Photo Credit: James D. Smith/AP Photos
Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had just settled into his office on a Monday afternoon in late September after a team meeting when three key players showed up at his door.
The team was coming off a 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which left them with a 2-2 record. This game was also at the site of their playoff defeat in January, which capped a 1-6 slide, led to the firing of coordinators Brian Johnson and Sean Desai, and put Sirianni under scrutiny.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts went 18-of-30 for 158 yards with one touchdown in the loss, was sacked six times, and had two fumbles, one of which he lost. It marked his seventh turnover of the season, second only to Tennessee Titans’ Will Levis. The Eagles’ running game never gained momentum as Tampa quickly jumped out to a 24-0 lead, though Saquon Barkley managed to gain 84 yards on just 10 carries.
Offensive Line Takes Initiative
As players prepared to leave the NovaCare Complex for their bye week, offensive linemen Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, and Landon Dickerson felt they needed to share something with Sirianni.
“Hey, can we talk?” one asked as they appeared at Sirianni’s door, per Mailata.
“Yeah, come sit down,” Sirianni replied.
The towering trio—Mailata (6-foot-8, 365 pounds), Johnson (6-foot-6, 325 pounds), and Dickerson (6-foot-6, 332 pounds)—settled onto the small couches in Sirianni’s office and presented their idea: the team should shift to a more run-heavy approach, making use of their strong offensive line.
“It was just reminding him, ‘You have weapons in the air, on the ground and you have a hell of an O-line,'” Mailata said. “We wanted to lead with, ‘Hey, before Saquon got here, you had us. Now you have us and Saquon. So use it.'”
This conversation led to a change during the bye week. Since then, the Eagles have been running the ball 40.8 times per game (up from 30 before the bye) and averaging 194 rushing yards per game, the highest in the league. Their run rate of 59% since Week 6 leads the NFL, up from 40% during the first four weeks.
Results of the Run-Heavy Approach
The results have been clear: the Eagles (7-2) have won all five games since the change, setting up a matchup for first place in the NFC East against the Washington Commanders (8-3) on Thursday night.
“I want to f—ing win. Simple as that,” Dickerson said when asked why he felt it was important to speak up.
Barkley has thrived under the new plan. He’s second in the NFL with 991 rushing yards and 110.1 yards per game, only behind Derrick Henry. He also leads the league with 24 runs of 10 or more yards, including a standout hurdle over a Jaguars defender in Week 9.
“As a player and as the running back, to have the offensive line go to the coach and say this is something that we want to expand on means a lot,” Barkley said. “It shows the trust they have in me and the trust that we have in each other because you can’t do it without the guys up front. And we have the best offensive line in my opinion.”
The Eagles’ O-line, featuring Mailata, Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Mekhi Becton, and Johnson, is ranked second in pass block win rate (69%) and 11th in run block win rate (72%), according to ESPN.
Reduced Pressure on Hurts Brings Efficiency
The shift has reduced Hurts’ passing workload. He averaged 39 dropbacks in the first four weeks, but only 26 per game since Week 6. His efficiency has improved, with only two turnovers during that time, both against the Cowboys.
“[Hurts] likes winning,” Barkley said. “We all like winning. So whatever way it takes to win, that’s what we’re willing to do.
“I’m still training and keeping my body ready and whenever the team continues to need me to continue to take over a game and lean on the run game and lean on the offensive line, I’m willing to do [so]. At the same time, I know there’s going to be weeks where we’ll have to throw the ball. We’ve got A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts. … And that’s the beauty of this team: When you have so many talented people and so many stars on this team, when they’re all about winning football games, it makes it easier.”
Key Adjustments: More Under Center Plays and Play-Action
Hurts and Sirianni also discussed the offense’s direction during the bye week, which Hurts called one of his most productive since joining the league in 2020. “one of the most efficient bye weeks” he has had since coming into the league as a second-round pick in 2020, and noted how he and Sirianni “were able to come together in harmony and have the same goal in mind, trying to get this thing right” — an indication of how far they had come following a rocky 2023 season.
One change has been more plays from under center. The Eagles ran for just 19 yards on 17 carries from under center in the first four weeks. Over the last five games, they’ve run 61 times for 295 yards, raising their usage from 11% to 26%. Their 4.8 yards per carry from under center is fourth-best in the league.
Play-action plays have also improved, with Hurts averaging 15.8 yards per attempt since Week 6, the highest in the NFL.
Mutual Trust and Communication Among Players and Coach
“I spent a lot of time with Jalen, obviously, during that bye week and just talking through things. Jalen had so much good insight, and then you always listen to your players as far as they are the ones out there seeing it and feeling it,” Sirianni said when asked about his meeting with the linemen.
“And so I think it’s just good feedback. That’s just good organizational football, is to be communicating with everyone to get everyone on the same page. Yeah, I thought it was great. Great, productive meetings.”
The meeting with Johnson, Mailata, and Dickerson lasted 20-30 minutes, with all three linemen sharing their thoughts and Sirianni mostly listening.
“He really acknowledged us,” Mailata said. “We felt heard.”
Johnson added, “He’s very responsive and he’s very back and forth. He’s not going to dismiss you. … That’s why I think Nick is so great. He listens and we make changes and we adapt.”
Leadership Evolution Post-Kelce Era
Johnson has become a bigger leader since Jason Kelce’s retirement, speaking up when needed and suggesting solutions. “If I get tired of seeing something or something needs to change, I’ll voice my opinion,” he said. “That’s what I like about playing here: Nothing’s ever gone in one ear and out the other or kind of seen as a nuisance.”
The linemen pointed out that the team’s fortunes turned around in 2021 when they focused on running the ball after a 2-5 start, beginning with a big win over Detroit.
“Any time you can limit just dropback passing, that’s so beneficial for a team. That’s another play of less stress,” said Mailata. “When you’re running the ball and you run play-actions, it confuses the defense, and now you’re putting the stress and the onus on them. It was just kind of, we’re tired of being stressed. But in a nicer [way]. We went up there and were like, ‘Come on, help us out here.’
“We stated some examples of games when we’ve used [the ground-heavy approach] and Coach was like, ‘Yeah, OK. Go back to our roots.'”
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This report used information from ESPN.
