With six weeks of action in the books, we are officially a third of the way through the 2026 NFL season. For the Philadelphia Eagles, the season hasn't gone at all as they expected or hoped. The Eagles sit at 2-4 after six games, and even worse than their record is the fact that they will be without star quarterback Jalen Hurts for the remainder of the campaign due to blood clots.
Understandably, morale is pretty low among the fan base at this point in time. But there's still a lot of football left this season, and thanks to the NFC East, the Eagles are still technically well inside the playoff picture. So, all hope isn't lost. With two-thirds of the season still ahead, now seems like a good time for a confidence check, so let's give it a go.
Reasons for pessimism for Eagles' playoff outlook
Eagles fans won't have a hard time finding reasons for pessimism at this point in the season, starting with the absence of Hurts, who led the team to a Super Bowl victory two seasons ago. Hurts' entire tenure with the Eagles has been defined by success. Over his first five years as a starter for Philly, Hurts led the Eagles to five consecutive playoff berths, two Super Bowl appearances, and one victory in the Big Game.
While people like to downplay Hurts' stats, Philadelphia's recent run of success would have been impossible without Hurts' poise and penchant for making big plays in big moments. Just look at both of his Super Bowl performances, when he was the best player on the field in both games. We don't really know what the Eagles look like without Hurts for an extended period. If Tanner McKee's Week 6 performance against the Carolina Panthers is any indication, it's not great.
Philadelphia's injury issues aren't limited to Hurts, either. It feels like virtually every key contributor on offense for the Eagles is dealing with some sort of injury, and the defense is decently banged up too.
Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert have all missed time this season, and the offensive line looks completely different from what it did at the start of the season due to a combination of injuries, trades, and Lane Johnson's retirement. Hopefully the Eagles can get the bulk of their key cogs back on the field in the coming weeks, but even that might not be enough to overcome an uninspired offensive approach.
Sean Mannion's first six games as the Eagles' offensive coordinator have left a lot to be desired, and there's reason to doubt it will improve, especially without Hurts. We're seeing a lot of the same issues under Mannion that we saw last season, including a lack of creativity and an inability to create easy opportunities for the offense. After six games, the Eagles sit 30th in total yards per game (255.5), 29th in rushing yards per game (82.2), 25th in passing yards per game (173.3), and 28th in points per game (17.7).
Despite the offense's struggles, Nick Sirianni made it clear that the Eagles don't plan to relieve Mannion of his play-calling duties.
“I’ll do everything we can do, our coaches will do everything we can do to help us win football games,” Sirianni said (h/t Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia). “. . . But as far as who’s coaching the positions and who’s calling the plays, that will remain the same. We’re looking for answers and we’re looking for solutions.”
It's usually not a great sign when a head coach has to answer questions about his coordinator's job security six weeks into a season.
Reasons for optimism
While they're harder to identify, there are still a few reasons for optimism when it comes to the Eagles' postseason outlook, with the main one being that they play in the NFC East, which might be the worst division in football this year.
No team in the division has won a game since Week 4, and the losses have kept the Eagles' hopes alive, statistically at least. The Eagles still have five games against division opponents this season, starting with a matchup against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football in Week 7. How they fare in those games could go a long way towards determining who wins the division and gets the guaranteed playoff spot that comes with it.
Plus, you have to hope the injury bug that has plagued the Eagles all season will begin to die down at some point. Smith returned to game action last week, while Barkley could be back sometime in the near future, too. Plus, reinforcements could be coming on the offensive line with the looming returns of Landon Dickerson and Drew Kendall.
Having all of those guys back should make things easier for Mannion, McKee, and the rest of the offense. Philadelphia's defense has been largely good enough to keep the team in games. If they could get some help from the other side, perhaps the Eagles could pull out some wins and remain in the postseason conversation. With that said, a sixth consecutive playoff berth for the Birds still feels extremely unlikely.
Confidence meter: 3/10
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