Bill Belichick gives brutal take on the Philadelphia Eagles after latest blowout defeat

There are a few ways to perceive the state of the Philadelphia Eagles.

On the one hand, they’ve had three postseason berths and reached the Super Bowl in the three years since Nick Sirianni was hired as head coach.

On the other hand, they are currently a 2-2 football team and are just 3-8 dating back to December 2023. Additionally, they are coming off a 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – the same team that ended Philly’s last season playoff run.

Naturally, famed cheapskate Bill Belichick prefers the latter interpretation.

‘Look, they lost [eight] of their last [11] games,” Belichick told Pat McAfee during his weekly ESPN spot. “So if you sit there and say, ‘Well, they’re one of the best teams in the league,’ I don’t know. being 3[8]That’s pretty far-fetched considering what’s been happening lately.”

Belichick wasn’t entirely dismissive of the Eagles — a franchise that split two Super Bowl matchups with the Patriots during his tenure in New England.

“But they do have a lot of good players and a good team,” Belichick continued. “I’m not saying they’re not a good team, I’m just saying they haven’t been doing very well lately.”

The problem, as Belichick sees it, is the Eagles’ tendency to ignore the running game when they are behind.

For example, in Sunday’s loss to the Bucs, star running back Saquon Barkley only got 10 carries, even though he gained a whopping 84 yards that day.

‘[Saquon] Barkley is an explosive guy, but he can’t do much,” Belichick said. “We saw that when he was with the Giants. Once you put [injured wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown] along with that [tight end Dallas] Goedert and Barkley, you have one violation; If you take some of those guys out of there, it gets a little diluted.

‘…Trying to play catch-up and throw the ball all over the field 45 times isn’t a good formula for any team, but I don’t think that’s really the way the Eagles want to play or should play .’

Philadelphia trailed 24-0 to Tampa Bay midway through the second quarter and was outscored 254-0 down the stretch.

The shutout streak is almost unthinkable for any team, let alone a star-studded team like the Eagles, which features Hurts, Barkley and even one of the best kickers in the league in Jake Elliott.

Hurts tried to take the blame for the loss. Sirianni did that too.

But there are plenty of fingers to go around pointing at scapegoats on all sides of the ball for one of the biggest underperforming teams in the NFL this season.

“It’s really a ‘So, what’s next?’ mentality and that’s the approach I’ve had,” Hurts said.

The Eagles are a team that is just a few plays removed from an 0-4 start.

They do have two wins coming into the bye week, a chance to rest and a soft schedule for the next month to try to claw their way into the NFC title picture – and dethrone Sirianni.

“All that matters is that these guys keep getting better and that we as coaches get better. And I mean, that’s all that matters,” Sirianni said. “We’re sitting at 2-2 going into the bye week and all we can do is improve and that’s all we’re going to try to do next week.”

What about everything?

The Eagles fell behind by 24 points and didn’t cross midfield until the second quarter. They were held without an offensive yard for more than a quarter.

More ugly numbers?

Hurts finished 18 of 30 for 158 yards and no interceptions. He was fired six times.

The rest week should be a necessary breather for a team that has played just one home game – the same number the Eagles have played in Brazil this season.

“You have some basic things you’re good at,” Sirianni said. ‘But to say that we know what our identity is, I think that’s the right thing: we have to find out what we are good at and try to continue to do that. Look at what we are not good at, try to figure it out, and combine some things.’

There were few highlights against Tampa Bay. Barkley continues to shine in his first season with the Eagles. He led the team with 116 scrimmage yards (84 rushing, 32 receiving). Barkley has over 100 scrimmage yards in each of the first four games of the season, making him only the second player in Eagles history to accomplish the feat (Timmy Brown in 1965).

On the first play of the scrimmage during the third quarter, Barkley rushed 59 yards to the Tampa Bay 11-yard line.

However, Barkley’s general usage was confusing. He had 10 total carries and only two on the Eagles’ first three possessions. After his 59-yard run, Barkley only got one carry the rest of the way. Yes, the Eagles were down big, but they still couldn’t find a way to get him the ball and at least open up a shot for another explosive play or two?

“That’s a problem we have to figure out now, and we have to start slowly,” Barkley said. “We’re going to practice again, work on it, watch film, (and) see what we can do better. But yeah, that’s definitely something we need to address and get a lot better at.”

Cornerback Darius Slay also lost off the field.

Slay, one of the team’s captains, apologized after deleting a social media post bragging about his credentials after a rough outing for the defense. Noting that he was a Pro Bowl and All-Pro player, Slay also wrote, “When you talk bad about me, don’t forget to mention the greatness of me.”

He was roasted by Eagles fans for the post and later wrote, “LOL I’m better than that.” Slay wrote late Sunday, “Man, I had to let the bra cool. I got out of character!!”

The Eagles are a fired-up bunch heading into the bye.

Offensive lineman Lane Johnson (concussion) and wide receivers AJ Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion) have all missed games. LB Devin White (personal matter) was inactive against Tampa Bay. Safety Reed Blankenship (illness) sat out the second half. DT Jalen Carter and C Cam Jurgens (cramps) missed time in the fourth quarter as temperatures on the field exceeded 100 degrees.

“I don’t think we’ve all played a game together yet, especially on the offensive side of the ball with all our guys,” Barkley said. “We’ll come back, get healthier and get ready to grind, get going again. Whatever it takes, whether it’s passing the ball or running the ball – a little bit of both – we’ve got to find what it is and get ready to do it.”

Yes, the Eagles have been bad, but the first four teams they play are even worse. Cleveland, the New York Giants, Cincinnati and Jacksonville are a combined 3-12 this season, a sign that the season might be salvageable if the Eagles can get healthy, fix most of their problems and attack the NFL’s worst . .

I hope time off helps them find answers to sloppy all-round play. The Eagles return to play their only home game of October on the 13th against Cleveland.