The NFL won鈥檛 have a repeat Super Bowl champion.
Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles were by the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC game on Sunday.
Now, the heat will be turned up on coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
Sirianni鈥檚 job shouldn鈥檛 be in jeopardy. He鈥檚 been a winner since he arrived in Philly in 2021. Five playoff appearances, three division titles, two Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi trophy in five seasons.
But there will be accountability for a stagnant offense that plagued Philadelphia throughout the season and showed up again in a one-and-done performance.
Patullo is the likely scapegoat though there鈥檚 plenty of blame to spread around.
鈥淭here will be time to evaluate everybody鈥檚 performance,鈥� Sirianni said. 鈥淩ight now, I feel for all our guys in the locker room, all the players, all the coaches, the front office, everybody that works so hard, the fans that come out and support us, Mr. (chairman/CEO Jeffrey) Lurie. I feel for all of us, all of them, and there鈥檒l be time to evaluate everything coming up.鈥�
The Eagles managed just 19 points and 307 yards facing a defense missing its two best players: five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Nick Bosa and four-time All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, among others.
Hurts couldn鈥檛 get on track despite an effective run game. Barkley had 106 yards rushing on 26 carries but his success didn鈥檛 open things up for the passing attack. Hurts was 20 of 35 for 168 yards with one touchdown. A.J. Brown caught only three of seven targets for 25 yards.
The final sequence summed up the team鈥檚 struggles.
Down 23-19, Hurts completed five of his first six passes to move from Philadelphia鈥檚 35 to San Francisco鈥檚 20. After he took a sack, the Eagles faced a second-and-11 with just under one minute to go.
Hurts scrambled out of the pocket and threw incomplete. Fox analyst Tom Brady, who has been one of Hurts鈥� biggest supporters, questioned his decision. Brady said the 鈥減ocket was perfect鈥� but Hurts got 鈥渁ntsy鈥� and escaped, taking away half the field. The seven-time Super Bowl champion added that has been a tendency for Hurts.
On third down, Hurts again threw incomplete. On fourth down, the play call was questionable. Four receivers ran vertical routes against a four-corner defense that鈥檚 designed to take that away. Hurts threw incomplete into double coverage, ending Philadelphia鈥檚 bid to follow up Kansas City鈥檚 repeat with another one.
Patullo followed Sirianni from Indianapolis to Philadelphia and was promoted from pass game coordinator and associate head coach after Kellen Moore left for New Orleans. The Eagles (11-7) dropped from eighth in total yards to 24th and from seventh in scoring to 19th.
Shane Steichen was Sirianni鈥檚 offensive coordinator the first two seasons. After he left for Indianapolis, Brian Johnson took over and was fired after one season. Moore came in after spending serving as the OC for the Chargers and Cowboys. Expect Sirianni to look outside the organization if Philadelphia makes a change.
鈥淎nytime you lose, anytime you don鈥檛 perform the way you want to as coaches and players, yeah, you鈥檙e frustrated,鈥� Sirianni said. What I said to the guys is: 鈥楢dversity shapes you to who you are if you allow it to.鈥� There鈥檚 a lot to be thankful for, but you鈥檝e got to use this adversity to shape you and that鈥檚 for everybody in that locker room: myself, the coaches, the players. Let the pain shape you to what you want to be, and we will use this like we used it at the end of 鈥�22, 鈥�23 because all that was necessary for 鈥�24. We鈥檒l see what the future holds.鈥�
Resilient 49ers
The 49ers (13-5) lost star tight end George Kittle to a torn Achilles tendon and still found a way to pull off the upset in hostile Philly, where they lost the NFC championship game three years ago after Purdy was injured in the first quarter.
Despite losing key players all season, the 49ers keep winning in what has been Kyle Shanahan鈥檚 best coaching job yet.
Now, the Niners are heading to Seattle (14-3) to face the top-seeded Seahawks on short rest because the NFL decided to make them play on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Bears will host the Rams on Sunday even though both teams played on Saturday.
The 49ers and Seahawks split the season series with each winning on the road. Seattle won 13-3 in San Francisco in Week 18 with the No. 1 seed on the line for the winner.
鈥淭hey played us real well,鈥� Shanahan said. 鈥淒efinitely beat us, but I know we can play better than that. I鈥檓 glad we have another shot.鈥�
MVP shows out
Josh Allen displayed why he鈥檚 the reigning NFL MVP, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 27-24 comeback victory in Jacksonville.
Despite getting battered by the Jaguars, Allen kept getting up and got his team to the divisional round for the sixth straight season under coach Sean McDermott.
The Bills (13-5) also have to play on short rest next Saturday at Denver.
Patriots dominate
So much for the experts who said New England had a soft schedule and would flop in the playoffs.
The Patriots (15-3) Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in a 16-3 victory on Sunday night. They will host the winner of Monday night鈥檚 game between the Texans-Steelers.
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