The Philadelphia Eagles' offensive woes were just too much to overlook. They were due to catch up to the team at one point, and the loss to the Dallas Cowboys may have been a long-overdue wake-up call for this organization.
Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done at this point in the season. If anything, the running game's woes shouldn't be much of a surprise by now, given the decisions this team made during the offseason.
The Eagles Haven't Done Their Running Game Any Favors
Saquon Barkley has taken a huge step back in the first year under Kevin Patullo as offensive coordinator. Plenty of that has been on the play-calling and play design, but it's not the first time a star running back falls back to Earth after an incredible season. The Eagles doubled down on Barkley and signed him to a contract extension even when they didn't need to. That felt more like a victory lap for GM Howie Roseman for rolling the dice on him than an actual need at the time.
This team signed A.J. Dillon with the hopes that he would be Barkley's backup. Now, he's fallen behind Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley in the pecking order. On top of that, they let Kenneth Gainwell walk away in free agency, and he's averaging 4.7 yards per carry for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Barkley is following his Offensive Player of the Year campaign with just 684 yards on 185 carries. He's averaging a pedestrian 3.7 yards per attempt, and he currently has a Pro Football Focus grade of 62.4, which ranks 44th among 53 eligible running backs. That's far from what one would expect to get from a running back who just signed a two-year contract extension worth $41.2 million.
Of course, that's not to say that he's the only one responsible for this team's woes. He had just ten carries in a game in which the Eagles never trailed until the clock ran out. There's no way to justify that type of game plan, especially going against a team that had struggled against the run since the beginning of the season.
The Eagles are still sitting on top of the division, and they've only lost three games all year long. Then again, given the way they're operating under Patullo and their inability to establish the run, this team might not be playing in the final game of the season.