When you can measure your 2nd-half yardage in inches, that’s probably not a good sign.

The Eagles gained 192 inches of offense after halftime Sunday against the Bills, but that’s a little deceiving because it was 204 inches until Jalen Hurts took a knee to end the game.

Not good.

The Eagles’ offense did some good things in the first half Sunday, netting 174 yards, converting three of six third downs, extending drives and getting Saquon Barkley going with 11 carries for 51 yards.

They led the Bills 13-0 and seemed to be on their way to a comfortable win in Orchard Park.

Then nothing.

Or almost nothing. Just those 192 inches.  

“We know as an offense, we’ve got to continue to do what we need to do to finish games and win,” Barkley said after the Eagles hung on for a 13-12 win. “I think we kind of went back to a consistent theme of playing really well one half and not well the other half, not putting a full game together. 

“Obviously, we know we’ve got to get better. It’s a lot easier to get better from winning.”

It sure is a consistent theme. Take a look:

→ First Cowboys game, 21 points in the first half, three in the second.

→ Rams game, seven points in the first half, 26 in the second.

→ Buccaneers, 24 points in the first half, seven in the second.

→ First Giants game, 17 points before halftime, none after.

→ Packers, nothing in the first half, 10 in the second.

→ Lions, 13 before halftime, three after.

→ Second Cowboys game, 21 in the first half, nothing in the second.

→ Bears, three in the first, 12 in the second.

→ Chargers, six in the first, 13 in the second.

→ Commanders, seven in the first, 22 in the second.

→ Bills, 13 in the first, none in the second.

That’s 10 of 16 games where the offense had at least one really bad half. The Eagles are 11-5 largely on the strength of their defense, which was spectacular once again. But that’s a very difficult way to try and win games. Especially in the postseason.

In the second half Sunday, the Eagles had one first down, went 0-for-7 on third down, averaged 3 ½ yards per drive, didn’t complete a pass and averaged 1.8 yards per rushing attempt.

It sure seemed like the Eagles took their foot off the gas and were content to go three-and-out, let Braden Mann punt it deep and leave everything in the hands of the defense. 

Sirianni isn’t buying it.

”We weren’t in a mode of saying, ‘Hey, 13 -0 is enough,’” he said. “Not against this quarterback, not against this offense. And so I don’t think our mindset was ever that. But again, I’ve got to do a better job there in that scenario. And I’ll put that on myself.”

Hurts was very good before halftime, completing 13 of 20 passes for 110 yards and a short touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert.  

“I think we got into a good rhythm and good groove (in the first half),” Hurts said. “We were able to move the ball down the field in the first half, and in the second half, a lot of things that I have to watch the tape on to be able to pinpoint, but obviously maintaining aggression is one thing and maintaining rhythmic play, then just going out there and executing. So you always look yourselves in the mirror with that.”

Hurts lamented the Eagles’ red-zone play, specifically a 2nd-quarter drive down to the Bills’ 10-yard-line where they could have put the game away but had to settle for a short field goal.

And he pointed to their 4th-quarter 3-and-out that started with 5:11 left and the Eagles up 13-6 that netted negative-two yards.

“Competitively, as a unit on offense, you want to go out there and try to end things on your terms,” he said. “We’ve had opportunities to finish games with the ball in our hands, and then we’ve had opportunities where we haven’t. And today was a game where we didn’t finish the way we would have liked to finish.

“Regardless of how the flow of the game goes, when you have an opportunity to close it, whether it’s for a victory, whether it’s for a kind of four-minute mode, you want to do that.”

Barkley lost three yards on the first play of that drive and like Hurts, he was accountable, placing the blame on himself. 

“Personally, I feel like when there’s like six minutes left, you want to kind of end the game with a ball in your hands,” he said. “And we didn’t do that, and I didn’t do that. So I’ll take responsibility for that.”

Hurts said it was important to celebrate a big late-season win over a Super Bowl contender in a very tough place to play while also addressing some of the issues that keep popping up.

“I’ve got a ton of trust in us as a team,” he said. I’ve got a ton of trust in us as a unit to continue to grow forward and build and improve. Today was a game where it went the way it went and flowed the way it flowed, and defense played a hell of a game. They played as a true unit and were able to go out there play and click.

“It’s about winning and finding ways to win (but) you also have this competitive side where you’re trying to improve and trying to be the best you can be as well. So that’s where we are. That’s where I am as a leader. That’s where I am as a quarterback.”