A month into the NFL season, one team \u2014 Team A, let\u2019s call it \u2014 has yet to gain more yards than any of its opponents. <\/p>\n
Team A\u2019s passing offense is ghastly. Last week, its rarely thrown-to star receiver posted a cryptic message on Twitter after the team failed to complete a single pass after halftime. Another MVP-level offensive weapon isn\u2019t producing as expected, either. And statistically speaking, its defense ranks around average.<\/p>\n
Those might sound like the hallmarks of a team going nowhere. But Team A isn\u2019t the 0-4 Jets, Titans or Saints, or the stunningly 1-3 Ravens, either. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s the Philadelphia Eagles, who have followed a Super Bowl title last season with a 4-0 start to the new season. They join Buffalo as the lone undefeated teams remaining entering Week 5. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
These are the same Eagles who have won 20 of their last 21 games and whose 12-game home winning streak is the second-longest in franchise history, since nearly World War II. <\/p>\n
By record, the Eagles are unblemished. Yet that doesn\u2019t mean it has come without drama.<\/p>\n
Much of it has been sparked by whether they have a dynamic enough offense to repeat as champions. <\/p>\n
When quarterback Jalen Hurts went 0-for-8 after halftime last week against previously unbeaten Tampa Bay, star receiver A.J. Brown posted on X a Scripture passage: \u201cIf you\u2019re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don\u2019t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did Brown intimate he wanted to be on his way out of town, after averaging just 3.5 catches per game? <\/p>\n
Nick Sirianni, the team\u2019s head coach, said he didn\u2019t doubt Brown\u2019s willingness to be an Eagle and be a \u201cgood teammate.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to contribute into these wins, and he\u2019s had a couple games where he hasn\u2019t been able to, for different reasons of why we haven\u2019t in these games,\u201d Sirianni said.<\/p>\n
Brown later deleted the post and said it was not directly at anyone specific.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of talent on offense and, to be honest, defense and special teams, have been low-key carrying us,\u201d Brown said Wednesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to clean up what we need to clean up and get on the same page and play to the ability that we say we can, and be who we are called to be. It\u2019s a standard that we preach. So it\u2019s easy to have that frustration. I think it\u2019s fair to have that frustration. But I just can\u2019t let that boil over.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet the fact remains that no offense has gained fewer first downs via passes than the Eagles, who have also completed the league\u2019s third-fewest passes. They are averaging 6.0 yards per pass attempt, which is nearly two yards behind last season\u2019s average. A passing game that brought back most of the players who helped produce 12 explosive plays of 40-plus yards last season, tied for second-most, has generated just one in four games. The offense is run by a first-year coordinator, after his predecessor, Kellen Moore, parlayed last season\u2019s Super Bowl run into a head-coaching job in New Orleans. But Brown\u2019s post also rekindled speculation about the strength of the working relationship between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts \u2014 a topic of debate for two years in Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good,\u201d Hurts told reporters this week.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not gonna analyze or speculate\u201d about Brown\u2019s post,\u201d Hurts said. \u201cHe\u2019s always willing to contribute, and that remains.\u201d<\/p>\n The kinks in the passing offense wouldn\u2019t be as worrisome if the Eagles\u2019 vaunted running game wasn\u2019t also enduring its own. The combination has led to Jekyll-and-Hyde performances where the offense has sometimes looked explosive, and sometimes produced kaput.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got to be more consistent,\u201d Sirianni said this week.<\/p>\n While turning the \u201cTush Push\u201d quarterback sneak into a nearly unstoppable (and nearly banned) weapon in short-yardage situations, and blocking for running back Saquon Barkley as he became only the ninth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history last season, the Eagles\u2019 offensive line earned a reputation as the NFL\u2019s very best. This season, however, three players are coming off either offseason surgery or playing through injury, while a fourth is in his first season as starter.<\/p>\n Last season, that line created so much room for Barkley to run that he gained an average of 3.8 yards before being hit, the highest of any running back, according to Pro Football Reference. This season, that average has dropped to 1.7 yards before contact, and Barkley has had defenders in his face much quicker. <\/p>\n Through four games, Barkley has gained half as many yards per carry than at the same point last season. And Barkley, last season\u2019s offensive player of the year, has yet to gain more than 100 yards from scrimmage in a single game. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen the running game is going bad, I\u2019ve got to own it,\u201d Barkley said after last week\u2019s win in Tampa. \u201cThe beauty of it is we\u2019re not running the ball too great and we\u2019re 4-0.\u201d<\/p>\n What else we\u2019re watching for in Week 5:<\/p>\n Minnesota (2-2) vs. Cleveland (1-3): The league’s third international game this season, in London, is the backdrop for Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s first career start after replacing Joe Flacco. The last Browns quarterback to win in his first start was Eric Zeier in 1995.<\/p>\n Denver (2-2) at Philadelphia (4-0): The Broncos have lost five consecutive road games dating to last season but lead the league with 15 sacks. <\/p>\n Las Vegas (1-3) at Indianapolis (3-1): The Colts could become the first team since 1945 to go three consecutive home games without a punt. The Raiders, meanwhile, have lost seven straight games against winning teams.<\/p>\n Houston (1-3) at Baltimore (1-3): Division winners from last season who harbored similar playoff aspirations this year find themselves in a world of trouble. The Texans are coming off only their third shutout in franchise history. Baltimore’s Derrick Henry is one rushing touchdown from tying Walter Payton (110) for the fifth-most in NFL history.<\/p>\n Giants (1-3) at New Orleans (0-4): After a win in his first career start, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart<\/a> will try to end his team’s seven-game losing streak on the road. His Saints counterpart, Spencer Rattler, is 0-10 for his career.<\/p>\n Dallas (1-2-1) at Jets (0-4): The good: The Cowboys lead the NFL with 404.3 yards per game. The bad: Their defense has allowed even more, ranking dead last. The Jets have yet to force a turnover \u2014 the only team yet to do so.<\/p>\n Miami (1-3) at Carolina (1-3): The Panthers recommitted to Bryce Young as the starter. All three of their losses have been on the road. Miami is 21-8 against teams with losing records under coach Mike McDaniel.<\/p>\n