Another Bad Day
Posted October 18th, 2026 | No Comments »The good new is that the Eagles no longer are on a 3-game losing streak. The bad news is that they are now on a 4-game losing streak. We got another poor showing by the Eagles and another frustrating loss. The offense was bad. Special teams were bad. The defense was valiant, but eventually wore down. Other than that things went swimmingly.
Tanner McKee made his first start of the year and struggled. He had some good moments, the highlight being a TD pass to DeVonta Smith. But McKee mad too many bad decisions and bad throws. He also said there were some communication issues.
“My team needs me to be better.”
Tanner McKee took full accountability for the Eagles’ offensive struggles against the Panthers. https://t.co/3ARAnddGzX
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) October 18, 2026
I was critical of McKee on Twitter and some people got really bent out of shape about it.
“They threw 45 passes. Way too many.”
“Where was the run game?”
“The coaching was terrible.”
“The OL stunk.”
“The defense didn’t make big plays.”
First, no one would say McKee is the reason the Eagles lost. The overall offense was a mess. The play-calling was frustrating. They didn’t run enough. But McKee is an NFL QB in his fourth season. This isn’t some kid in junior high where doing your best is good enough. He would be the first to agree that he didn’t play as well as he wanted to. No one was looking for perfection, but there were too many mistakes from him. If he wants to use the next month to sell himself to teams, he’s got to play better than today.
The offense did get into a rhythm for part of the second half. They went to the shotgun and McKee looked much more comfortable. The under-center offense isn’t working right now. If they want to win this year, they need to move away from it. If they want to build for the future, then fully embrace that offense. The current version is a total mess.
I do feel bad for McKee because he didn’t get the support he needed. The offense got the ball near midfield to start a drive and a bad snap by Jake Majors killed that drive. Johnny Mundt had a bad day as a blocker, with one hold wiping out a nice throw & catch. Blitz protection was once again less than ideal. There were multiple dropped passes. The lack of a run game was confusing. Dameon Pierce started 2-18 and then went 10-17 the rest of the way.
STs had its worst day of the season. Braden Mann shanked a punt and that led to a TD. Another punt only went 9 yards because it was possibly blocked. A good return was wiped out by a penalty. Field position was a problem all game long. Four drives started at the 13-yard line or worse. Two drives started at the 20 and two more at the 22. You don’t want your starting QB having to go a long way that much, let alone the backup QB.
The defense really battled. Carolina had 10 points at the half and only added a FG in the third quarter. The defense finally wore down and allowed a pair of TDs in the fourth quarter. They couldn’t come up with a takeaway, which the offense desperately needed.
The best teams play complementary football. The offense, defense, and STs all help each other. That didn’t happen on Sunday and was part of the reason the Eagles lost the game.
Some fans are now screaming for Nick Sirianni’s head. That’s not going to happen this season, nor should it. Firing him would not make this team better. It would just give angry fans something to be happy about. His future will be decided by his overall performance this season. If the offense continues to be the worst in the league, that could very well cost Sirianni his job. If the team shows some improvement and wins some games, that could change things. We need a full season to make an informed evaluation.
The next three games are DAL, WAS, and the NYG. The Eagles could be atop the division if they can cobble together a winning streak. Or they could end up closer to a Top 5 pick if they keep losing.
Cheer for the outcome you prefer.
*****
The Rams lost to the Cardinals 18-16, dropping them to 2-4. That’s the same record as the disastrous Eagles. Yikes.
Aaron Donald has to be thinking: I can’t believe I came out of retirement for this shit.
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) October 18, 2026
If there is a silver lining to the Eagles season it is the fact all this stuff is going wrong at the same time. Imagine if the team started 2-0 with blowout wins and then had all the injuries happen. You’d feel like a promising season was being lost. This year has been problematic from the get go. Our hopes never got too high.
The Rams thought they had put together a special roster with special potential. They are 2-4 and could have easily lost to the Eagles. That is nuts. It is funny that there was a discussion this summer about them possibly going undefeated. They aren’t a lock to even make the playoffs.
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