Finding their groove: Eagles’ offense shining under Patullo
Birds' attack starting to look like expected
From The Reporter: https://tinyurl.com/bdhuznbe
PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles hit their bye week with the offense finally humming — Jalen Hurts clicking from under center, Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby churning out chunk runs, and Kevin Patullo’s play sheet coming to life.
Sunday’s balanced 38–20 romp over the Giants wasn’t just a bounce-back. It was a blueprint.
“We’ve been close on a few things. … It was just a matter of time,” Patullo, in his first season as offensive coordinator, said Tuesday in reference to the resurgent ground game. “The guys did a really, really good job of executing. … It was good to have it go the way it went and build to this point. We knew we were really, really close and it was exciting to see. It adds another element to our offense.”
That element snapped into place against the Giants. Barkley broke free for 150 rushing yards, including a 65-yard touchdown, and Bigsby spelled him with a punishing 104 yards as the Eagles entered their break with tempo and authority, improving to 6-2.
Hurts was 15 of 20 for 179 yards, plus four touchdowns, including a pair to tight end Dallas Goedert, who now has a career-high seven TDs this season — tied with Detroit wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown for the league lead. One of those scores came off play action, exactly the kind of under-center wrinkle the Eagles have finally leaned into lately.
Hurts did connect on some deep shots as well, including a 40-yarder to Jahan Dotson. Patullo credited Hurts’ deep-ball discipline for keeping risk low while creating explosives.
“He’s unbelievable at it,” Patullo said. “He does a tremendous job of understanding where to place the ball, seeing the coverage, knowing how to put it in a spot to where it’s our guy or nobody. … He works at it in between periods, during the period, constantly. He’s talking to the guys, ‘Here’s where it’s going to be, here’s what I’m going to do.’”
That attention to detail, Patullo added, has opened up a lot of areas in the offense — particularly when the run game forces a safety to cheat and play-action tempts second-level defenders forward.
The staff also mixed heavier looks — and got creative using tackle Fred Johnson as an extra tight end — to change run fits and create different pictures for the defense.
“When you bring in a different personnel package, you’re opening up what could be a variety of different things, whether it’s play-action passes, runs, drop backs,” Patullo said. “It gives you a different dynamic. … It’s been a new thing for us going forward.”
Defenses, Patullo noted, have tried to “take away space” in the run game in a variety of ways — loading the line, blitzing off the edge, triggering linebackers. “It’s been different every week,” he said. “Obviously, it is a way to stop the run game, but it does open up windows behind. … It’s that balance of coming in and out of the passes and the runs.”
The last two weeks, starting with the win in Minnesota, that balance has been plain: the Eagles relied on under-center runs and play-action shots, then shifted to drop-back answers when needed. The result Sunday was a thorough, four-quarter performance.
Up front, the blend of health, assignment soundness and attitude showed. Brett Toth drew praise from Patullo for stepping in for injured center Cam Jurgens and playing with detail and energy.
“He played really, really (well). … He wants to know the plan inside and out and you can feel his detail and his energy out there,” Patullo said.
If there’s a self-scout point, it’s ball security on the tush push — the play where the Giants knocked the ball loose as Hurts extended it. “It’s tricky because it was a fourth down,” Patullo said. “We’ve got to be careful with that… and going forward, we’ve got to be cautious… and not putting the ball in harm’s way.”
Another ongoing choice: designed QB runs. The Eagles didn’t need one Sunday, and through eight games they’ve been selective. “It just really comes down to do we need it? Do we want to do it? Does it present itself?” Patullo said. He pointed out they’ve used other perimeter concepts to generate explosives without exposing Hurts unnecessarily.
The bye gives the staff a clean runway to extend what’s working. Patullo described a meticulous in-season process led by head coach Nick Sirianni: “You can’t get better unless you’re honest. … Was there a breakdown? Could we be better at it? What’s the next step for that play?” And it’s clear that Sirianni has been instrumental in helping tweak the Birds’ attack.
The aim is to add layers — more under-center complements, more personnel variety, continued play-action answers — without overloading the call sheet. The formula isn’t complicated: run it with force, live under center enough to stress key points, let the play-action and deep shots punish overreactions, and continue to be creative.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.