Philadelphia Floundering as Eagles Mired in 7-Game Losing Streak

Why aren’t the Philadelphia Eagles soaring this NFL season?

Could the team’s woes be as simple as the injuries to several key players? Star running back Saquon Barkley missed games five and six due to a Grade 1 right hamstring sprain.

Former Heisman Trophy winner and wide receiver DeVonta Smith missed his fifth game of the season this past Sunday, sidelined by his lingering hamstring issues. Smith had been the Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts’ favorite target.

Hurts has been absent as well from Philly’s offense. The Eagles placed their starting passer on the injured reserve list on Oct. 17 as a result of a left calf injury that later led to a pulmonary embolism.

Hurts is expected to be out of action for three months, and will likely miss the remainder of the 2026 season.

So, when the Eagles dropped another game this past Sunday to the New York Giants, 19–11, at Lincoln Financial Field, is this bye week arriving with perfect timing? Philadelphia needs a reboot.

Rest could be a simple solution for Eagles coach Nick Sirianni’s crew to regain the confidence needed against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 22.

Philadelphia has been averaging 11 points and 189 yards per game during the seven-game slide. Sirianni is now in his sixth season calling the shots for the Eagles. Success just doesn’t drop off as quickly as the Eagles are experiencing due to a failure in leadership. Two seasons ago, Philadelphia won their second Super Bowl.

Players, from time to time and with little warning, can find themselves in a rut. The Eagles running game has turned anemic during the losing streak. Barkley, who the Eagles depend on heavily to reach end zones across the NFL landscape, is the first to admit he and his backfield mates have to pick up their game.

“We definitely didn’t establish a run today,” Barkley told reporters after Sunday’s loss at home to the Giants. “We didn’t do a lot of good today on offense, but especially the run game. You know that starts and finishes with me. So, I wasn’t good enough today in that.”

If Philadelphia has any hopes of reversing their fortunes at home against the Steelers in Week 11, newly anointed Hurts stand-in Joe Milton needs to practice, practice, practice over this coming weekend’s break.

When Hurts went down, second-stringer Tanner McKee failed during his three-game audition, after three consecutive losses. Milton was plucked off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct. 16. The Giants game was Milton’s first NFL start. The Eagles’ third-string quarterback believes he’s on the right track to victory.

“For my first game here, I feel that I did all right. There’s a lot of things that I can clean up. As far as protection, just helping those guys with protection is something we are going to get better on this week coming up.”

The Eagles rush defense this season has been dreadful. They have allowed 126.1 yards per game, 24th among the 32 NFL teams. There are holes in their offensive line that need plugging, if Milton has any chance of success. Against the Giants, Milton was sacked seven times. New York came into the game with nine sacks all season.

Milton was 18-of-34 for 169 yards. He threw for no touchdowns, but the Eagles quarterback didn’t make any interceptions, either.

Going into their bye week, the Eagles are in fourth place (last) in the NFC East; at 2–7. With Sunday’s win, the Giants under new head coach John Harbaugh, at 5–2–1, are in first place in the NFC East. Prior to Sunday’s victory in Philly, New York lost 13 straight games at Lincoln Financial Field. They last won there in 2013.

The Eagles’ eight remaining games are split; four at home and four on the road.

For now, Milton is the guy tagged to lead the Eagles’ offense. Patience isn’t easy to accept for some sports fans, particularly in Philadelphia. Eagles fans are spoiled with sustained success. Now, with their star quarterback on the shelf, a Cowboys castoff is who Sirianni is banking on to reverse the team’s free fall.

One week at a time, one healed injury at a time, and with Milton, perhaps one quarter at a time, this is how the rest of the Eagles’ season very well might be judged.