The Eagles won their 9th straight game, are 11-2, and at worst will probably be the 2-seed. Those are the numbers that matter most. Over the course of these 9 wins, they have mostly looked like a Super Bowl Contender, separating them from what we saw from the Eagles last year.

Sunday’s game vs the Panthers had far more in common with what we saw in 2023 though. It was sloppy on both sides of the ball, and they just barely escaped with a win over a team they were favored by 13 points over. The passing game was mostly non-existent, and the usually dominant defense was leaking oil all game long.

Related: Eagles Survive vs. the Panthers To Keep Winning Streak Alive

(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Again, they won, and that is what matters most. But for the first time in several weeks, there was stress involved in that win. They handled the Commanders, Rams, and Ravens pretty easily. All of those games were comfortable wins by the end, even if there were speed bumps on the way.

But the Panthers game was close from start to finish. They needed a 4th down stop in the final minutes of the game to seal their win. The switch never really flipped for the Eagles. We had seen them start slow, only to eventually make up for it by being unstoppable in the second half. That didn’t quite happen this week. They never found their rhythm and needed a lucky drop by the Panthers to come away with the win.

So how should we view the game? Was it just a blip on the radar for a great team, or are there concerning signs that could eventually cause a loss? Should we be worried about how bad the passing game looked? Is Jake Elliott a problem waiting to happen? Let’s dive into the numbers from the game to find out.

Here Are 6 Key Numbers From The Eagles Close Win Over The Panthers

• 0

  Let’s start with the thing that is the most concerning trend, mostly because it is actually a trend we have seen all season long. Jake Elliott is bad this year. But he is specifically bad when it comes to 50+ yard FGs. From anywhere else he is 18 for 19. But he is now 0 for 5 from distance. The first kicker to go 0 for 5 from 50 plus since the early 90s. It got to the point that with a long FG on the table near the end of the game, they instead chose to take a delay of game, and then punt from the Panthers ‘ 41-yard line.

  The Eagles clearly don’t trust him from a distance, which is a problem. They are not the only team with kicker problems, but the team most in their way, the Lions, have a kicker who is 5 for 5 from long distance. That NFC Championship game, provided the Eagles and the Lions both get there, could very well come down to a FG.

  The Lions have a massive advantage in that case. Jake Bates has been as reliable as it gets. Meanwhile, the Eagles don’t even trust Elliott right now, that is a problem. And the Eagles just might need to be more aggressive on 4th down when they are in that 50+ yard FG range.

  FOX Sports: NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "With that miss, Eagles K Jake Elliott is now 0-for-5 on 50+ yard FG attempts this season. 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/UXx6mULXDS / X"

  With that miss, Eagles K Jake Elliott is now 0-for-5 on 50+ yard FG attempts this season. 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/UXx6mULXDS

• 6

  The Eagles passing game is very top-heavy, They have AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, and not much else at WR. Johnny Wilson has been great as a blocker but does not provide much else yet, Britain Covey can’t stay healthy, and Jahan Dotson has been a massive disappointment. They usually also have Dallas Goedert, but with his injury, we likely won’t see him again until the playoffs.

  Which begs the question, how did they go through the whole first half with Brown and Smith combining for only 6 targets? The first of which didn’t come until there were 6 seconds left in the first quarter. The first and only target to AJ Brown in the 1st half didn’t come until there was 1:26 left in the half.

  With Goedert out, the offense should run through 3 players outside of Hurts. Brown, Smith, and Barkley. Obvioulsy you keep others involved a bit. But the Eagles need to get those guys involved way earlier. There have been too many first drives where those guys don’t get involved. Stop running plays for Dotson or Johnny Wilson early, and get Brown going with some early slants.

  Shane Haff on X (formerly Twitter): "There it is, AJ Brown's first target with under 90 seconds remaining in the 1st half. The Eagles run Crash and hit brown on the in route for a 1st down. pic.twitter.com/3jqv6ELx8T / X"

  There it is, AJ Brown's first target with under 90 seconds remaining in the 1st half. The Eagles run Crash and hit brown on the in route for a 1st down. pic.twitter.com/3jqv6ELx8T

• 8.0

  Okay, the first 2 numbers were negative, but they did win, so let’s get a little positivity. Specifically let’s look at the positives of something that had people a bit down right now, the passing game. Only 108 yards passing is obviously bad. Hurts did have 2 passing TDs, both in the Red Zone, but moving the ball through the air was an issue all game long.

  But let’s look at the big picture. While they may have averaged just 5.1 yards per pass in this game, they average 8.0 on the season, good for the 7th best number in the league. Better than Josh Allen, better than Joe Burrow, and better than Justin Herbert. The counting numbers for Hurts are lower because the Eagles have a more balanced attack than anyone in the league. But when they do throw it, they have usually been very efficient, just not on this Sunday.

  Hurts has been able to push the ball downfield this season, he is still tied for 1st with the most passing TDs of 20+ yards (7). Among QBs with at least 5 starts, he is 6th with a Passer Rating of 103.9 on passes over 20 yards.

  The passing game needs some work. As said earlier, they need to get Brown and Smith more involved early. But it is not as broken as people want to act like it is. They just have some issues they need to work out.

  Paul Domowitch on X (formerly Twitter): "Some numbers to keep in mind before you throw Jalen Hurts to the wolves:--1 INT in last 10 games (223 att.)--5-5 in RZ v. CAR w/ 2 TD passes and 1 rush TD.--5th in NFL in rushing 1Ds (56).--Tied for most rushing TDs (13).--7th in passing (102.4) YPA (8.0). / X"

  Some numbers to keep in mind before you throw Jalen Hurts to the wolves:--1 INT in last 10 games (223 att.)--5-5 in RZ v. CAR w/ 2 TD passes and 1 rush TD.--5th in NFL in rushing 1Ds (56).--Tied for most rushing TDs (13).--7th in passing (102.4) YPA (8.0).

• 3

  Cooper DeJean had been having a tremendous rookie season, he hit his 1st roadblock on Sunday, and its name was Adam Theilen. Theilen accounted for 102 of the Panthers 191 passing yards. He caught 4 passes for 49 yards against Dejean. Not too bad, but 3 of those 4 catches were for 1st downs, all coming on 3rd down.

  1 game does not mean DeJean is not as good as we thought he was. He has been tremendous and has played better against better WRs. But it is a reminder that he is a rookie, and is going to make mistakes. The Eagles’ defense, as good as it has been, is relying on a lot of youth. That can be a very good thing and has been for most of the year. But youth has its issues too, and we saw it a little bit on Sunday.

  Credit to him though, he battled through his struggles and still made some plays. You can tell a lot about a player from how they react when they struggle, and he handled his first off game well.

  John Ellis on X (formerly Twitter): "Adam Thielen v Cooper DeJean. pic.twitter.com/DhQzYjjj5H / X"

  Adam Thielen v Cooper DeJean. pic.twitter.com/DhQzYjjj5H

• 6.7

  Eagles were still able to run the ball very well on Sunday. Saquon himself averaged 6.2 yards per carry, but as a team, they averaged 6.7 per carry. We have learned this team can run on anyone. The Panthers’ run defense is brutal, but they also just ran all over the Ravens who had been the best run defense in the league.

  Running the ball a lot is a viable game plan. They need to keep it balanced and get the passing game working as well again. But we should not be worried that some team will come out and stop the run, because no team has been able to do so yet.

  Saquon just set the Eagles record with 4 games to go. So you can’t even say he has an extra game because he did it in 13 games. He may still break Eric Dickerson’s record. They have the best run game in the league, between both Saquon and Hurts, who looked explosive on the ground.

  Philadelphia Eagles on X (formerly Twitter): "The moment history was made. The Eagles single-season rushing yards record belongs to Saquon Barkley. @saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/3DDRTLlB2x / X"

  The moment history was made. The Eagles single-season rushing yards record belongs to Saquon Barkley. @saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/3DDRTLlB2x

• 2

  The bigger issue in the week 14 slate of games was not how the Eagles played, but that the Lions won again. They remain a 1 loss team. Could they lose 1 more over the last 4 games? Sure. But that win over the Packers pretty much means that the Eagles will need the Lions to lose 2 games to pass them in the standings.

  They have the Bills this week. That could easily be a loss. But then the Lions would also need to lose to either the Niners, Bears, or Vikings. And they will need the Vikings to lose a game as well. All of that, on top of the Eagles needing to win out.

  The path to the 1-seed is looking very narrow. The good news is the 2-seed is close to being wrapped up. It will be very tough for the NFC South or West winners to catch the Eagles are this point. That goes double for the Commanders in the division. The difference between that 1 seed and the 2-seed is massive though. Only 1 team gets the bye, and it would guarantee home-field throughout the playoffs.

  NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "The @Lions go for it... and get it!#GBvsDET on Prime VideoAlso streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/uHtmLGvCWW / X"

  The @Lions go for it... and get it!#GBvsDET on Prime VideoAlso streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/uHtmLGvCWW

   

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