From ownership down to the players, the Philadelphia Eagles are pushing back against the notion that this year will be a repeat of the team’s stunning 2023 collapse.
Two years ago, the Birds started 10-1 before losing six of their last seven games and getting demolished by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32-9 in the Wild Card round. Even after the Eagles won the Super Bowl in style last year, concerns on both sides of the ball have many questioning whether Philadelphia can survive the slump in 2025.
Lurie, Eagles’ Players Confident in Avoiding 2023 Repeat
During the same week in which the Eagles brought (and quickly removed) a giant “positivity rabbit” to the locker room to improve spirits, longtime owner Jeffrey Lurie was an even bigger motivator, saying that he has never seen his team lose a game they should win.
“In 32 years, I don’t think we’ve ever lost a game we were about to win, like on a missed field goal or a last-second catch or something like that. (Brian) Dawkins would get a pick in the end zone, or something would happen and we’d pull it out. Maybe I’m not remembering something, but I don’t think it’s ever happened (until now). I expected us to do it again. We were just a couple of plays away,” Lurie said after the stunning defeat to the Chargers.
That sentiment was echoed by the biggest stars on Philly’s offense. When asked, wide receiver DeVonta Smith defiantly said, “No. It’s nowhere close to 2023.”
Saquon Barkley added, “A lot of people bring up 2023. I wasn’t here. A lot of guys weren’t here. And the guys who were here would be crazy not to learn from that. It may not make sense right now. … It doesn’t make sense to me.”
A key difference between the 2023 and 2025 Eagles is their coordinating situations. After Philadelphia fell to Kansas City in the Super Bowl, offensive coordinator Shane Steichen left to coach the Indianapolis Colts, and defensive coordinator Johnathan Gannon left for the Arizona Cardinals. The next DC, Sean Desai, was replaced by Matt Patricia in mid-December, and the defense ended up performing even worse, which caused both coordinators to be let go.
The Eagles then brought in defensive mastermind Vic Fangio, who remains with the team and inspires confidence in the defensive players that this team is not going anywhere, despite the way things look right now.
“Nah — this ain’t no crash at the end,” said defensive end Brandon Graham, who came out of retirement to rejoin the Eagles. “It’s just the way it’s going right now. We’ll get it right. I’m not worried at all. We’ve still got Vic. Back then, we lost (coordinators) on both sides of the ball.
Eagles Have Been Trending in the Wrong Direction
After an 8-2 start to the 2025 season, the Eagles have lost three straight games while scoring less than 21 points for five games in a row. After jumping out to a 21-0 lead, Philadelphia fell 24-21 to the Cowboys while not scoring for the entire second half in a shocking loss to archrival Dallas.
The team had a lackluster Black Friday performance, falling to the Bears 24-15, with the run game getting stuffed while Chicago’s Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift each had over 120 yards of rushing. Despite A.J. Brown getting his receptions, recording 10 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns, the Eagles were anemic, and fans headed for the exits early in Philadelphia.
And on Monday night, Jalen Hurts turned the ball over five times, which included four interceptions and one fumble. The fumble happened on the same play as one of the interceptions, while the final interception sealed the Eagles’ 22-19 loss to Los Angeles in overtime.
Things seem to be getting worse and worse for Philadelphia, but the upcoming schedule could ease some concerns. The Eagles host the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders this week, and still have both games against the Washington Commanders, who are now 3-10, just one season after playing the Birds in the NFC Championship Game last season.
Although their one other game comes at the 9-4 Buffalo Bills, who will be angling for a deep playoff run, the Eagles are still two games ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC East and have a favorable slate ahead. It will be up to them to take advantage and build some momentum for the postseason as the defending champions look to avoid a dreaded repeat of 2023.
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