on offense. Not only did the Eagles return 10 of 11 starters but they also have a ton of money invested on that side of the football. That got them the No. 19-ranked team in points and the No. 24-ranked team in yards in 2025. They scored just 19 points in their playoff loss to a 49ers defense without its top players.

We saw cracks in the foundation all season with the offense but the Eagles were winning games. Sure, there was some internal frustration too, but they won 11 times and beat some tough teams like the Chiefs, Rams, Packers, Lions and Bills along the way.

There was always this hope — inside and outside the building — that there was a switch to flip on offense. In some respects, the Eagles found that switch late in the 2024 playoff run so it wasn’t inconceivable that they’d be able to do it again.

But did the players actually believe they’d flip a switch? Or was that just something they told themselves?

"That’s a great question,” Saquon Barkley said. "I think that’s who we are as competitors. I was having that conversation a little bit earlier with [Moro Ojomo]. Just because of the supreme confidence you have in this organization and in all the players here because the way we worked, the way we go about it. It just wasn’t connecting. It just wasn’t clicking. 

"You just have the belief that when it matters most, we’re going to make sure we’re going to get it right. I think the question you just asked, I don’t know if I really have the right answer for that. But you gotta do some deep diving, all of us, because I think it’s either one or the other. Unfortunately, no matter what it was, we didn’t get the job done.”

The Eagles on Tuesday decided to move on from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo after just one season; it was a move that needed to happen. In hindsight, the decision to promote Patullo to that post was one of the biggest reasons for the disappointing season in 2025. They’ll have yet another new OC in 2026.

This year’s version of HBO’s Hard Knocks chronicled the NFC East and finished with a scene from inside the NovaCare Complex auditorium.

After the final team meeting of the season on Monday, Nick Sirianni and Hurts were all alone in the corner of the room. The day after the loss, Hurts said to his coach, "We’ll be back.” Sirianni looked at him and said, "I have no doubt.”

Maybe they will be. Sirianni’s message to his team after the loss was that it took the adversity of 2022 and 2023 to ultimately win the Super Bowl last season. His point was that they should use this adversity going forward.

So maybe one day this season will be the fuel that propels the Eagles back to the top. For now? It’s just an abject disappointment.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-wasted-opportunity-2025-super-bowl-repeat-nick-sirianni-jalen-hurts-kevin-patullo/707312/

They were not repeating. Stop it.

With that Offense, the injuries, the play calling, the execution, taking quarters of a game off, not completing a pass in an entire half, if you have half a Football brain, you knew what was coming for this team.

Would have been a hell of a story considering the problems on offense if they repeated

the Eagles this season wasted a rare opportunity to do something truly special

Without a doubt! That was something I have been saying ALL season since the announcement was made that they were promoting Patullo. Didn't have to see the outcome to know then it was almost certainly going to end in disappointment. Mentioned it here numerous times that you just don't put someone like him with zero experience coordinating an offense in a position to do so for a team that was in prime position to win it all RIGHT NOW (saying this at that time) with the roster we have, all that talent on both sides of the ball, and a championship-level defense. It was foolish to think otherwise and have been saying all long this is going to be a complete waste of a prime opportunity.

I'm disappointed too, but when I see and hear all of the wailing and moaning it reminds me of how spoiled this fan base (including me) really is.

5 straight years in the playoffs

2 Super Bowl appearances

1 Super Bowl win

BUT we have an 11 win year and lose in the playoffs and the sky is falling.

Remember, we're just an extra point away form overtime. That 4th down disaster would never have happened is Elliott had done the simplest part of his job after their first touchdown.

So, I;m going to stop crying over it and start looking forward to next year.

We are good in even years!! C'mon 2026!!

Eagles vs. Jags in the Super Bowl! 🦅🦅