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By Jordan Sigler
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The Philadelphia Eagles entered Week 5 looking to feed wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith the ball after questions surfaced about offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo's play calling in Week 4. The Eagles might have overcorrected in their 21-17 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday in front of 69,879 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.
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Quarterback Jalen Hurts attempted 38 passes (23 were caught) for 280 yards and two touchdowns against the Broncos. Smith caught eight passes for 114 yards. Brown finished with receptions for 43 yards.
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However, the Eagles' offense was noticeably lopsided on Sunday. Patullo neglected the rushing attack, dialing up 11 run plays. Lead back Saquon Barkley ran six times for 30 yards.
During his postgame news conference with the media, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni appeared to question the decision to get away from the running despite playing with a lead for much of the afternoon. He thought Barkley needed to get more carries for Philadelphia to close out the game.
"Obviously, we want to be able to, just like we talk about, getting A.J. the ball, or DaVonta the ball, or Saquon the ball--we all want to get them all the ball as much as we possibly can. Dallas (Goedert) as well," Sirianni said.
"Obviously, we want to run the ball more than what we did today. You always wanted to have come out of that game with Saquon getting enough touches because of the type of player he is."
Sirianni noted that the Eagles have a short time to make corrections this week before they play the New York Giants in Week 6 on "Thursday Night Football."
The running game should be a focus in game planning against the Giants. Barkley averaged 5.0 yards per rush against Denver. AJ Dillon earned 12 yards on two carries. It was a curious choice not to give the talented backfield more touches, even with Brown and Smith wanting a fair share of targets.
Pre-snap penalties and miscues didn't make Patullo's life easier, as the offense was consistently behind the sticks early on downs.
Patullo's challenge in Philadelphia is more than figuring out ways to put up points. He has to put together a plan that keeps his players and boss happy, while efficiently managing the game.
For more on the Eagles and the NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.
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