Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce didn’t hold back when talking about his team’s early exit from the 2025 NFL Playoffs, blasting an offense that he feels underperformed all season, including on the biggest stage.
“I know it wasn’t the best performance this year offensively,” he said on the Monday, January 12 broadcast of ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown. “They had the No. 1, highest-paid offense in the league and were mediocre across the board. That’s unacceptable. They had their chances to win that game yesterday, and the players didn’t make the plays! Alright? That’s all I’m going to leave it at.”
The Eagles ended the regular season 11-6, tied for the second-best record in the NFC. Still, the offense generally underperformed compared to the star power on the roster, led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, and was, statistically, the least efficient in head coach Nick Sirianni’s five-year tenure.
The offense was also susceptible to dry spells, which reared its head in the Eagles’ 24-19 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, January 11.
Philadelphia fans are calling for accountability, with many asking for Sirianni, 44, or offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to be fired.
Kelce, 38, didn’t place the blame on the team’s OC.
“I know that everybody is out on Kevin Patullo,” he said. “I happen to know the guy. I love Kevin Patullo. I know he’s a great coach.”
As for Hurts, 27, he declined to endorse Patullo, 44, for the same job next season.
“It’s too soon to think about that,” he told reporters on Monday. “I put my trust in [general manager] Howie [Roseman]. Howie, Nick and [owner Jeffrey] Lurie.”
Hurts also tried to take accountability for the team’s offensive struggles, especially coming off of a Super Bowl winning season in 2024.
“I think winning is hard. Nothing about it is easy, especially when you’re trying to repeat,” he said, according to a story in The Athletic on Monday. “Everything was clear for us and what we wanted to accomplish this year, and we came up short, and so you have no choice but to learn from it, especially if you have a great passion about it. And that’s my approach. … I take ownership for not being able to put points on the board. It all starts with me and ends with me.”
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, whose 2025 numbers dropped precipitously from a career year in 2024, lamented the offense’s inconsistency.
“It’s been a common theme for us this year,” he said. “We haven’t done a good enough job of playing complete football, putting two halves together. Sometimes, you get into this moment and (think) we’ll just figure this out. And it just caught up to us. It’s been the same thing all year.”
Sirianni agreed, adding, “Felt like that was kind of our story as the year progressed — good first half, didn’t do a good enough job coaching, didn’t do a good enough job executing in the second half, in that third quarter particularly. Some penalties got us behind the sticks, and we had a hard time overcoming them.”
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