Eagles' offense under pressure? A.J. Brown pushes for more passing as opponents clamp down on Saquon Barkley

PHILADELPHIA -- A.J. Brown has seen the struggles of the Eagles' offense firsthand. He has also witnessed the tremendous success the football team has achieved while winning 19 of its last 20 games. 

Hard to judge a delicate balancing act, especially when the reward is winning games at a high clip. 

So when does the wishing well run dry? Will the Eagles be proactive or reactive when it comes to an offense that is struggling to get the passing game going? They saw another winning result last weekend when the passing game was clicking, and it's no secret that the team's pass catchers would like to see more of that going forward. 

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"The goal is to win the game. And obviously, you wanna do that first," Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown said. "But like I was saying [Sunday], I just think it took too long for us as an offense to adjust and be more aggressive. One thing is not working.

"I was saying, 'Let's not continue to hit our head on the wall and see if it's gonna work.' Let's mix it up and do what we need to do. That's what I mean."

Brown is correct in his assessment, but can the Eagles be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to the passing game? 

Opening up the offense

The Eagles have noticed an alarming trend regarding the run game and how teams are attempting to stop Saquon Barkley. Philadelphia has faced an 8-man box on 32.3% of its run plays this season, which is the third-highest rate in the NFL (behind the Chargers and Seahawks). The Eagles are also avoiding 10.1% of tackles per rush, which ranks 31st in the league (only the Panthers are worse).

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The run game is clearly a problem and teams have found a way to slow down Barkley through the first three games. Barkley has 58 carries for 194 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. He hasn't had a 20+ yard run and has only had six runs of 10+ yards this season. 

How do the Eagles, a running team, get the run game back on track? The same run game that was the catalyst for a Super Bowl run last season.

This is where Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert come in. This is an opportunity to get all three players the football and eliminate those 8-man boxes. 

"You know, without getting in the way -- yes, I would hope so," Brown said. "I think, gotta go back to last week, I think we're gonna continue to get what we're getting until we show that we can handle it. They're trying to take him away and rightfully so, because he can change the game. 

"We have to help him out as well, get the passing game going to help the run game. Last year, it was kind of like the opposite. So now we have to do the opposite. We gotta take advantage of what he have."

More explosive plays? 

The Eagles rank second-to-last in the NFL in percentage of plays that go 10+ yards (11.5%) and 27th in percentage of plays that go for 20+ yards (3.8%). Remember the playmakers they have on their team. 

This is also a franchise that prides itself on not turning the ball over, having just one giveaway this season and nine over their last 20 games (they also have 39 takeaways during that same span). Risk aversion has led to wins, even with the efficiency of the passing game when the Eagles do actually throw downfield. 

Jalen Hurts is 3 of 5 on throws of 25+ air yards this season, throwing for 117 yards and a 104.2 passer rating. On throws for 10+ air yards, Hurts is 8 of 19 for 224 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions (103.8 rating). 

Hurts throws of 25+ air yards: 2024 (Week 6 on) vs. 2025

The Eagles did tone down the deep passes last season, but Hurts did complete 51 of 91 passes (56.0%) with seven touchdowns and two interceptions for a 117.4 passer rating on throws of 10+ air yards since Week 6. Hurts only threw 20 passes of 25+ air yards from Week 6 on last season, completing 50% of his passes with four touchdowns to one interception (114.6 rating).

Hurts is efficient when throwing the deep ball. Perhaps there should be more of that from now on if the Eagles want to get back to their bread and butter. 

That's up to Nick Sirianni. 

"I would say at times he wanna be aggressive, and at times he wanna do what the defense allows us to do. I think that's smart," Brown said. "You can't be overly aggressive. You can't be overly conservative at times, too. But he does a good job at keeping everything balanced and knowing when to strike and knowing when to push that button."