Jordan Mailata Isn’t Buying the 2023 Comparison - And He’s Got a Point
The Philadelphia Eagles are once again sitting on a strong win total late in the season, and yet, the whispers have started. For fans who lived through the tailspin of 2023, it’s hard not to feel a little déjà vu. That year, the Eagles came out hot, racked up wins early, but then stumbled hard down the stretch-losing five of their last six and bowing out in the first round of the playoffs.
Now in 2025, the team is in a somewhat similar spot: a winning record, but with clear flaws that have fans wondering if history might repeat itself. But if you ask left tackle Jordan Mailata, those comparisons don’t hold water.
“Nowhere Near 2023”
Mailata didn’t mince words when he joined 94WIP on Monday night. He’s been in both locker rooms, and from his perspective, the 2025 Eagles are a completely different animal.
“I’ll tell you right now: This is nowhere near close to 2023,” Mailata said. “Let’s nip that in the bud right there.”
He pointed to the way the team practices, the attention to detail, and the coaching as major differences from two seasons ago. According to Mailata, the current group is locked in Monday through Saturday in a way the 2023 squad simply wasn’t.
“The way we go about our practice, the detail… the coaching technique, it’s there this year. It wasn’t there in ’23.”
That’s a bold statement, but it speaks volumes about what’s happening behind the scenes. The 2023 collapse wasn’t just about missed tackles or stalled drives-it was about a team that lost its edge. Mailata’s comments suggest this year’s Eagles are still very much in the fight.
Execution Is the Issue, Not Effort
Mailata was quick to acknowledge that, yes, the Eagles have issues. But he framed them as problems of execution, not preparation.
The team is putting in the work. The practices are physical.
The structure is there. What’s missing?
In-game execution.
“Although we’re not winning games-I shouldn’t even say that. We’ve won eight games.
I think the way we attack every day with the attention to detail… I would probably say the detail right now is our in-game execution. That is lacking.”
In other words, the bones of this team are strong. The foundation is in place.
What’s hurting them are the moments where things break down under the lights-missed assignments, poor reads, breakdowns in rhythm. Those are fixable.
And Mailata believes the team is putting in the work to fix them.
He even mentioned the padded practices and the elimination of “walkthrough Wednesdays” (except on short weeks) as evidence of the coaching staff’s commitment to keeping the team sharp and physical.
A Player’s Perspective vs. A Fan’s Fear
Mailata gets it-he knows why fans are nervous. But he also made it clear that living it from the inside gives him a different lens.
“As a player, it doesn’t feel the same,” he said. “Maybe I need to see it as a fan to relate.”
That’s a telling quote. It acknowledges the outside perception without dismissing it.
But it also reinforces the idea that this team feels different to those inside the building. And that matters.
Different Year, Different Problems
It’s also worth noting some key differences between 2023 and 2025 that go beyond vibes and locker room culture.
In 2023, the defense was the primary culprit. The unit simply couldn’t get stops down the stretch, and it cost them dearly.
This season, it’s the offense that’s been more inconsistent. That’s a meaningful distinction.
Fixing an offense-especially one with this much talent-is often a more manageable task than patching a leaky defense late in the year.
And then there’s the context. The 2023 Eagles were coming off a gut-wrenching Super Bowl loss.
The 2025 version? They’re defending champions.
That changes the mental makeup of a team. It adds pressure, sure, but it also brings a level of confidence and experience that can’t be faked.
Sirianni: Lessons Learned
Head coach Nick Sirianni also weighed in this week, and while he didn’t go into specifics, he made it clear that the team has learned from what went wrong in 2023.
“Sometimes that sting of the loss… has even more impact, which is why I'm grateful for adversity and looking for an opportunity to get better from the adversity.”
Sirianni said the coaching staff has taken detailed notes on what went wrong two seasons ago and has applied those lessons to how they’ve approached this year. That kind of self-reflection is exactly what you want to hear from a head coach trying to steer his team through a rough patch.
Bottom Line
Yes, the Eagles have hit some turbulence. Yes, some of the same red flags from 2023 are flashing again. But according to one of the team’s most respected veterans, this isn’t a rerun-it’s a different team, with a different mindset, and a different approach.
Jordan Mailata isn’t just offering empty reassurance. He’s pointing to real differences in how this team works, prepares, and responds to adversity. And if the Eagles can clean up their execution and tap into that championship DNA, they might just prove him right.