Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts and 3 more reasons not to panic about struggling Eagles originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Eagles are in an unfamiliar position under .500 in Nick Sirianni coaching era. Philadelphia, after an apt franchise record of having a winning record through 76 consecutive games, fell to 2-3 after the team’s frustrating 19-17 loss to Jacksonville in London on Sunday.
The Eagles, going into Week 6 of the 2026 NFL season, are experiencing a sub-..500 feeling for the first time since Week 15 of 2021, the first season of Sirianni’s tenure. That year, the Eagles went from 6-7 to finish 9-8 to earn a NFC wild-card berth.
In the previous five seasons under Sirianni, the Eagles made the playoffs in each, with three NFC East division titles and a ring from Super Bowl 59. Even with Sirianni blaming himself for the loss to the Jaguars, his regular-season winning percentage remains .678 (61-29) through 90 games.
Yet, Sirianni is feeling the heat from Eagles fans and media for another rough close loss in Week 5 after also blowing a game late to the Rams in Week 4.
There might seem to be real reason to worry that Philadelphia is going from a Super Bowl 61 contender to a potential non-playoff team, given the injuries and other recent attrition. Here’s why it’s ridiculous to think the Eagles won’t be anything but a huge NFC championship factor when it counts most after Week 18:
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Five reasons not to panic about the Eagles
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Nick Sirianni is one of the NFL’s best coaches, remember?
The Eagles seem like they have gone through more adversity than most other teams the past two seasons after winning Super Bowl 61. Sirianni was smart to accept immediate accountability for his decision to kick off to prompt a return by the Jaguars that set up that team’s last-second game-winning field goal. His players will take notice of how he deflected attention away from their struggles to execute throughout a close game.
Philadelphia is guaranteed to come out stronger overall back home against Carolina next week. The Eagles don’t need motivation back when they stay there to host the current 2-3 rival Cowboys in Week 7. He also has the offensive mind to see what’s wrong on that side and help play-calling coordinator Sean Mannion.
The Eagles will find a way to get the running game going with or without Saquon Barkley now that tight end Dallas Goedert has returned to provide 12 personnel (two-tight end sets) as a more viable option. They also have tried to adjust well minus DeVonta Smith, with Darius Cooper emerging as a big-play threat.
The offensive line also will need a little time to resettle with Jake Majors at center and Markell Bell at right tackle with Cam Jurgens traded and Lane Johnson reitred. Sirianni has had a lot of personnel cards thrown at him in a hurry and needs a break for playing well short of a full deck.
In reality, the Eagles in their current state had no business pushing loaded teams such as the Rams and Jaguars to the brink. Those were strong recoveries, even without wins, from the embarrassing loss at the Bears in which the run defense wilted.
Every coach takes some lumps, especially ones developing longer tenures. Sirianni has proved that he can adjust to get his team back on track in a hurry Patience and “trusting the process” isn’t a trait held by much of Philadelphia faithful, but that’s required most knowing that Sirianni isn’t all-time prolific winning coach by accident.
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Jalen Hurts is one of the NFL’s toughest quarterbacks
Hurts did what he could to outduel Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars with a non-existent running game constrained by blocking changes and Barkley being out. Hurts spread the ball around well and made the throws to win the game late, until being on the sideline as Jacksonville’s Cam Little hit the game-winning field-goal.
Hurts is trying to manufacture offense with his passing in a rare need to be one-dimensional. It’s not fair to make a snap judgment on Hurts missing A.J. Brown, given the hamstring injuries to Smith and Barkley couldn’t have been foreseen. Soon, he’ll have Goedert, Smith and Barkley all back together healthy. That will push Hurts back to the MVP-level passer in the first two games, wins over the Commanders and Titans.
Hurts also knows that he might need to be willing to run more to spark the Eagles. That also will become easier once opponents are extra worried about the deep ball and have to consider Barkley in the backfield. Once the full power of the run-pass option is available for Hurts, he can carry the offense in most games.
The defense is back to being a healthy force for Vic Fangio
Zack Baun was able to return to help the coverage at linebacker against the Jaguars. Next to him, Jihaad Campbell also was healthy enough to play. Quinyon Mitchell avoid missing time at cornerback. Among key defenders, only edge rusher Jonathan Greenard couldn’t go against Jacksonville.
The result was a rather strong performance in stopping the run and containing big pass plays from the Jaguars. There were only a few key lapses in coverage against ace route-running speedy wide receiver Parker Washington. Otherwise, the Eagles took most of everything away from Trevor Lawrence and put the Eagles in position to win.
The Eagles’ offense couldn’t get anything done against the Rams’ defense in Week 5 and the defense was the only reason they were in that game with a chance to steal a game in a fourth quarter. Philadelphia is loaded on the back end vs. the pass and even while struggling to get enough pressure at times up front, it has gotten stouter since the Bears game.
Philadelphia has lost close games by not scoring more than 20 points the past two weeks. The Eagles will able to get enough offense to match the defense standing on its head soon.
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The Eagles have a more favorable schedule ahead
The Eagles will have consecutive home games they should win, against Bryce Young’s Panthers and Dak Prescott’s Cowboys. Those defenses have holes for Hurts to exploit and he should have a healthier supporting cast for Week 6 and beyond.
Then they get a rematch against the 1-3-1 Commanders in Washington in Week 8. Then it’s back at home vs. the weak 3-1-1 Giants in Week 9 before a well-timed to bye to help the remaining injured players get healed. Then the Eagles host the Keystone State showdown vs. the Steelers. Dallas again, Arizona and Indianapolis are breaks before the toughest remaining home game, vs. Seattle. The Eagles don’t play at the 49ers until Week 17.
There’s no doubt the Bears-Rams-Jaguars stretch was front-loaded for them. The Eagles will not lose more than two in a row the rest of the way, and they can get hot reel off a long winning streak, too.
The Eagles also play in the mess of the NFC East
The Eagles are 1-0 in division play from beating the Commanders in Week 1. That team just played the Giants to a 27-27 tie in Week 5. The 2-3 Cowboys were ripped at home by the previous winless Buccaneers to open the week on Thursday night. New York is a weak first-place team and the NFC East isn’t good as a whole in 2026.
Philadelphia should feel good it can still tun the table in the division. Even if it can’t, there’s not much confidence in the Giants, Cowboys or Commanders finishing ahead of them.
The Eagles have a lot more reasons to be optimistic than to panic and the only results that matter will look much better at the end.