The Eagles left Sunday night with a loss to the Los Angeles Rams and a lot of noise swirling around them, but Rex Ryan turned that noise into a full-blown warning.
The former NFL head coach didn’t mince words on ESPN, saying he doesn’t believe Philadelphia can straighten things out on offense because the line has collapsed around it.
“I don’t think so,” Ryan said when asked if the Eagles can recover on offense. “I think their offensive line is absolutely hot garbage right now. ...
Landon Dickerson out, and he’s not the player he was once was anyway even if he comes back. Neither is Lane Johnson.”
Ryan’s frustration came after watching the Eagles fail to convert a fourth-and-1 with the tush push, a moment that drove home how much the group has slipped in the short-yardage game. Philadelphia used to bully teams in those spots because its front was elite. That edge is gone.
“It’s getting pushed back now,” Ryan said.
He went even further, calling the line “abysmal.”
The numbers from the Rams game backed up the ugly picture. Los Angeles hit Jalen Hurts seven times and sacked him four times, keeping him uneasy all afternoon. Hurts managed only 93 passing yards and followed up last week with another poor outing.
The protection issues got worse before kickoff. Lane Johnson was ruled out for personal reasons, forcing Markel Bell, a third-round rookie, into his first start at right tackle.
Bell allowed five pressures. Pro Football Focus credited left guard Cam Jurgens with five pressures allowed, while right guard Tyler Steen gave up one and center Drew Kendall allowed three.
Still, not everyone inside the locker room is ready to write off the group. Jordan Mailata said he still thinks the offensive line can become a good unit this season.
“Not concerned,” Mailata said after Sunday’s loss. “It’s Week 4.
I’m not concerned, and I can’t be. I can’t be concerned.
If I get concerned, then that’s what it starts from. It’s like an infection.
It starts from the top down. ... I just double down.
Got to double down on what we do good and double down on what we do bad and correct it. Correct what we’re doing bad right now.”
In Other News...
Eagles Suddenly Have A London Availability Problem Fans Need To Watch
The Eagles are heading into their London trip for Week 5 with more uncertainty than anyone in Philadelphia would like this early in the season. Multiple key starters are already on injured reserve, and several more have carried questionable tags as the team gets ready for Jacksonville, leaving the roster picture in flux at a point where the margin for error is already thin.
Landon Dickerson, Zack Baun and DeVonta Smith are among the names the team is monitoring most closely, and their availability could shape how the Eagles handle a game that comes with the added challenge of overseas travel. For a team trying to settle in and keep its season moving forward, the health report may end up mattering as much as the matchup itself. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Foles Just Reopened A Tough Jalen Hurts Debate
Nick Foles critique of Jalen Hurts after the Eagles Week 4 loss to the Rams landed because it went straight to the part of Hurts game that has always invited scrutiny: how quickly he sees it and how decisively he lets it go. Philadelphias offense has been built around Hurts ability to extend plays and create with his legs, but in a game where the passing rhythm never really settled, Foles pointed to timing and pocket poise as the issue, saying Hurts appeared to freeze rather than trust the throw.
Hurts line against Los Angeles was uneven enough to keep the conversation alive, even with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. After the game, he didnt try to swat away the broader concern, instead framing it as part of the teams ongoing work and development. For the Eagles, that leaves the same familiar question hanging in the background: whether Hurts can keep growing into a more complete passer without losing the parts of his game that make the offense go. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Suddenly Have A Bigger Problem Than This Loss
The Eagles left Los Angeles with another tight loss, a 24-20 defeat to the Rams that dropped them to 2-2 and extended a skid that has started to chip away at the early-season optimism. Even on a night when Philadelphia was dealing with a depleted roster and had just 47 players active, there were still moments that suggested the offense could find enough answers to stay in games, including points off two interceptions.
But the larger concern is the growing list of missing or limited playmakers, with Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith among the names that have complicated the margin for error. Philadelphia also continued to sputter on third down and in total yardage, the kind of issues that make a two-game slide feel less like bad luck and more like a team searching for stability before the season gets any less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]