Offensive Struggles Against Bills Are An Indictment on Eagles Coaching Staff
Assigning blame to a coaching staff – or individuals on a coaching staff – is a subjective conversation that has swirled around the Philadelphia Eagles this season. Howie Roseman has…
Assigning blame to a coaching staff – or individuals on a coaching staff – is a subjective conversation that has swirled around the Philadelphia Eagles this season.
Howie Roseman has spent lucratively assembling the most expensive offense in the NFL. Whose fault is it when a unit loaded with All-Pro-caliber talent ranks 24th in total offense, 19th in scoring average, and 22nd in success rate?
Nick Sirianni is an offensive-minded head coach who hasn’t heavily impacted a struggling offense. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo hasn’t maximized the talent on the field as a play-caller.
Shaky performances from Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and the offensive line have fairly shifted the criticism to personnel at certain points this season.
A dismal offensive game against the Buffalo Bills, however, only reinforces continuous questions about an Eagles coaching staff that simply hasn’t performed well enough in 2025.
Eagles Struggle Against Bills
A thrilling Week 17 road victory against an AFC contender should've reignited Super Bowl excitement in Philadelphia. The sharpest possible contrast of performances on offense and defense, instead, dampened the level of optimism in a way that is remarkably typical of the Nick Sirianni era.
The much-maligned offense struggled in two wins following the Week 9 bye and a three-game losing streak in Weeks 12-14. A heavier mix of snaps under center and play-action passing against the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders worked temporarily in wins over weaker competition.
Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty ImagesThe adjustments weren’t sustainable new layers of the Philadelphia offense. While play-action theoretically keeps a defense off balance, Sheil Kapadia has discussed the Eagles giving presnap tips to opposing defense looking to predict run or pass plays.
They entered the Bills game 29th in the NFL in rushing success rate in snaps under center and 15th in rushing success rate out of the shotgun.
A head coach like Sean McDermott draws on defensive experience under the great Jim Johnson to identify presnap tendencies. McDermott and Buffalo defensive coordinator Bobby Babich successfully stacked boxes while the Eagles handed off to Saquon Barkley to face a wall of defenders who consistently beat a bruised offensive line.
"That's football, and you've got to be able to block and react to every different look that you can possibly get. The amount of plays that you have in a gameplan and the amount of different things that the defense can do to you are endless. That's why you're just trying to make (the) best educated guesses as you go."
-Nick Sirianni
Hurts failed to complete a pass in a hapless second half. He dropped back in the pocket eight times, and seven were out of the shotgun.
The Eagles finished the evening well below the NFL medium with -0.98 EPA per drive and a 30% success rate that was their worst of the 2025 season, according to TruMedia.
Nick Sirianni & Eagles Staff Have No Answers
The Eagles are 11-5 in contention for the two-seed in the NFC. They're 5-3 since the bye week with wins over formidable opponents against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions in addition to the Bills.
However, their only clean offensive performances since the bye came against their only two struggling opponents. They've established no encouraging formula for playoff success with complementary football, even if the defense continues to dominate.
Sirianni, according to ESPN's Tim McManus, waited until after an ugly Week 13 loss against the Bears to increase his involvement in offensive gameplans. He allowed an inexperienced coordinator to trudge through the bye in 2025 without significant intervention. The peculiar approach ignored his most impactful offensive adjustment as head coach, a pivot to a heavier rushing attack during the Week 5 bye in 2024.
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty ImagesSirianni’s continued emphasis on a conservative approach has helped the Eagles maintain a +5 turnover differential that ranks tied for sixth in the NFL. The approach, however, hasn’t maximized the explosive play ability that Roseman envisioned when he assembled the most expensive offense in the NFL.
Patullo demonstrated a discouraging lack of rhythm as a play-caller with no significant runway for improvement remaining this season.
"We had a very limited amount of plays, but we weren't executing. We weren't putting the guys in positions to succeed... Again, you never want no passing yards, obviously. Obviously, we didn't have very many rushing yards either, so it was everything."
-Nick Sirianni
Jeff Stoutland has struggled to regain the same impact as the running game coordinator that helped the Eagles dominate on the ground on their way to Super Bowl LIX. Patullo contributed to improvements through the air late in the 2024 season as passing game coordinator. However, he’s failed to encourage the same impact this season after a promotion to offensive coordinator.
Credit and blame is never wholistic. However, the cringy offensive game in Buffalo was as drastic of an indictment on the Eagles coaching staff in a December road victory against a playoff opponent that anyone could've realistically imagined.
