At 8–2, the Eagles are tied for the best record in the NFC, and could land the No. 1 seed in the conference as they look to defend their Super Bowl title.
That same first-place team has been the subject of numerous reports of internal turmoil throughout the season. Star wide receiver A.J. Brown (and to a lesser extent, his running mate DeVonta Smith) is upset with his muted role in the offense, which has struggled to execute to the same level that it did on its Super Bowl run.
Some of that animosity has reportedly turned towards quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose overall numbers have been solid, but who has also struggled to involve Philadelphia’s top playmakers at times. This isn’t a new phenomenon for the franchise—after a trip to the Super Bowl in 2022, the vibes around the franchise were famously bad in ‘23, to the point that some believed coach Nick Sirianni could be fired. That year’s team flamed out in the wild-card round, but bounced back to win the Super Bowl a year later.
That tumultuous 2023 season was the final year of Jason Kelce’s lengthy career with the Eagles. As the 2025 season starts to slip into similar patterns, Kelce appeared on a local SportsRadio 94WIP in Philly to touch on how situations like this fester and steps the Eagles can take to turn things around inside the locker room.
“I think the quotes on Jalen—I think there are frustrations on a team that build up continually. I think Jalen gets a lot of the highlighting of that because he’s the quarterback,” Kelce said. “… This is part of being part on a team, there are so many ups and downs.”
Kelce shared a story of an issue he had with fellow longtime Eagles lineman Lane Johnson, after they disagreed on critical comments that Johnson made about former coach Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense, which led to the two close friends not talking for a full offseason. He says it highlights just how emotional that inter-locker room issues can be.
“This thing brings out emotions and sides of people because you all want to win so bad. I hate seeing this, and the only way out of this … you talk to people. You be accountable. You try to work this out. It’s not that much different than what you do in your marriage. You try to be accountable to what you’re doing wrong, what you’re failing in. You try to take accountability to alleviate the burden off of other people. These are the ways you maintain relationships, and maintain a team functionality.
“… I think by and large, the body of work Jalen has put out there, you can’t deny, in my opinion. I think you need to continue to work through this and be accountable and maintain these relationships in a healthy way.”
Issues within the Eagles locker room in 2025
Philadelphia is in excellent position to make another run at the Super Bowl, but it has gotten to 8–2 in relatively ugly fashion, specifically on offense. The Eagles are 25th in yardage this season at just 300.1 yards per game, and 16th in scoring (23.4 points per game). Last year, Philadelphia was solidly in the top 10 in both categories, led by a historically dominant rushing attack featuring MVP candidate Saquon Barkley.
Barkley hasn’t had nearly the same impact this season, with 662 yards and four touchdowns, averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. Most of the animosity has come from the passing attack, though, and it began just a month into the season. After the team moved to 4–0 with a win against the Buccaneers, Brown posted (and deleted) a bible verse to X that appeared to reveal his discontent after a game in which he caught just two of nine targets for seven yards.
“If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way,” Brown shared. Hurts declined to analyze the post, and Brown apologized for letting his frustrations “boil over.”
The Eagles would drop their next game, a 21–14 loss to the Broncos, after which Hurts, Barkley and Brown reportedly had a "long, positive conversation" about the offense’s direction. Hurts and Barkley confirmed the chat, while Brown said he didn’t recall it, later clarifying that he didn’t view it as a meeting, and that the report painted it differently than he saw it.
In the following days, after an upset loss to the Giants, Johnson said that the team was being too “predictable” offensively, a characterization that Barkley disagreed with, saying it was on the players to execute.
The Eagles haven’t lost since that Giants game, but the vibes have not meaningfully improved, and now the frustrations have reportedly turned on Hurts over his approach against zone coverage and reluctance to make tough throws. That certainly appears to be an issue based on the eye test, though Hurts is second in the NFL in average depth of target at 9.2 yards, and sixth in completed air yards per attempt (4.5).
Brown and Smith are his two favorite targets once again this season, and while Smith is on pace to eclipse 1,100 yards for the second time in his career, Brown’s production in undeniably down. He is on pace to finish the year with under 1,000 yards for just the second time in his career (the first, with the Titans in 2021, came when he played in just 13 games). His 50.8 yards per game is a career low.
Philadelphia’s upcoming schedule
A win in Dallas against the rival Cowboys can cure many ills, and Philly has that opportunity this weekend. The Eagles follow it up with a home game against the assurgent Bears to finish out November.
Philadelphia travels to face the Chargers for in Week 14, and return home for a game against the struggling Raiders. They finish with a pair of conference games against the 3–8 Commanders bracketing a potential Super Bowl preview against the Bills in Buffalo.
