There Is No Fixing The Eagles Defense This Season

This has been one of the worst defenses we have seen from the Eagles in recent history. And the last game was a new low for them. The Cardinals came in as one of the worst offenses in the NFL. But the Eagles couldn't even force a single punt. They held them to field goals a couple of times and got one Pick 6 on a play where there was a clear miscommunication between Kyler Murray and his WR. But otherwise, the Cardinals had their way against them. And that has become a trend.

The 49ers moved the ball at will against them. So did the Cowboys. And while they held the Seahawks down for most of the game, when it really matter they let them quickly go down the field to score the game-winning TD.

Their pass defense was a mess all season long. But early in the season you could have at least said they were an elite run defense. They were the top run defense through 9 weeks, but since then have completely fallen off the cliff.

What has the difference been? Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter both seem to have hit a wall. Jordan Davis was ranked among the top run-stoppers in the league going into that Bills game. But then he and Jalen Carter both played 60+ snaps in a single game. And since then, neither of them have been much of a factor. Go rewatch that Cardinals game, and you will see Jordan Davis getting beat often by a single blocker. Then watch him earlier in the season and you will see a guy eating up multiple blocks, yet still winning on most snaps.

So can the issue be fixed? Well if the issue is Davis and Carter have hit a wall, it's hard to see them suddenly finding another gear. Both are incredibly promising players, but players don't get less tired as the season goes on. And the rest of the defense just does not have the firepower to make up for them falling off.

Getting Slay and Zach Cunningham back will help. And maybe Avonte Maddox shakes off the rust. But even with those changes, this defense just lacks the talent to play at a playoff level. You can't bounce off tackles and leave receivers wide open past the sticks, and play at a high level. And if the Eagles are going to have any success in the playoffs, it feels like it will all have to go through their offense.

If we thought the vibes on the Eagles couldn't get any worse, man were we wrong. Because as bad as thing were after the 49ers, Cowboys, and Seahawks losses, they are way worse after the debacle that was the loss to the Cardinals. They let a 3-win team come into town, and embarrass them on defense. They failed to force a single punt and let them drive into or near the Red Zone on every single drive. Now they go into week 18 as the 5-seed, with little hope to improve their position.

What has gone wrong? It would be quicker to point out the things that have gone well. The Special Teams is great. Their O-Line is still elite. After that... yea it is hard to come up with anything else. Their defense is as bad as it gets. And while they may have talent on offense, the players aren't executing, and the coaches aren't doing a good job of maximizing their talent.

A once-promising season has imploded. They will be in the playoffs, but no one seems to have any confidence that they can win there, including the people on the team. The locker room seems to be falling apart, and the anonymous leaks have already begun speaking of discontent among the players toward the coaching staff.

After those other 3 losses, the people who write these Power Rankings were oddly optimistic still about the Eagles. With some even going at Eagles fans for nor being too negative. Which is weird because none of them had anything good to say about the Eagles when they were winning. But surely now, for the first time all year, Eagles fans and the National Media can all be on the same page, right?

ESPN focused their power rankings on talking about the biggest offseason contract situation for each team. And yea, Devonta Smith is a big one. He is one of the few guys living up to his potential this year, and keeping him needs to be a priority. The problem is that will make it even harder to fix the issues they have on defense, and it will become imperative that they really start to hit on their draft picks in bring in some young and cheap talent.

ESPN Power Rankings

It is hard to see the eagles figuring stuff now. They have been this way all year. They got away with it due to sheer talent and some luck early. But it caught up to them. If you can't force a single punt from the Cardinals, you may just be a terrible defense. And this defense just does not have the talent to play at a playoff level, and the coaches are making it worse with decisions that make no sense.

NFL.com Power Rankings

Demoting Sean Desai didn't work, because the DC was never the real problem. You can have the best scheme in the NFL, and if you don't have the talent it still won't work. That is not to say either Desai or Patricia did their job well. But it is hard to fairly judge them when they simply don't have the players to run any type of scheme effectively.

The Athletic's Power Rankings

Nothing that happens in week 18 matters much for them anyway. Even if they came out and finally had that perfect game (they won't) it wont change their seeding, or how anyone feels about them. We have seen them for 16 games, and its clear the team just isn't good enough. they are poorly coached on offense, and lack the talent on defense. Nothing is going to suddenly change for either of those issues.

Sports Illustrated Power Rankings

Yep, hard to argue with any of that. This team has given you no reason to be confident in them. And blowing this game may be the final nail in the coffin. They just aren't good enough.

Yahoo Sports Power Rankings

Major issues could be the title of this teams year end wrap up video.

CBS Power Rankings