TAMPA, Fla. — Jason Kelce exited the sphere 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 along with his crew’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 another 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 remaining season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32, Philadelphia Eagles 9.
How did it finish this manner? 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 crushed 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 field?
Kelce turned the hallway’s nook. There was common 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 at the 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 the same sentiment, a disbelief within the sudden path a once-promising season turned.
“Issues didn’t finish the best way we wished,” 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 tip 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 by a listing 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 persevered.
An offense that appeared to haven’t any true identification in Nick Sirianni’s third yr because the crew’s head coach usually appeared disjointed. The Eagles opened the sport towards 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 an alternative forcing the ball efficiently (and unsuccessfully) to Smith.
The technique started with two curious third-and-short situations wherein Hurts threw incomplete passes downfield. On the primary one, a third-and-2, it appeared Smith and tight finish Dallas Goedert obtained in one another’s approach 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 indicators,” 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 continuously hiccups became 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 sphere. On one pre-snap test towards the Chiefs, Hurts delivered a game-changing deep throw to Smith. In opposition to the Seattle Seahawks, Brown acknowledged a game-ending interception was attributable to their freelancing on the play.
“It’s very irritating,” Smith stated. “Particularly when you have got the expertise, you have got the best mindset, you have got the best issues going. Like I say, it’s simply small particulars you’re lacking.”
The consecutive punts to start the sport towards the Bucs positioned the Eagles once more in a state of affairs 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 crew’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 beneath a four-man rush. Two performs later, Baker Mayfield delivered the back-breaker, an open completion to Trey Palmer, who ran by cornerback James Bradberry for a 56-yard landing that each 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 usually was disastrous beneath 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 usually concentrating on linebackers in protection, discovering cross catchers in wide-open zones over the center of the sphere, or connecting with receivers who broke by tackles for lengthy positive aspects after receptions.
Patricia once more started the sport with a variety of defensive schemes. The Bucs transformed first downs on each passes and runs towards Philadelphia’s base 3-4, operating again Rachaad White ran by a third-and-3 deal with on a swing cross towards an Eagles pass-oriented nickel, and, on Tampa Bay’s second drive, Mayfield hit David Moore in stride for a 44-yard landing towards Philly’s six-defensive again dime package deal with three defenders lacking Moore on dismal deal with makes an attempt.
Too clean! 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 choice to demote coordinator Sean Desai exacerbated the crew’s defensive points. The Eagles surrendered extra yards and factors in 5 video games beneath Patricia (375.8, 24.7 per sport) than they did within the first 13 beneath Desai (353.9, 22.8). Sirianni acknowledged his choice 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 feel there have been simply a number of issues we placed on tape and offenses sort of copied it and it was type of rinse and repeat typically,” linebacker Nicholas Morrow stated. “I feel that’s one factor. It’s simply exhausting to alter 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 feel all people 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 cross 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 provide me the ball.”
“We had the reply to every thing,” 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 need to 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 have a look at the scheme. I’ll have a look at practices. I’ll have a look at every thing that we’re doing as a result of I feel that the previous two years, we obtained sizzling slightly bit on the finish, and this yr wasn’t that case.”
The way forward for the franchise’s management is now unsure. Proprietor Jeffrey Lurie and Roseman should now determine if the issues that persevered all through the again finish of Philadelphia’s season will be rectified in a fourth yr beneath Sirianni.
Firing Sirianni can be a placing choice. His groups have reached the playoffs in every of his three seasons whereas fielding a 34-17 report. 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 dropping the large sport. The late Al Davis fired Invoice Callahan after a drama-filled 2003 Raiders crew completed 4-12. Then, in 2015, John Elway fired John Fox after a 12-4 Denver Broncos crew 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 will befall the Eagles. The Raiders have reached the playoffs simply twice beneath 10 different head coaches within the 20 seasons after Callahan’s ouster, and the Broncos received Tremendous Bowl 50 of their first yr beneath Gary Kubiak. Sirianni didn’t, on the very least, delay such a call with an Eagles win on Monday evening. When requested if he was involved about his job safety after the sport, Sirianni stated, “I’m not fascinated about that,” and as an alternative spoke of his emotions for the gamers whose season ended.
“We didn’t end wherever we wished to complete,” Sirianni stated.
“We don’t know what holds for subsequent yr,” 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 quite a lot of expectations going into this yr. If you don’t stay as much as these, after all individuals need to make adjustments.”
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(Picture: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Pictures)
