It was truly a Black Friday for the Philadelphia Eagles. Beyond the simple 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears, the debacle exposed the deep crisis the team has been facing this season. Fans are no longer willing to tolerate it and are demanding that management fire Nick Sirianni and Kevin Patullo.
As seen in the Week 13 game at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles’ offense is just a shadow of the unit that led them to victory in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs.
As has been the case all year, offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s unit shows occasional flashes of brilliance, followed by long stretches where nothing seems to work. In this game, they managed a mere 317 yards.
Although Jalen Hurts threw for 230 yards, most of them came when the game was already decided. Even worse, the ground attack only managed 87 yards. Given this, the fans’ message is clear: Patullo must go.
Fans are demanding the dismissal of Patullo, Sirianni, or both
Even before the final whistle blew, the Bird Gang was already flooding social media demanding drastic measures from the Eagles front office. “If Nick Sirianni doesn’t fire Patullo, he’s conceding the season,” one fan declared.
Another was more direct, stating, “If Sirianni doesn’t fire Patullo tonight, [GM] Howie Roseman better step up and do it himself.” Yet another echoed the sentiment, asking, “Can we fire Patullo?”
Another appealed directly to team owner Jeffrey Lurie, saying, “I’m still trying to figure out why Howie and Jeffrey don’t think this year is about to turn out like 2023.” That year, the team finished with an 11-6 record and lost in the wild-card round to Tampa Bay.
Some others already have a replacement in mind. “Someone has to be fired tonight. It HAS to be Patullo. It HAS to be. Or fire Nick and Kevin and hire [Jon] Gruden to be your HC/OC,” wrote another outraged fan.
Experts also want Patullo gone
During the game, Prime Video analyst Richard Sherman recalled that last year, with Kellen Moore, the team’s offense thrived to the point that running back Saquon Barkley was named Offensive Player of the Year.
Also, wide receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith had a good year, Sherman recalled. “And then you inject Kevin Patullo as offensive coordinator and all of a sudden, these guys are struggling. And I think that’s the issue.”
Despite a two-game losing streak, Philadelphia still leads the NFC East with an 8-4 record. But with the Dallas Cowboys on the rise, if the front office is going to make any changes, they need to do it now.
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