PHILADELPHIA - Kevin Patullo is safely tucked away in South Florida, so what’s the excuse now?

The Eagles’ second-half offense has become a three-and-out machine, and the numbers are even uglier than in the Patullo-villified offense of 2025.

According to data highlighted by NFL Researcher, the Eagles own the highest three-and-out rate in the second half of any team in the NFL at 50.0% 

The Houston Texans sit a distant second at 38.9%, followed by the Ravens (33.3%), Raiders (31.8%), and Steelers (31.3%). No other club has reached as low as 30%.

The problem can be boiled down even further to the third quarter, where eight of the Eagles’ 11 drives, an extraordinary 72.7% — have resulted in a three-and-outs. That is the highest rate posted by any team in any single quarter through the first three weeks of the NFL season.

Philadelphia has received the opening kickoff of the second half in all three games so far and responded with a three-and-out each time. 

Those drives produced four negative plays, two penalties, and zero net yards. 

Against the Commanders in Week 1, the sequence was a one-yard loss by Saquon Barkley, a three-yard loss on a swing pass to Makai Lemon, and a short completion that forced a punt. The script has been similar since.

The collapse, though, was most visible in Chicago. Trailing 10-7 on Monday Night Football, the Eagles opened the third quarter with momentum after a buzzer-beating Jalen Hurts tush-push touchdown only to squander it with three consecutive three-and-outs, a lull that enabled Case Keenum, making his first start in three years, to help the Bears build the lead up to 20-7. 

Saquon Barkley, who had run for 73 yards on 11 carries before halftime, managed just four carries for nine yards after the break. The offense generated only one first down in the entire third quarter and finished the night with seven points in a 27-7 loss. 

Second-half Stalls

Through three games, the Eagles have been outscored 40-20 and outgained 563-334 in the second half. In the third quarter, they have 115 total yards (31st in the league), 2.80 yards per play (dead last at No. 32), three first downs, and zero touchdowns. They have scored just six third-quarter points all season, sparking memories of Patullo as the halcyon days. 

Head coach Nick Sirianni acknowledged the issue Wednesday, hinting that the offensive plan coming out of halftime will change.

“I'm not going to get into what we'll do as far as that goes. I don't think that's good for anybody, but we're going to go about some things [differently],” the coach said. “If you keep doing the same thing over and over again and it's not working, then you've got to try to move on and fix it.”

Sirianni further foreshadowed putting the offense in reverse and back to what’s worked in the past.

“A couple things that we'll try to do that we've been able to accomplish sometimes in the past,” said Sirianni. “Those are critical moments, in the sense that you go down and you kind of work a double dip, meaning you score at the end of half, you turn around and then you score again. That's a big momentum switch, especially if that's like 14 points. I mean, even if it's a field goal. Field goals-- that's six points. We know how critical that is and we have to fix that portion of our game right now. It hasn't been the same thing. The failure coming out of the half hasn't been the same theme on the defensive end. We've got to look at ourselves first and fix that portion of it. We've got a couple things that we're working on with that while we plan our first- and second-down game plan.”

The broader offensive profile offers little comfort. Philadelphia ranks 24th in total yards, 23rd in scoring (18.3 points per game), and 28th in passing. 

With the powerful LA Rams next on the schedule, the Eagles’ ability to sustain a drive after intermission will be a necessity.

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