The NFL regular season is a wrap, and Philadelphia is the No. 5 overall seed in the NFC after a 27-10 loss to the Giants at MetLife Stadium in Week 18.
The Eagles went 1-5 down the stretch, but Nick Sirianni’s team advanced to the postseason for the third year in a row, finishing with an 11-6 record.
They face a familiar foe on the road when they travel to Tampa to face the 9-8 Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium without an injured A.J. Brown.
The postseason is also about conforming, and we’re looking at seven critical adjustments Philadelphia must make entering the final game of the wild card round.
Use the hot receiver
Teams are going to blitz the Eagles and Jalen Hurts, and that means an improved system of identifying and utilzing hot routes to offset pressure.
Worst team in the playoffs with this @Eagles
SB caliber talent on this offense not being utilized #nfllive
No plan
No execution pic.twitter.com/SlnkphzJql— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 9, 2024
Tampa is going to bring pressure and Philadelphia will be best served giving Hurts options, rather than relying on his athletic ability to defeat the free defender.
Establish the run
Philadelphia passes to set up the run, but with A.J. Brown ruled out, leaning on D’Andre Swift and the running game is the best course of action.
Philadelphia ran for 201 yards and 5.0 per carry, including 130 by Swift in the Week 3 win over Tampa.
That was the last 100 yard game for Swift, and the Birds are coming off a game in which they rushed for 133 yards in the Week 18 loss to the Giants. Tampa finished fifth in yards allowed per game (95.3) and eighth in yards allowed per carry (3.84), but any shot of advancing in these playoffs starts with a stout and physical rushing attack.
Less bubble screens
Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson could be better served dialing up crossing routes and pick plays for his pass catchers over the annoying bubble screens that are getting receivers injured or turning into potential turnovers.
Take what the defense gives
Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson attributed the uptick in Cover 4 and Cover 6 looks to a trend accross the NFL where defensive play-callers are collectively attempting to limoit explosive plays, forcing quarterbacks to settle for shorter passes and forcing offenses to complete longer scoring drives.
Philadelphia should embrace that trend, and rather than chasing the big gains, Jalen Hurts has to be alright with the six yard checkdown to Kenneth Gainwell, or a short seven yard gain to Goedert or DeVonta Smith over a deep fade attempt.
Incorporate the other guys
Opposing defenses have made it a key to contain A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but the Eagles could do themselves a favor by working to incorporate the other pass catchers.
Olamide Zaccheaus, Quez Watkins and Julio Jones have combined for 66 catches, 563 yards and six touchdowns this season.
They don’t have to be featured in the offense, but showing defensive coordinators that they can be productive could help alleviate some of the inconsistency.
Limit the turnovers
During the regular season, 15.3% of Eagles’ offensive drives ended in turnovers, third most in the NFL. Jalen Hurts threw a career-high 15 interceptions, and his trio of pass catchers have all been responsible for key turnovers in urgent situations.
Holding on to the football would alleviate a bulk of their offensive concerns.
Force the defense into single-high coverage
Philadelphia pays out a lot of money to players involved in the passing game, but it’ll be the rushing attack that ultimate frees up everyone to do what they do best.
A stout, physical rushing attack will force opposing defenses to bring a safety down in the box as an extra defender, presenting a single-high, or one safety look in the back end, giving A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Julio Jones and others room to work in the passing game.
Last season, the Eagles ranked 13th in explosive rush rate (8.8 percent). This season, they rank 23rd (6.8 percent), per TruMedia.
Confuse, wear down opposing defenses
One major adjustment involves Philadelphia doing more to confuse opposing defenses, while also using the motion, 3 wide receivers sets, and a powerful running game to wear opponents down.
Whether it be jet motion, fly across motion, glide motion, in motion, over motion, or several others, it’s imperative that Sirianni gets his athletes on the move.
Jalen Hurts isn’t close to 100%, but the Eagles’ success can still come from the efficient usage of their RPOs and three-headed monster at running back. When Hurts can’t keep it on the RPO, he needs to punish defenses with quick slants in the passing game. When the edge rushers come up the field, Hurts needs to feed D’Andre Swift, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott.
Avoid negative trends
Philadelphia has moments where they underutilize D’Andre Swift and such a recipe could prove disastrous in the playoffs.
An efficient run-pass ratio is important in the NFL and Sirianni’s intelligence rating among league experts has risen significantly after Philadelphia became the NFL’s most run-heavy team in 2021.
In the playoffs without home-field advantage, the Eagles’ early-down pass rate should hover around 40%, with Brian Johnson and Nick Sirianni trending towards using the run to set up a dynamic passing game.
If Philadelphia has any chance of winning a Super Bowl, they’ll need to run potential opponents out of the building and they’ll need to completely buy into running the football to set up the play-action pass, and an RPO game that makes the Birds even more difficult to defend.
