PHILADELPHIA -- The Sean Mannion experiment was never supposed to look like this.
It also wasn't intended to include Tanner McKee running for a wayward snap from Jake Majors. Still, the hopes were grander than a system that specializes in three-and-outs and leaves the Eagles among the NFL's least efficient teams.
One could point to Jalen Hurts' untouched locker stall after Sunday's 25-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers, no dirty uniform in Saquon Barkley's locker, Lane Johnson watching the game in retirement and Cam Jurgens on a different team altogether as factors. That has some merit -- the talent on the field Sunday wasn't the talent sold as part of the Mannion experience this summer -- but the Eagles consistently look overmatched on offense, with little explanation or path to progress. It would be a rationalization to blame injuries and exits.
It happened too often with Hurts. It looked worse with McKee. And the constant is Mannion's offense.
"We have to do different things to get them going and score more points, plain and simple," head coach Nick Sirianni said. "Everything's on the table. To do the same thing over and over again and not get the results, that'd be foolish. Everything's on the table of what we need to do to be able to put points on the board."
"Everything" being on the table is wide-ranging and ambiguous. It doesn't endorse the status quo. When Sirianni was asked specifically about Mannion's responsibility for the offense's problems, he said no coach or player is on an island. Yet when Sirianni dismissed an offensive coordinator who had been with him for five playoff-bound years, none of which included a four-game losing streak like the Eagles' current quagmire, he said the plan was a dramatic offensive shift that could provide a better schematic advantage.
There's been no advantage. The scheme inspires little consistent confidence beyond occasional spurts, even though team captain Jordan Mailata said he's still confident in it.
"What, are we just going to abandon it?" Mailata said. "What do we run now? You have to have belief. There's a lot of execution errors out there."
Mailata pointed to the game's first play, when a free rusher sacked McKee for an 11-yard loss.
"One side goes left, the other side goes right, 11-yard sack," Mailata said. "We can blame the scheme all we want, but I know as players we have to take accountability first because they're execution errors."
Or how about the fourth quarter after the Eagles cut the Panthers' lead to five points and the defense forced a three-and-out? The offense reclaimed possession around midfield. The first play was Majors' snap past McKee that resulted in a 12-yard loss. Those were not necessarily scheme issues; they were fundamental mistakes that cost the Eagles.
Still, what about the rest of the game -- and the rest of the season, for that matter?
Mannion called under-center play-action five times. The Eagles were sacked twice and threw three incompletions on those plays. It's supposed to be a staple in the offense. It's not working. (The Panthers clearly weren't concerned about the fake to Dameon Pierce on Majors' snap.) The Eagles were far more effective from shotgun (EPA/play: -0.1) than under center (EPA/play: -0.57).
This isn't isolated to this game -- the Eagles rank No. 31 in the NFL in EPA/play under center and No. 32 in under-center play-action; they rank No. 24 in shotgun -- but it's especially relevant with Hurts on injured reserve. The Eagles will start McKee for at least the next three games, and perhaps longer.
McKee had little under-center experience before this season. He struggled in training camp as he adjusted to the new scheme. He's shown promise in a more shotgun-heavy system. If the Eagles want to salvage the season, the key will be maximizing McKee.
McKee said he spent time with Mannion and quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier in meetings before the game, highlighting his favorite plays. He also took over this week after the game plan was already set. The Eagles will have more time to prepare for next week's game against the Dallas Cowboys. Sirianni saying "everything's on the table" came when asked about tailoring the offense to McKee.
A main reason Sirianni wanted to hire Mannion was conviction in the scheme. The best coaches, though, find ways to win with their personnel. That's the situation Mannion and the Eagles face. This might require less conviction and more flexibility.
"I think that's one thing that's great about this offense -- there's a lot of words, there's a lot of different formations, a lot of different things, a lot of different concepts that everything's in," McKee said. "So I think we can mold it to my strengths and mold it to what we do well as an offense. We have a lot of really good playmakers. And so I think it's just whatever our offense will do best this week versus whoever we're playing."
McKee finished 26-of-45 for 215 yards and one touchdown. The high volume of passing came from playing from behind, but likely also because the Panthers were undermanned in the secondary and the Eagles' offense is strong through its receivers right now.
At times, McKee appeared out of sync with the pass catchers -- more work with them will help -- and his most productive plays came when he put the ball up for DeVonta Smith to make plays. McKee's average time to throw/sack was 2.26 seconds, up from the preseason. It still wasn't good enough, largely because of the empty drives.
"My team needs me to be better. I need to be better," McKee said. "I am so much better, and I'm looking forward to learning everything and becoming the player that I know I am, the player that I can prove that I am. A lot of things, obviously, that were frustrating fall on me. A lot of things we've got to get fixed as an offense for sure."
That was the case with Hurts. It remains the case with McKee. The problem might be the offense and not the quarterbacks.
Consider how the Eagles are playing against the blitz. The Eagles have an EPA/play of -0.31 against the blitz this season. It's the first time in the Sirianni era they've been in the negative in that category -- and that includes 2023, when the blitz created issues. Every fan in that stadium would likely sign up for the 2023 offense right now. The Eagles were blitzed on 41.7 percent of dropbacks on Sunday; that percentage has been at least 35 percent in each of the past three weeks. Teams will pressure the Eagles unless and until they show answers.
"We have to do a better job there, plain and simple," Sirianni said.
The Eagles punted on their first five possessions Sunday, the first time that's happened in the Sirianni era. They now lead the NFL in punts. They went three-and-out five times. They now lead the NFL in three-and-out percentage.
It's hard to find an area where you can say the Eagles are better. Growing pains were expected. Sirianni must determine if these are growing pains or just pains. The personnel is a problem, and the running game should improve with Barkley.
The revamped offensive line could improve with more time together. But that's also why coaches are paid: to maximize the talent on your roster.
Changing the variables can reveal something about the constant. This offense has now been seen with two quarterbacks, and similar problems emerge. That means the focus will shift to the offensive coordinator.
The Eagles won two Super Bowls in the past decade by adjusting their offense during the season because of the personnel. Sirianni said everything is on the table to fix the offense. It might be the only way to improve the experiment's results.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
