TAMPA, Fla. — Jason Kelce exited the sector alone, head bowed, clutching a helmet he might by no means put on once more.
It was a far too melancholy sight for an image-bearer who identifies so intently together with his group’s metropolis, a Thirteenth-year middle who greatest represented his franchise’s success whereas incomes his sixth All-Professional choice, a 36-year-old who as soon as appeared like he’d expertise yet one more run at one other Tremendous Bowl.
As a substitute, Kelce stood on the sideline, emotionally absorbing the ultimate seconds of the ultimate lack of what could also be his last season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32, Philadelphia Eagles 9.
How did it finish this fashion? How did a season that started with such a seismic ascension finish with such a cataclysmic collapse? How did the Eagles, who boisterously exited Kansas Metropolis having overwhelmed the Chiefs throughout a 10-1 begin, endure the embarrassment of a wild-card elimination after which followers hollered expletives and chucked a bucket at them as they left the sector?
Kelce turned the hallway’s nook. There was normal supervisor Howie Roseman on the locker room door. They shook fingers. Hugged. Kelce dressed at his locker, turned towards the mass of ready reporters and politely shook his head.
“No, guys,” Kelce stated calmly. “Not right this moment. Sorry.”
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The locker room was devoid of any wholesale rationalization for the conglomeration of issues that rejected them. Some gamers had been too despondent to talk. Some numbly provided small issues. Some appeared relieved the season’s miseries had been lastly over. However everybody voiced an identical sentiment, a disbelief within the sudden course a once-promising season turned.
“Issues didn’t finish the way in which we needed,” Jalen Hurts stated. “It’s merely not our flip.”
The latter sounded fatalistic from the quarterback, as if Hurts felt such failure was inevitable. By the top of the common season, it definitely appeared so. A once-potent offense that matched gashing runs from Hurts and D’Andre Swift with explosive passes to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith shriveled in a constant collection of dysfunctions.
First-year offensive coordinator Brian Johnson tried to equip Hurts with management over a system that allowed him to work via an inventory of pre-snap checks on the line, and though there have been a number of moments in 2023 wherein Hurts thrived, the previous MVP candidate regressed late within the season as communication errors and frequent struggles to deal with the blitz continued.
An offense that appeared to haven’t any true id in Nick Sirianni’s third 12 months because the group’s head coach typically appeared disjointed. The Eagles opened the sport in opposition to the Buccaneers with two Swift runs that gained a complete of 11 yards. He solely carried the ball twice extra within the first half, and the Buccaneers constructed a seven-point lead with the Eagles as a substitute forcing the ball efficiently (and unsuccessfully) to Smith.
The technique started with two curious third-and-short eventualities wherein Hurts threw incomplete passes downfield. On the primary one, a third-and-2, it appeared Smith and tight finish Dallas Goedert acquired in one another’s method whereas operating the identical route. Smith later stated Hurts made two pre-snap checks earlier than the play, and Smith and Goedert “noticed one thing fully totally different” from what Hurts supposed.
“It was two totally different alerts,” Smith stated. “We (noticed) one and didn’t see the opposite.”
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That such communicative errors continued even into the playoffs provided perception into how often hiccups was coronary heart assaults for the Eagles. There was on the very least a constant dissonance between the system the teaching employees and gamers had in thoughts and what performed out on the sector. On one pre-snap examine in opposition to the Chiefs, Hurts delivered a game-changing deep throw to Smith. Towards the Seattle Seahawks, Brown acknowledged a game-ending interception was as a consequence of their freelancing on the play.
“It’s very irritating,” Smith stated. “Particularly when you have got the expertise, you have got the fitting mindset, you have got the fitting issues going. Like I say, it’s simply small particulars you’re lacking.”
The consecutive punts to start the sport in opposition to the Bucs positioned the Eagles once more in a scenario wherein they needed to play from behind. The Buccaneers seized a 16-9 halftime lead, which swelled after the Eagles offense failed to attain within the second half. Sirianni and Johnson, who needed to construct a sport plan with out the injured Brown, forcefully funneled the ball to Smith, whose 55-yard catch within the second quarter preceded the group’s solely landing.
The Eagles appeared over-reliant on Smith profitable his matchups in protection. They started the second half with three possessions wherein they misplaced 10 yards on 11 performs, with Hurts being penalized in the long run zone for intentional grounding, a damning security whereas trying to evade defenders whereas solely underneath a four-man rush. Two performs later, Baker Mayfield delivered the back-breaker, an open completion to Trey Palmer, who ran via cornerback James Bradberry for a 56-yard landing that every one however put the sport away, 25-9, with 1:19 left within the third quarter.
ONCE AGAIN, HOW Y’ALL FEELING BUCS FANS?! 😱
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rFlj59UzNi pic.twitter.com/VtoFNKaLZ5— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2024
An Eagles protection that far too typically was disastrous underneath de facto defensive coordinator Matt Patricia proved itself once more incapable of adequately containing its opponent. The Buccaneers outgained the Eagles 426-276 in whole offensive yards whereas logging six performs of 20 yards or extra. Mayfield accomplished 22 of 36 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns whereas typically focusing on linebackers in protection, discovering move catchers in wide-open zones over the center of the sector, or connecting with receivers who broke via tackles for lengthy beneficial properties after receptions.
Patricia once more started the sport with a spread of defensive schemes. The Bucs transformed first downs on each passes and runs in opposition to Philadelphia’s base 3-4, operating again Rachaad White ran via a third-and-3 sort out on a swing move in opposition to an Eagles pass-oriented nickel, and, on Tampa Bay’s second drive, Mayfield hit David Moore in stride for a 44-yard landing in opposition to Philly’s six-defensive again dime bundle with three defenders lacking Moore on dismal sort out makes an attempt.
Too easy! David Moore takes it in for a 44-yard TD 🙌
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rFlj59UzNi pic.twitter.com/K04XZqqPvb— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2024
Sirianni’s midseason determination to demote coordinator Sean Desai exacerbated the group’s defensive points. The Eagles surrendered extra yards and factors in 5 video games underneath Patricia (375.8, 24.7 per sport) than they did within the first 13 underneath Desai (353.9, 22.8). Sirianni acknowledged his determination didn’t yield the outcomes he supposed, however he declined to reply when requested if he’d make employees adjustments at both coordinator place within the offseason.
“I believe there have been simply a number of issues we placed on tape and offenses type of copied it and it was kind of rinse and repeat typically,” linebacker Nicholas Morrow stated. “I believe that’s one factor. It’s simply exhausting to vary the defensive philosophy in the midst of the season. Completely totally different protection from a play-calling standpoint. And it wasn’t from an absence of effort. I believe everyone tried to make it work. It simply didn’t.”
Neither did Philadelphia’s efforts for a late comeback. On a fateful fourth-and-5 within the fourth quarter, Smith couldn’t haul in a Hurts move in the long run zone whereas dealing with tight protection from cornerback Carlton Davis III. Smith stated he went to Sirianni earlier than the play and “instructed him to present me the ball.”
“We had the reply to all the things,” Smith insisted. “We simply didn’t execute constantly.”
“It was virtually like we couldn’t get out of the rut we had been in,” Sirianni stated. “And that’s all of us. All of us should look ourselves within the mirror and settle for that and simply discover solutions, discover options. However clearly, once we begin 10-1 and also you get into what occurred for us, clearly the expectations had been excessive. Expectations had been even larger once we began off 10-1. We fell right into a skid. Clearly the play calling. I’ll take a look at the scheme. I’ll take a look at practices. I’ll take a look at all the things that we’re doing as a result of I believe that the previous two years, we acquired scorching a bit bit on the finish, and this 12 months wasn’t that case.”
The way forward for the franchise’s management is now unsure. Proprietor Jeffrey Lurie and Roseman should now resolve if the issues that continued all through the again finish of Philadelphia’s season could be rectified in a fourth 12 months underneath Sirianni.
Firing Sirianni could be a putting determination. His groups have reached the playoffs in every of his three seasons whereas fielding a 34-17 document. However such a sudden departure wouldn’t be unprecedented. Solely two different coaches within the Tremendous Bowl period have been fired within the season after shedding the large sport. The late Al Davis fired Invoice Callahan after a drama-filled 2003 Raiders group completed 4-12. Then, in 2015, John Elway fired John Fox after a 12-4 Denver Broncos group went one-and-done with a loss to the Indianapolis Colts within the divisional spherical.
Each instances contained the polarity of the potential fallouts that may befall the Eagles. The Raiders have reached the playoffs simply twice underneath 10 different head coaches within the 20 seasons after Callahan’s ouster, and the Broncos gained Tremendous Bowl 50 of their first 12 months underneath Gary Kubiak. Sirianni did not, on the very least, delay such a choice with an Eagles win on Monday night time. When requested if he was involved about his job safety after the sport, Sirianni stated, “I’m not excited about that,” and as a substitute spoke of his emotions for the gamers whose season ended.
“We didn’t end wherever we needed to complete,” Sirianni stated.
“We don’t know what holds for subsequent 12 months,” Bradberry stated. “We don’t know who’s going to be right here. Who’s not going to be right here. As a result of, after all, we didn’t stay as much as expectations. We had a number of expectations going into this 12 months. If you don’t stay as much as these, after all individuals need to make adjustments.”
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(Photograph: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Photographs)