After a devastating Monday Night Football loss to the Falcons, the Eagles are now on their way to New Orleans to face the Saints. Until then, here are five thoughts I have on the Birds right now…

Is Dallas Goedert still a top tight end?

Dallas Goedert was once considered an undisputed top-five tight end in the NFL. He is still a force as a blocker for the Eagles’ successful running game, but after extremely efficient 2021 and 2022 seasons, he has not been the same factor in the Birds’ passing attack.

Check out his yards per route run according to RotoWire and where those numbers rank compared to tight ends in the league over the last few seasons:

He averaged more yards per route run than Tyreek Hill and Mike Evans in 2021, and in this season’s small sample size, he now averages less than 33-year-olds Zach Ertz and Tyler Conklin.

Goedert has been targeted just nine times in two games. They’re missing AJ Brown, their best player and one of the top three wide receivers in the sport. Their offense isn’t running at the same level without him, but even in 2021 without Brown and Jalen Hurts at quarterback, Goedert was a beast. Can he still be that player at 29?

What’s next for Jahan Dotson?

Jahan Dotson’s early results through two games aren’t great. Sure, it’s only two games and Dotson wasn’t signed until late August, but he has the talent to play a major role in Philly. Dotson could forego his background as a first-round pick here and step in as a role player as the third receiver behind Brown and DeVonta Smith, and potentially fill in in case of injuries.

Now, in this unfortunate turn of events, Brown is out with a hamstring injury that will keep him out of action indefinitely. Brown was on the bench for the Eagles’ Monday night loss to Atlanta. Dotson was targeted just once in that game, however, and totaled six receiving yards. That’s clearly not enough as the No. 2 wide receiver to sustain a high-level passing offense.

Is it because the coaching staff isn’t using him quickly enough, Hurts doesn’t trust him, or his skill level isn’t good enough? The answer to questions like that is usually a little bit of everything. It’s a bad sign for Dotson’s role when the undersized veteran returner Britain Covey is used frequently in the red zone by comparison.

General manager Howie Roseman’s move to make a deal for Dotson was a worthwhile risk, but the actual outcome could be completely different.

A pathetic pass rush

The Eagles’ three sacks in two games are their lowest total in that span since the start of the 2021 season. Beneath the surface, those numbers are even worse. Off-ball linebacker Zack Baun had two in Week 1, including on a game-winning Hail Mary-style play. Only one came from a true defensive lineman: Milton Williams against the Falcons. Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis? Zero. 36-year-old Brandon Graham has been their best runner over the past two weeks.

If things continue like this, the Eagles will not be serious competitors.

Is Jalen Hurts back as a runner?

Sure, the loss to the Falcons was a disaster, but if you’re looking for positives that could help the Eagles win, Hurts’ spry runner is certainly one of them.

On a night where Hurts rushed for 85 yards (6.5 yards per attempt) and the team rushed for 186 yards, it felt like a throwback to 2021. The passing game wasn’t great, Brown wasn’t particularly reliable, and Hurts showed the kind of breakout as a scrambler that was missing in Week 1 and the entire 2023 season. His 85 rushing yards were more than in any other game in 2023. It was his most since he rushed for 157 yards against the Packers in November 2022.

Many of those runs came from scrambles rather than actual runs, but maybe that’s a lesson for the Eagles coaching staff. Leave the designed runs to Saquon Barkley. Let Hurts try to beat teams through the air like he did in 2022. When in doubt, though, maybe he can still beat some teams on the ground.

The Superdome was a big problem for the Eagles

Yes, players and coaches have changed over the years, but ask any Eagles fan: How confident are you seeing the Eagles travel to the Big Easy? The answer is probably: not much. The last time the Eagles beat the Saints on the road was in Week 16 of the 2007 season. I was in eighth grade. That’s not even taking into account the team’s crushing playoff loss in the Divisional Round the previous January. Who can forget that painful 2018 playoff loss that also ended a bid to win two consecutive Super Bowls?

It’s a horror movie, but hey, Hurts has played 2-0 against the Saints in his career, with current head coach Dennis Allen leading the defense both times!

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