From red zone problems to third-down defense, here's what the Eagles must fix

PHILADELPHIA — Is the Eagles‘ glass half-full or half-empty?

The optimist will point out they are tied for the best record in football (10-3) despite recent blowout losses to a pair of NFC heavyweights in the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. And with the easiest closing schedule in the league per ESPN’s Football Power Index, they’re well-positioned to rebound and take a run at the top seed in the conference.

The pessimist will note red flags abound. They’ve fallen behind at halftime each of the past six weeks. The defense has allowed 30-plus points in three straight games, their longest streak since 2015. And they are minus-4 in turnover differential (quarterback Jalen Hurts has already set a career high with 10 interceptions) and plus-21 in point differential, suggesting the current state of affairs doesn’t line up with that rosy record.

The realist will tell you the Eagles need to get their act together, no matter how you spin it. The opportunity to secure home-field advantage and pursue a second straight trip to the Super Bowl is in front of them, but there are multiple areas of concern that need to be quickly remedied in order for the Eagles to avoid a collapse. Here are five priorities to fix:

Third-down defense

Philadelphia is last in this category with a 48% opponent conversion rate. That rate has been significantly worse (61%) over the past three weeks.

One of the more confounding stats is that the Eagles are tied for last in third-down sacks (nine) despite the heavy investment in quality pass-rushers like Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Jalen Carter and Fletcher Cox.

“Getting teams in second-and-long and third-and-long, that’s when we’re really, really good,” said Cox. “The past two weeks, we haven’t done that. Teams are getting second-and-manageable, third-and-manageable, and the playbook is kind of open for them.”

Red zone defense

Opponents are scoring touchdowns on over 70% of their trips inside the 20-yard line — the third-highest rate in the NFL.

The pass defense has been abysmal in the red zone, with opposing quarterbacks throwing touchdowns on a league-high 40.4% of their attempts.

“We just ain’t taking care of each other,” Sweat said. “Our rush and coverage is not taking care of each other.”

Turnovers

Hurts has not taken care of the football to his standard. He is tied for the third-most turnovers among quarterbacks with 15. A lost fumble on the Eagles’ opening possession against Dallas on Sunday ended a promising drive and kept momentum in the Cowboys’ favor. It wasn’t just Hurts: receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith also lost fumbles.

“On their rips, it seemed like they had really good technique in all three of their turnovers,” Hurts said of the Cowboys. “It’s a testament to them. But we’ve got to be better on ball security as a runner.”

The Eagles are in the bottom half of the league in both turnovers (19) and takeaways (15).

Offensive game plan

Slow starts have plagued this team of late. They’re averaging just 6.3 points in the first half over their past three games, which ranks 28th. Meanwhile, their average second-half scoring both over that span (14.7 PPG) and the season (14.1) is near the top of the league. Coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson might be good at adjusting on the fly, but the original design is leaving something to be desired.

Scheming players open instead of relying on their top talent to win one-on-ones is one area to look at. Brown and Smith are two of the best receivers in the league, yet the average distance between Hurts’ target and the nearest defender is 3.24 yards, which ranks 28th. And Hurts is 25th in wide-open throw percentage (20%), or when the nearest defender is 5-plus yards away.

Ground attack

The Eagles have slipped from fourth in rushing yards (152 YPG) last season to eighth (124.5) so far in 2023. Hurts’ rushing totals (126 rushes, 460 yards, 3.65 average) are down compared to this point last season (139 rushes, 686 yards, 4.94 average). He was dealing with knee pain for weeks and the Eagles have generally been more conservative with him, keeping his long-term health in mind.

With Hurts drawing less attention in the ground game, there hasn’t been as much open space for the running backs to operate. Still, the Eagles could lean on the explosive D’Andre Swift more to take some pressure off both the pass game and a defense that has faced the sixth-most snaps this season at 65.3 on average — a number that has spiked to 74.3 over the past four games.