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Nick Foles talks all things Eagles and fantasy football<\/p>\n
Nick Foles chats with Chris Bumbaca about the Eagles season and his partnership with IBM and ESPN Fantasy Football.<\/p>\n
Sports Seriously<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> either can\u2019t run the ball or won\u2019t run the ball. One of those things alone would be unideal. The combination of the two, however, is the most glaring aspect of their 21-17 loss<\/a> to the Denver Broncos<\/a> at home Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Saquon Barkley<\/a> had the flashy explosive on a go route out of the backfield that resulted in a 47-yard touchdown. However, six carries for the 2024 Offensive Player of the Year reflects poorly upon first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. The Eagles ran it 11 times total.<\/p>\n Philadelphia managed to generate plenty of positives in the downfield passing game, as quarterback Jalen Hurts<\/a> passed 38 times; he only took off twice.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to get them all the ball as much as we can,\u201d Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said of his star skill players, which obviously includes Barkley. \u201cObviously we want to run the ball more than what we did today. You always want to come out of that game with Saquon getting as many touches (as he can) because of the player he is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It marked the Eagles\u2019 first loss of the 2025 season and left the Buffalo Bills<\/a> as the lone undefeated team remaining in the NFL. Hurts \u2013 who didn\u2019t complete a pass in the second half of last week\u2019s 31-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> \u2013 looked better and finished with 280 passing yards on 23-of-38 passing and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n Hurts threw that many passes in a game just once last season. Barkley entered this contest averaging 3.1 yards per carry and the Eagles\u2019 total offense ranked 30th. Their 3.47 yards per rushing play was 29th.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the Eagles led 17-3 in the second half, and with Barkley and that offensive line, the Eagles aired it out. Patullo called eight straight passes across two drives and Philadelphia punted twice while three minutes and six seconds came off the clock. Their next two possessions weren\u2019t much better, with two more punts accounting for a total of 4:39 of clock.\u00a0<\/p>\n Doing that against the Broncos’ defense known with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain<\/a> locking down a receiver on the outside and a stout front-seven \u2013 anchored by Nik Bonnito<\/a>, who had 2.5 of the Broncos\u2019 six sacks (even more passing plays that didn\u2019t result in throws) \u2013 seems paradoxical.\u00a0<\/p>\n Philadelphia\u2019s defense stayed on the field, Bo Nix<\/a> went off in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles lost for the first time since Dec. 22, 2024, when Hurts exited in the first quarter against the Washington Commanders.<\/p>\n Barkley now has 267 rushing yards through five games \u2013\u00a0 he had 255 on the ground Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> last season. His game-best for 2025 is 88 yards, which came in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Playing from behind the sticks as often as the Eagles did, Sirianni said, didn\u2019t make it easier. Philadelphia was flagged nine times for 55 yards, half of the 121 yards on 12 penalties the Broncos surrendered.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are some self-inflicted things that we did,\u201d Sirianni said. \u201cWhen those happen, I put that on myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The offensive line\u2019s health has been an underlying issue. Left guard Landon Dickerson tore his meniscus in training camp and recovered for Week 1 but has remained banged up. He left with an ankle injury against Denver. Lane Johnson, the right tackle, left the Bucs<\/a> game but started Week 5 despite a shoulder injury. Replacing Mekhi Becton has been more of a challenge than planned.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wide receivers A.J. Brown<\/a> and DeVonta Smith<\/a> ended up in a heap on the final play of the day, but at least their stat lines didn\u2019t mirror that entirely. Smith caught eight balls (10 targets) for 114 yards. Brown was targeted eight times and had five catches for 43 yards.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe started off really good. We were throwing the ball around the yard,\u201d Brown said. \u201cJust didn\u2019t finish in the second half, just the inconsistency showed up again.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe got to put in four quarters. We have to stop putting a lot of pressure on our defense.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n