The Eagles’ under-center work against the Panthers on Sunday was a disaster by the numbers, and the eye test backed it up.
Philadelphia ran 13 plays from under center and gained just 11 net yards. That split included 8 rushing attempts for 28 yards and 5 dropbacks that produced minus-17 net passing yards, with 2 sacks and 3 incompletions.
Shawn Syed highlighted the passing damage on social media, noting that the Eagles had 5 under-center dropbacks against Carolina, all of them play action. Those snaps produced no completions and 2 sacks for minus-17 yards.
What made it feel so stale in real time was how predictable it looked. When the Eagles lined up under center, it seemed to be run or play action, and Carolina kept attacking those looks with heavy pressure.
There was no quick-game answer, no easy rhythm throws, no simple 3-step or 5-step drop to get the ball out fast. Instead, it was either Dameon Pierce running into traffic or Tanner McKee getting hit almost as soon as the play fake was done.
The full picture from the database was grim but not complicated: the Eagles had a few decent runs, but only three of their under-center plays gained more than five yards.
And this wasn’t just a McKee issue. The same problem showed up with Jalen Hurts earlier in the season before he went on IR with the blood clot problem. In Weeks 1 through 5 against Washington, Tennessee, LA, Chicago, and Jacksonville, Hurts dropped back 26 times from under center and completed 10 of 24 passes for 124 yards with 2 sacks.
That stood in sharp contrast to his shotgun numbers over the same stretch. Across Weeks 1 through 5 of the 2026 season, Hurts dropped back in shotgun 110 times, completing 64 of 90 passes for 663 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions, while being sacked 9 times and scrambling 11 times for 99 yards.
For a team that was supposed to bring more variety from under center this season, this was not the version anyone had in mind.
In Other News...
Jordan Mailata Just Put Eagles Offense On Notice
The Eagles are trying to steady themselves after a 25-14 loss to the Panthers, a game that underscored how thin the margin gets when key pieces are unavailable. Without Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia has had to lean harder on the rest of the roster, and Jordan Mailata made clear the offense cannot afford to let the details slip while both players work through injuries and their return timelines stay unclear.
Mailata framed the fix in simple terms: the Eagles need better focus and effort to clean up the kind of mistakes that stall drives and pile up pressure on everyone else. With Dallas next on the schedule on October 26, Philadelphia does not have much time to sort out its rhythm, especially with Hurts calf issue and Barkleys hamstring injury still hanging over the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Mailata Just Put The Eagles Biggest Problem On Blast
The Eagles defense spent too much time chasing the Panthers in the 25-14 loss, and the imbalance showed up in a way that has become hard to ignore. With the offense sputtering on the ground and piling up penalties, Philadelphias front seven wound up absorbing the kind of workload that wears a team down long before the fourth quarter arrives.
Jordan Mailata did not shy away from saying the quiet part out loud after the game. The left tackle pointed to the offenses lack of discipline and accountability as a major reason the defense was left in that spot, underscoring how much the Eagles need the unit on the other side of the ball to clean up its act before the strain starts showing up in even bigger ways. [Read more 🡒]
Tanner McKee's First Start Raised A Bigger Eagles Concern
Tanner McKees first NFL start came at a difficult moment for Philadelphia, with Jalen Hurts on injured reserve and the offense trying to steady itself against Carolina in Week 6. The rookie finished 26 of 45 for 215 yards and a touchdown in a 25-14 loss, and while the box score gave the Eagles a competent enough outing at quarterback, the bigger question from the afternoon was whether the offense around him was built to make life manageable.
The line struggles and the shortage of healthy skill-position help kept showing up in ways that went beyond a single drive or a single mistake. With the Eagles already trying to navigate injuries at running back and along the offensive front, McKees debut turned into a reminder that the teams immediate concern may not be who is taking snaps, but how much support the quarterback room can realistically expect until the roster gets healthier. [Read more 🡒]