The main topic of Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo\u2019s press conference on Tuesday was the second half of the team\u2019s Week 17 win over the Bills. <\/p>\n
The offense gained 17 yards, picked up one first down and did not complete a pass while running 17 plays over five possessions that all ended with punts. That helped the Bills get back into a game that they trailed 13-0 at halftime and the offensive blackout remains an issue despite the Eagles escaping with a 13-12 win. <\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Patullo said that offensive slumps \u201cnever come down to one thing\u201d and that he doesn\u2019t believe the offense got too conservative while playing with a lead. He did identify one area that was a particular issue against Buffalo. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at it, is the amount of drives we had and plays and some of the starting positions, it was the first down thing again,\u201d Patullo said, via a transcript from the team. \u201cWe had four drives where we had inefficient first downs, put us in four second-and-longs, and then from that, we were in three third-and-longs. When you\u2019re doing that, when that\u2019s happening, it\u2019s going to be very hard to move the ball. . . . When you look at those drives, it gets frustrating. We need one play. All we need is one spark, one thing to get those things going and we\u2019re out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lack of production against Buffalo was extreme, but it\u2019s hardly been a one-time event for the Eagles offense over their 16 games so far this season. Patullo was asked if that means this is what the offense is going to be or if they\u2019ll be able to switch into a higher gear in the postseason. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say there\u2019s a switch,\u201d Patullo said. \u201cI think we\u2019ve been a little inconsistent, and we know we have it in us to do what we need to do because we\u2019ve done it in spots. That\u2019s what we\u2019ve got to really lean into and press into and be detailed and do what we have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n