The Philadelphia Eagles are still in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt, but if you’ve been watching closely, something feels off. The energy, the cohesion, the edge-it's not quite there. And while the standings might suggest business as usual, the vibe inside the locker room tells a different story.
The Eagles aren’t playing like a team on the same page. And that disconnect is starting to show up on Sundays.
Whether it’s missed assignments, flat starts, or a general lack of urgency, the signs are there. And while head coach Nick Sirianni hasn’t publicly addressed the team’s visible struggles, one Eagles legend isn’t holding back.
Seth Joyner Sounds Off
Seth Joyner, a two-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion, knows what championship-caliber football looks like in Philadelphia. And in a recent radio appearance, he didn’t sugarcoat what he’s seeing from this current squad.
“If you're really detailed and you watch the film,” Joyner said, “they don’t finish plays, and they don’t fight. They don’t fight and try to take care of their guy like their life depends on it.”
That’s not just frustration talking-it’s a former player dissecting effort on a granular level. Joyner singled out a play involving offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, pointing to a moment where Dickerson let a defender go mid-play, only for that defender to make the stop.
“Did you hear a freaking whistle?” Joyner asked, clearly exasperated.
“What are you doing stopping and letting the guy go? If it’s your job to block him, you block him until you hear the second damn whistle.
But these guys, they block, and they stop.”
That’s a harsh-but telling-critique. And it speaks to something deeper than just missed blocks or blown coverages.
It’s about mindset. It’s about playing through the whistle, about finishing plays like it matters-because in the NFL, it does.
Disconnect Between Words and Action
What makes Joyner’s comments land even harder is that Dickerson, the player he called out, was one of the more vocal leaders in the offseason. He talked about how this year’s Eagles were different from last year’s team, how they were focused and ready to prove themselves again.
In a way, Dickerson was right-the 2024 and 2025 Eagles are different. But not in the way he meant.
Last season, they played with hunger. They had something to prove, and they showed it every week.
This season? That fire hasn’t been as easy to find.
Still in the Race, But for How Long?
Now, let’s be clear: the Eagles aren’t spiraling out of contention. They’re still the defending champs, and they’re just one game back of the NFC’s top seed. But if they want to defend that crown deep into January, they’ll need to get back to the fundamentals that got them there in the first place-effort, unity, and accountability.
This isn’t about panic. It’s about urgency.
And right now, the Eagles are missing that edge. The kind of edge that Joyner played with.
The kind of edge that wins championships.
So while the standings say one thing, the film-and the former players who know what to look for-are saying something else entirely.
The Eagles have the talent. That’s not the issue.
But talent without urgency? That’s a recipe for another late-season slide.
And in a conference as competitive as the NFC, that margin for error is razor-thin.
If Philadelphia wants to avoid a repeat of 2023’s late-season stumble, it’s going to take more than just game-planning and play-calling. It’s going to take fight. And right now, that’s exactly what Seth Joyner-and a growing number of Eagles fans-aren’t seeing.