The Morning Call: https://tinyurl.com/4v3xeb3j
Originally published Oct 28, 2026
PHILADELPHIA — The elephant in the room must be addressed.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni will never publicly use injuries as an excuse for losing. But when nine of your starters on offense — including the franchise quarterback — have been out of the lineup at one point or another this season, it’s not an excuse; it’s a reason.
Include in the mix the abrupt retirement of future Hall of Fame right tackle Lane Johnson and the trade of center/guard Cam Jurgens, a two-time Pro Bowl selection who is only 27.
That doesn’t even account for injuries to key offensive rotational players such as running back Tank Bigsby and rookie tight end Eli Stowers, among others who have missed significant time.
This is a roster decimated by injuries and other personnel changes, especially on offense. QB Jalen Hurts is done for the year with blood clots, which no one could have foreseen.
Many people are calling for Sirianni’s head. If he loses the locker room and the team stops giving effort over the next 10 weeks, then maybe his departure would be justified.
But owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman shouldn’t be there yet.
Not with a coach who made the playoffs in each of his first five seasons, including two Super Bowls and a Lombardi Trophy.
And not with a coach who has taken the hits for organizational decisions — most recently when Lurie and Roseman fed him to the wolves regarding the handling of Hurts’ health.
They didn’t even send out a member of the medical staff to flank him in front of the press last week.
“We grade every play based off of what they did,” Sirianni said of his players Wednesday. “We grade every play based off of their assignment. … And we grade every play off of effort. That’s not only in games, but that’s also at every practice.
“I did not see an effort issue on Monday night. Obviously, it was other things, which I’m sure you guys will ask me about. There were other things, but effort in no way, shape (or) form was an issue there.”
Hmm… That statement may be true for many guys, but for others it’s questionable — particularly on this defense.
It’s easy to pile on Sirianni. He doesn’t come across as your prototypical head coach. He’s brash, gets emotional, jaws on the sideline, doesn’t call plays, often speaks in cliches, etc. Everyone knows the criticisms ad nauseam.
Plus, when things are going badly, the easiest thing to do is fire the head coach — just to do something.
It’s cathartic. It feels good!
That doesn’t mean it’s the right choice.
When evaluating Sirianni’s performance this season, the unprecedented injuries cannot be removed from the equation. Deep down, fans know the same thing that Sirianni and his staff know behind closed doors — that Lurie and Roseman know: when it rains, it pours.
Will these injuries ever end?
Even after Saquon Barkley fought his way back from a hamstring strain to play against Dallas in Monday night’s 38-21 defeat — providing a game-changing spark in the first half — he exited with a back injury.
It’s as if the Eagles can’t catch a break. So far, amid a five-game losing streak, it feels like a snakebitten season.
Having said all that, Sirianni isn’t off the hook. Nor is defensive coordinator Vic Fangio — or Roseman himself, the architect of this roster.
“I didn’t do a good enough job coaching,” Fangio said Wednesday. “We didn’t play the run, obviously, well enough. When you do that, it kind of affects everything. I didn’t have them ready to do that the way we need to.”
What ever happened to defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis?
Where are they?
They were expected to be the keystones of the Eagles’ defensive front after signing a combined $230 million in extensions in the offseason. They’ve disappeared.
They got no pressure on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who barely seemed to break a sweat Monday, while the Eagles gave up a walloping 416 yards of offense, including 204 on the ground to Dallas’ 31st-ranked rushing attack.
“It starts up front and it bleeds into all three levels,” Davis said. “We didn’t play good enough against the run and it kind of opened up their whole playbook, and you see the result of that.”
Speaking of disappearing, Carter, 25, avoided reporters postgame Monday. With his new contract and the faith entrusted in him, he should be a leader, a face of the franchise, out front for the cameras regardless of the game’s outcome.
But this is a guy whose street-racing incident at the University of Georgia resulted in multiple deaths and injuries — after three previous traffic issues in a span of a few months. All of which he still refuses to discuss because of mounting litigation.
So, what is Carter’s character really?
In fairness, he stood up to questions after last season’s opener, in which he was ejected for spitting on Prescott. Footage later showed that Prescott spit at Carter first.
Despite his talent, Carter plummeted in the draft for a reason. He went ninth overall after his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, made some calls to stir up interest when it looked like he wouldn’t go in the top 10. But based on Carter’s talent alone, he was expected to go top two or three.
Where is that talent now?
Outside of the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Carter hasn’t lived up to expectations this year.
“Well, he’s just got to get the mindset to where he’ll be consistent all the time,” Fangio said. “I think he sees the plays where he didn’t play good enough and he’s got enough pride to fix it.”
Fangio later returned to the same theme on Carter: “You just need to have the right mindset.”
Moro Ojomo has been solid, and he may be a trade piece before the Nov. 10 deadline.
The rest of the defensive line — which includes the perimeter — hasn’t delivered.
The April acquisition and immediate four-year extension of edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, 29, has been looking like one of the biggest busts of Roseman’s career. Greenard, who is owed $50 million guaranteed, has barely been on the field and made virtually no positive impact.
Jalyx Hunt hasn’t flourished as expected, despite a promising training camp. Nolan Smith has been up-and-down, and Arnold Ebiketie and A.J. Epenesa have been… meh.
Then there’s nickel corner Cooper DeJean, who has been splitting time at safety. Whether it’s getting beat in coverage, making bad reads or missing tackles, DeJean hasn’t looked like himself.
Maybe the Eagles should just let him focus on being the All-Pro nickel that he is and forget about making him play safety.
It’s one thing to want a talented guy like DeJean on the field more often; it’s another when your safeties are underperforming like Andrew Mukuba, Marcus Epps and Michael Carter II, so you’re forcing DeJean into action there.
“Cooper’s a good player,” said Fangio, who seems hesitant to take him off of safety duties. “(I) trust him totally. Has he gotten beat some? Yeah, he has, but that’s going to happen to all those guys at some point. It’ll turn, and he’ll get his.”
Mukuba was Roseman’s second-round pick last year. He hasn’t been terrible, but he’s not getting it done. And neither Carter II nor Epps seems like the answer at the other safety spot.
While the Eagles’ defense has suffered its share of injuries, it’s not like on offense. And injuries don’t explain away the defensive performance against Dallas Monday night — especially up front.
The problems don’t stop there.
The Eagles parted ways with vaunted offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland in the offseason — after stripping him of his run-game coordinator duties in 2025 — and ultimately replaced him with Chris Kuper, a right-hand man of 34-year-old O-coordinator Sean Mannion.
Stoutland didn’t want to coach a West Coast system, which is what Mannion brings. So philosophical incompatibility was a legitimate issue when the offense needed a new direction. But Stoutland, who had just been presented a PFWA Lifetime Achievement Award as an assistant coach (much deserved), brought an identity and accountability to the Eagles’ attack.
Now, at least through a month and a half, the Eagles’ offense is adrift with no identity amid a lost season, despite a middling, muddy and winnable division in the NFC East.
The Eagles can’t seem to win a single game.
All of this is an organizational problem. Not just on Sirianni.
Wednesday practice report
(Walkthrough only)
DNP – RB Saquon Barkley (hamstring/back), LB Jihaad Campbell (hamstring/quad), WR Britain Covey (knee), CB Jonathan Jones (hamstring), WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring), WR Dontayvion Wicks (ankle).
LIMITED – DB Michael Carter (abdomen), OLB Jonathan Greenard (ankle), OLB Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle), LB Smael Mondon (knee), DT Moro Ojomo (neck), OLB Nolan Smith (concussion).
FULL – LB Zack Baun (shoulder), CB Jakorian Bennett (knee), G Landon Dickerson (pectoral), OLB Arnold Ebiketie (shoulder), TE Dallas Goedert (knee), C Drew Kendall (knee), G Tyler Steen (shoulder).
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.