Eagles on pace for worst offense since 1998: How did it get to this point?

There's no argument the Philadelphia Eagles offense is bad. The 2026 unit is historically bad.

The Eagles are 29th in the NFL in points per game (17.1) and 30th in points per drive (1.61). They're 32nd in yards per game (265.3) and yards per play (4.4), far from the offensive juggernauts the franchise has posted this century — whether that would be from Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, Doug Pederson, or even Nick Sirianni.

There has only been one Eagles team that has put up fewer points than the 2026 squad this century. The 2012 Eagles averaged just 16.6 points per game, and they ended up with a 4-12 record in what would be Reid's last season. The 1.61 points per possession is also the lowest since 2012.

The 265.3 yards per game is the lowest through eight games since 1999 (244.0), and that Eagles team started 1-7 before rallying to finish 5-11 (year one under Reid). The 4.42 yards per play is the lowest since 1999 (3.92), and only the 1998 offense was worse than those two (3.73).

Those 1998 Eagles were an abomination. They were 30th out of 30 teams in points per game (10.1) and yards per game (261.7). That was the only time in franchise history the Eagles finished in the 30s in points and yards per game. If points per possession and yards per possession were measured in 1998, the Eagles would have been last in those categories too.

The 2026 Eagles have the worst offense this century, and is the worst Eagles offense since 1998. That unit had Bobby Hoying start the seaosn before a rotating carousel of quarterbacks that included Rodney Peete and Koy Detmer. The Eagles went from Hoying to Peete before returning to Hoying and eventually Detmer.

So how did the 2026 Eagles get to this point? How did they go from a top-10 offense, to middle of the back, to what they are now — all over the past year?

There were quite a few contributing factors towards the Eagles offense reaching historically bad levels for the franchise.

1. Jeff Stoutland deciding not to return

The Eagles offensive line was middle of the pack last season, the first time in the Nick Sirianni era the offensive line wasn't a top-10 unit. Outside of Lane Johnson, all the other starters on the offensive line started 14+ games — so injuries didn't play a factor in the mediocrity.

Stoutland's role as run-game coordinator also regressed, as Nick Sirianni and former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo began incorporating different run designs to the offense. With these changes in place, Stoutland reportedly wasn't consulted about them as his title was in name only.

With Stoutland not having a prominent voice as in years past, he decided to step aside after the 2025 season. Chris Kuper was hired as the offensive line coach, despite the Minnesota Vikings ranking 31st in sack rate (11.0%) and 27th in pressure rate allowed per dropback (39.8%) last season. The Vikings were 26th in sack rate (8.0%) and 29th in pressure rate (37.8%) from 2022 to 2025 under Kuper.

The Eagles offensive line under Kuper this year? They are 24th in sack rate (7.9%) and 28th in pressure rate (42.7%). They were 19th in sack rate (6.7%) and 20th in pressure rate (35.4%) last year.

2. The Kevin Patullo hire, followed by Sean Mannion hire

The Eagles were coming off a Super Bowl victory in the 2024 season, but offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was leaving after one season to take the New Orleans Saints head coaching job. Philadelphia didn't have a deep opol of candidates for the offensive coordinator role since the Eagles played into February, so Patullo was promoted from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator.

Patullo was passing game coordinator for four seasons, and came over from the Indianapolis Colts with Nick Sirianni. His lone season as offensive coordinator was a disaster, as the scoring dropped from 27.2 points per game to 22.3 (seventh to 19th) and points per possession from 2.50 to 2.00 (eighth to 21st). Yards per game dropped from 367.2 to 3111.2 (seventh to 24th) and yards per play from 5.6 to 5.2 (11th to 19th). The Eagles went from 24.7% in three-and-out rate to 36.0% (21st to fourth).

The offense got worse with Sean Mannion hired to replace Patullo, as the changes to the offensive scheme has made the unit worst. Injuries to the offense haven't helped (Jordan Mailata is the only player to start every game), but the Eagles are historically bad on offense.

To showcase Mannion's struggles, look at the second half of games.The Eagles average 4.6 points per game and 3.9 yards per play (both 32nd in the NFL). The third quarter is even worse, ranking 32nd in points per game (1.6), yards per game (43.0), yards per carry (2.5), yards per play (3.1), and yards per attempt (4.0).

Johnson's sudden retirement played a factor in how this offense has performed, as the Eagles haven't won a game since his sudden retirement after Week 4. The Eagles are 0-3 since Johnson retired, and 3-8 in games he's missed since last season (including playoffs).

The Eagles were 122-63-1 with Johnson in the lineup, a .659 win percentage (including postseason). They are 18-30 without him, a .375 win percentage.

Johnson's replacement at right tackle, Markel Bell, has had a rough start to his career. Bell has allowed five sacks in his three starts, and is tied for second amongst right tackles in most sacks allowed. He has allowed a 7.3% pressure rate per dropback this season — seventh-worst amongst right tackles in the NFL.

Right tackle is a new position for Bell, and he wasn't expected to play this year. Bell was expected to take over for Johnson after this season, just three years after moving up to FBS from Holmes Community College.

The Eagles were going to have to adjust to life without Johnson at some point. This wasn't expected to happen this season.

Any time a team loses their franchise quarterback hurts. What Jalen Hurts over the past month is way bigge rthan football.

Hurts was discovered to have a having a superficial blood clot in his leg following the team's trip to London, which was discovered before he played in the team's Week 5 game against the Jaguars. An ultrasound in the middle of that week found the blood clot had moved to his lungs, which put Hurts on blood thinners and ruled him out for the season.

The Eagles are 58-25 in games Hurts has started since he became the full-time starting quarterback in 2021, a .699 win percentage. Without Hurts, the Eagles are 3-7 in 10 games — a .300 win percentage.

The Eagles passing game has struggled with Hurts, but he has found ways to win football games. They just aren't getting that when Hurts isn't on the field.

In the three games Tanner McKee has started, the Eagles are 32nd in yards per play (4.2), 31st in yards per attempt (5.6), and 29th in offensive points per game (15.0). McKee has completed 63.2% of his passes for 638 yards with 2 TD, 2 INT, and a 76.6 passer rating. He is 31st out of 32 qualified quarterbacks in yards per attempt (5.6) and 26th in passer rating.

There is a massive drop off from Hurts to McKee, who couldn't beat out Andy Dalton for the QB2 job this summer.

The Eagles didn't have the depth at tight end in the 2025 season, despite Dallas Goedert having 11 touchdown catches. Goedert had 591 receiving yards and the rest of the tight ends had a combined 116. While the Eagles ranked 22nd in tight end receiving yards, they also had a significant hole in blocking at the position.

The Eagles addressed the position by signing Johnny Mundt to a one-year contract as teh blocking tight end and drafting Eli Stowers in the second round to be the TE2 behind Goedert. Stowers struggled to gain separation from defenders in minicamp, which moved over to training camp before missing the first six games with hamstring and quad injuries.

Mundt has struggled as a blocker while being the de facto TE2. A Grant Calcaterra injury at the end of training camp didn't help matters either. Once Goedert missed time with a knee injury, the Eagles had to sign 36-year-old Zach Ertz just to have a pass catcher at teh position.

Ertz can't get elevated to the active roster, Mundt is struggling in the offense, and Stowers has just two games into his career. Stowers had 46 yards in garbage time in Sunday's loss to Washington, placing him second on the team in receiving yards for the tight end position.

Goedert has 258 receiving yards and the reminder of the Eagles tight ends have a combined 91. The Eagles are 17th in the NFL in receiving yards amongst tight ends with 349, but also haven't had their bye week yet.

While the position is healthy now, Mannion's offense thrives with two and three tight ends on the field. The Eagles have one capable tight end at this point, which is on the front office for not addressing the position well enough in the offseason.

Perhaps more playing time for Stowers will change that, even if the only time he's been effective is late in games when the outcome has bene determined.