What Have We Learned About the Reigning Super Bowl Champions at Midseason?
Entering this season, expectations were set high for the Philadelphia Eagles. This is understandable considering the sheer dominance of their 2024 Super Bowl campaign. Now entering Week Ten, they are 6-2 and on the way to Green Bay to face the best of the NFC North. The Eagles take first place in the NFC East, and if the playoffs started today, it’s possible they could take the conference's number one seed. Thus, it is safe to say that they are right where they are expected to be as they come off their bye week. However, with the season at its midpoint, what have we learned in 2025 about the reigning champions?
The Energy
Though the Eagles have won 75% of their games thus far, it’s no secret that the energy of the team is off. Any fan of Philly knows that the team thrives on its “family-first” principles—a locker room mentality built on a shared purpose of unity and accountability. This season, that familial chemistry seems to be lacking, and the signs have been subtle but persistent. From obvious frustrations between players and new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to cryptic tweets from AJ Brown, the focus and cohesion of the 2024 Eagles have not translated in the first half of this season. The team has avoided a complete meltdown so far, but in Weeks Five and Six, we quickly learned that the Eagles cannot sustain success without their confident synergy.
The Performance
With the team’s energy seemingly in a funk, the subpar player performance compared to last season is reasonable. Saquon Barkley and the overall run game have stuck out the most offensively. Barkley has had only one game this year with over 100 rushing yards, and last season, he averaged 125 yards per game. As a team, the Eagles averaged 73 more rushing yards per game in their Super Bowl campaign than they have this year. If anything has influenced their weakened offensive attack in 2025, it is this run game. What we have learned from this, when combined with the 3-plus sacks Jalen Hurts has been averaging per game, is that the offensive line is being bullied in the trenches more often than not. The line has failed to protect Hurts, open lanes for explosive runs, and dominate defenders to create space in the pocket.
Despite a lack of protection and a decline in efficient QB scrambles, Hurts has continued to improve throughout the season. He has thrown 15 touchdown passes with only one interception, and is completing 70% of his passes—a rate higher than he's achieved in any other season. While his passer rating continues to improve, offensive inconsistency from week to week overshadows his successes. Thus, what we’ve learned about Hurts this season is that it takes him a few weeks to find rhythm with his targets, which sometimes emerges as a glaring fault to the offense.
On the other side of the ball, we have learned that the young defense has been showing growing pains. The secondary has perhaps been the most obvious depreciation, with teams easily completing passes to move the chains on them. The Eagles are allowing an average of 216 passing yards a game and are ranked 18th in passing defense in the league this season. Last year, on the other hand, they ranked first in passing defense, averaging only 174 passing yards allowed per game.
The fault of inefficiency was made even more obvious by the multiple defensive additions as the team approached the trade deadline. Brandon Graham was compelled to come out of retirement, two corners and an edge rusher joined the team early this month, and we learned the free-agency pickups proved to be insignificant. For example, Joshua Uche and Azeez Ojulari were both picked up in the off-season and have combined for only one sack and three tackles for loss. Hence, the recent additions seem to be working to replace these weak spots—perhaps showing the future-oriented trade philosophy of the team's GM, Howie Roseman.
The Standings
Nine weeks of Philly football have taught us that the Eagles are not the same team that took home the Lombardi, but they don’t need to be. The Birds have struggled in almost every aspect of the game—pass coverage, defending the run, offensive rhythm, and more—but are still winning games. 2024’s Super Bowl win has set the bar high since Week One, but the untapped potential of almost every starter on the roster has only fostered greater expectations. Moving forward, the Eagles have one of the hardest remaining schedules in the league and have yet to face high-caliber opponents in their conference, like the Seahawks, the Lions, and this week, the Packers. If the team can return to the basics to build chemistry and consistency over this next stretch, going back-to-back could still be well within reach.
