Why the Eagles’ run game collapsed in 2025 and how to fix it

Every week, I write a preview of the Eagles’ upcoming opposition. However, I wrote about Washington just two weeks ago, so I thought I would get around to something I’ve wanted to write for a while. What is going on with the Eagles’ running game this year? There are a few statistics in here, all from SumerSports.

The Eagles Run Game

The decline of the Philadelphia Eagles’ run game in 2025 is, in my opinion, the single biggest issue with the Eagles’ offense right now, after watching this team all season. The Eagles’ rushing output has fallen from 3,048 yards last year to 1,908 this year. That decline is not simply about calling fewer runs. While total rush attempts are down from 621 to 459, efficiency has declined alongside volume. Yards per carry have slipped from 4.91 to 4.16, explosive runs of 10 or more yards are down by over 30%, and rushing first downs have fallen from 170 to 114. Those numbers are pretty crazy. Especially when you consider the roster is pretty similar, and I think Saquon Barkley looks as good as ever.

Advanced metrics reinforce what the basic numbers suggest. Last season, the Eagles’ run game was a clear positive, finishing with +54.62 total expected points added on rushing plays and a strong +0.088 EPA per run. This year, that same unit is operating in the opposite direction, with a total EPA of -11.59 and a negative EPA per rush. Taken together, the data paints a picture of a run game that is no longer helping the offense. It is becoming a major issue instead of a minor weakness as the season progresses.

This piece isn’t about assigning blame to one player or one decision. It’s not just Kevin Patullo or Jeff Stoutland. It’s not all on Cam Jurgens or Landon Dickerson, which is why the issues are best understood by breaking them into categories and outlining how each can realistically be fixed. Which is what I have tried to do! Buckle up…

1. Reduced Quarterback Involvement

One of the most consequential changes in the Eagles’ offense this season is not a new play call or a personnel tweak; it’s simply the gradual removal of the quarterback as a consistent structural threat in the run game. The offense still looks familiar, but without Jalen Hurts functioning as a true run constraint, the Eagles have lost one of their biggest weapons.

In previous seasons, the Eagles’ run game benefited as defenses had to account for Hurts as a runner on every snap. That threat didn’t just create quarterback yards; it slowed linebackers, forced defensive ends to hesitate, and prevented defenses from fully committing extra bodies to the running back. Even when Hurts didn’t keep the ball, his presence shaped how every defender fit the run.

This season, that stress is fading. Hurts is still mobile, still capable, but he is far less likely to keep the ball by design. Defenses are adjusting accordingly. Linebackers are crashing downhill without hesitation. Edge defenders are aggressively squeezing running lanes. Safeties are inserting earlier into the box. The run game is losing the numbers advantage before it even starts. The running game is all about numbers. The QB being a threat in the run game gives you an extra player! I am a fan of more under center looks (especially play-action) to mix things up, but it takes Hurts out of the play.

The rest of the offensive design amplifies the problem. A zone-heavy run scheme without a quarterback keep threat asks running backs and blockers to win straight up against unfavourable numbers. That’s a difficult way to live in the modern NFL, and it shows up in the form of stalled drives, negative runs, and constant second-and-long situations.

SOLUTION:

The Eagles obviously want to protect Hurts and run him less, but I think they have to accept where the offense is heading into the playoffs and turn Hurts back into a high-volume runner. He doesn’t need to run up the middle and get hit every play. But they do need to restore defensive uncertainty. Selective QB draws, counter reads, and occasional keepers force defenses to play the run game honestly again.

You can run the QB in a way that doesn’t get him hit. He can slide. You have to trust him to protect himself. Even a small number of designed quarterback runs changes how defenders fit the run across the entire game. The quarterback doesn’t have to carry the run game, but he has to exist within it. At times this year, he hasn’t even had an impact.

2. The Run Scheme is Predictable and has Changed

In 2025, the Eagles are running more outside zone, but with fewer of the elements that previously made it dangerous. Last year, the offense largely lived in inside zone and counter. We saw some trap, outside zone toss, and more motion. The run game was more varied. This years offense has become increasingly zone-heavy, with outside zone taking on a larger share of the run game while gap and pull concepts quietly fade into the background.

That shift matters because Outside Zone is one of the most demanding run concepts in football. It requires clean timing, lateral movement from the offensive line, reliable edge blocking, and it is often run by offenses that run boot-action to get the quarterback on the move. The Eagles’ offense doesn’t do this that often, so running so much outside zone feels a weird fit. With fewer creative runs and counter concepts, defenses are triggering downhill immediately and beating blocks to the spot. Last year, the Eagles had some more innovative ideas in the run game.

Outside zone is a foundational concept rather than a complementary one this year, which makes little sense to me. I checked the numbers, and the Eagles are running fewer inside zone, counter, and power plays than last year. That matches the eye test. Gap schemes can be easier to execute at times, as they give offensive linemen a clear target to aim for, and the angles in the run game can sometimes be better.

The Eagles used to run cool concepts such as Dart (tackle power). I don’t think we’ve seen it all year! The problem isn’t that outside zone is a bad concept; it’s that the Eagles are running it against loaded boxes and five-man fronts. Zone runs without misdirection become a race to the edge that the defense often wins. We have seen it too often this year.

SOLUTION:

The answer is not abandoning outside zone, but running it less. The Eagles need to get back to what made their run game difficult to defend last year. They need to pair zone runs with more gap schemes that punish flow, use pin/pull and counter to slow linebacker fits, and reintroduce quarterback involvement to force defenders to hesitate. Outside zone doesn’t feel connected to the passing game much at all, and it often feels like a random play.

3. Personnel is a Problem

One of the quieter but most restrictive issues with the Eagles’ run game is that the roster itself places a ceiling on what the offense can realistically do on the ground. Around the league, many of the most efficient rushing attacks are built on tight ends who can function as true blockers, wide receivers who consistently win on the perimeter, and fullbacks or hybrid players who allow offenses to shift between spread and power looks without substituting. Right now, the Eagles don’t have that kind of versatility. The personnel is an issue. The Eagles’ roster feels built for a slightly different version of offensive football that is dominating the NFL right now.

Goedert remains a high-level receiving threat, but he is not a consistent point-of-attack run blocker this year. Grant Calcaterra struggles even more in that role, particularly when asked to handle defensive ends or interior defenders in condensed formations. Without a true specialist blocking tight end on the roster, the Eagles are forced to either ask players to do things they’re not built for or avoid entire sections of the run game altogether.

That limitation shows up in what the Eagles don’t do as much as what they do. Many teams use tight ends and fullbacks to create split-flow actions, Wham blocks, and backfield misdirection that can punish aggressive fronts without relying on dominance from the offensive line. The Eagles don’t run anything like wham this year. They don’t have the personnel to live in that world consistently. The absence of a true fullback further narrows the playbook, removing an entire layer of downhill and counter-based concepts that could help in short yardage and against loaded boxes. They even tried Dallas Goeder at fullback this past week…

The issue extends to the wide receiver room as well. While the Eagles are elite at the top with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, neither is a fantastic blocker. Jahan Dotson isn’t a good blocker. The Eagles don’t have a Puka Nucua. Without dependable perimeter blockers, the offense has fewer answers when trying to hit the edge or create numbers advantages outside.

SOLUTION:

In the short term, the Eagles have to accept the limitations of the roster and stop calling runs that require personnel they don’t actually have. That means fewer concepts that rely on tight ends winning one-on-one at the point of attack and more designs that space the defense out. Longer term, this becomes a roster-building question. Adding a true blocking tight end, a hybrid fullback/H-back type, or receivers with more run-game utility would immediately expand what the offense can do schematically.

4. Multiple Tight End Sets

Another issue that keeps surfacing on tape is how often the Eagles are shrinking the field for themselves. The offense leans heavily on condensed formations with multiple tight ends, attempting to impose physicality, but it’s just not working at all. I’m shocked they keep doing it. Ready for some crazy numbers?

My goodness. The Eagles’ condensed 12 and 13 personnel sets are bringing more defenders closer to the ball, compressing running lanes, and forcing tight ends into matchups they are not consistently winning. Without strong edge blocking or a reliable quarterback threat, these formations turn into crowded boxes where defenders can attack downhill immediately. It’s simply insane to me that they are running 86% of the time when in 13 personnel. 86%! You can’t win that way.

The result is a run game that feels claustrophobic. Running backs have fewer options. Linemen have worse angles. One missed block turns into a tackle for loss because there is no space to recover. Instead of creating space, the offense is removing it. I don’t think it suits this team. It feels like the Eagles are doing this stuff because some of the best offenses in the NFL are doing it, rather than doing it because it suits their current personnel.

SOLUTION:

The Eagles need to stop using heavy personnel as much. More snaps out of 11 personnel create natural spacing, lighter boxes, and cleaner run lanes. When you spread the defense out, you are more likely to get split-safety coverage, as teams are scared of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. They aren’t as afraid of them when they are lined up condensed!

It really doesn’t seem that complicated to me.

5. Late Huddle Breaks Are Locking the Offense Into Bad Run Play

One of the most-discussed aspects of the Eagles’ offense of late is how late they are getting to the line of scrimmage. Deniz Selman has been all over this on Twitter.

This is not scheme design or play selection. It’s just timing. Too often, the offense is simply getting to the line of scrimmage too late to change anything, even when it’s obvious the run look is unfavourable. In simple terms, this means the Eagles are often locked into their original play call even if the play is destined to fail.

This is especially damaging for the run game. When the Eagles line up late, defenses have the freedom to show heavy boxes, roll safeties down, and align five-man fronts without fear of being checked out of it. The offense simply doesn’t have the time to audible, reset protections, or flip the run. It’s not always that the play itself is bad; it’s that the offense is snapping the ball into a look the defense has already won.

SOLUTION:

The solution here is simply urgency. The Eagles need to break the huddle earlier and get to the line faster to allow Jalen Hurts to check out of bad looks. Until the Eagles fix how they manage the play clock, the run game will continue to be snapped into looks that were already lost before the ball was ever handed off, and this will mean wasted plays.

6. The Offensive Line is Not as Good

Sometimes, the truth is easy to spot. The offensive line just isn’t playing as well as it has in recent years. For a long stretch, the Eagles have been able to paper over small structural problems because the offensive line was dominant enough to win anyway. That margin for error is smaller right now.

Landon Dickerson has clearly been dealing with physical issues, and while he continues to play through them, his mobility and power don’t look the same snap to snap. Dickerson used to dominate guys.

The Eagles ask a lot of their guards in space, especially in zone concepts, and when Dickerson isn’t fully healthy, those demands become harder to meet. Cam Jurgens has also had uneven stretches, with some rough individual reps that disrupt run fits before they can even develop. I watched some old clips for this piece and some of Jurgens old reps just look a different player to me. He was way more explsoive.

On the edges, the standard has dipped slightly as well. Jordan Mailata is still a very good player, but he hasn’t been the overwhelming, tone-setting force he has been at his peak. Lane Johnson missing time is obviously a huge deal.

The loss of Mekhi Becton removes a unique physical presence from the interior. He was someone capable of generating vertical movement that is very rare. This doesn’t mean the offensive line is bad. As the line isn’t dominating the way it once did, the offense can no longer rely on brute force to bail out poor looks, predictable calls, or unfavourable numbers. I put less blame on the offensive line than I do on the coaches and the design.

SOLUTION:

The Eagles need to acknowledge that the line isn’t currently at a place where it can consistently win difficult blocks in space or overcome loaded boxes on its own. That means leaning more heavily on gap schemes that allow linemen to fire downhill, simplifying assignments to reduce mental errors, and pairing the run game with the threat of the QB run to slow defenders before contact.

7. Confusion/Execution

This is a weird point, as I’m unsure who is at fault. Too many run plays are failing because of basic execution and communication breakdowns. There are frequent instances on tape of backside linebackers running free through the hole, unaccounted for. On other snaps, two blockers are working to the same defender while another is left completely untouched.

These mistakes often compound the other problems already present. When you’re running into heavy boxes, snapping the ball late, or relying on tight windows in condensed formations, there’s very little margin for error. When the run game was at its peak, I’m sure blocks were missed, but the issues were not magnified. This confusion also ties back to tempo and cohesion. Late huddle breaks limit communication time. More complex zone rules increase the chance of hesitation or misreads.

SOLUTION:

More gap concepts with defined responsibilities can reduce mental errors. Getting to the line of scrimmage earlier should help to figure out who is blocking who. But this is a tough one to analyse because it’s impossible to know who is at fault.

Who to Blame?

I know everyone hates hearing ‘it’s not one thing, it’s lots of things’ but it is the truth. None of these points alone have caused such a big decline in the run game.

Personally, I believe the most significant issues with the run game are structural and happen before the snap. While the offensive line is not playing well, it would look far better in a healthier run environment. I am more critical of the coaches than the players when it comes to the run game. It’s not Grant Calcaterra’s fault he can’t block very well. It’s the coaches for continually playing 13 personnel and asking him to pull.

Final Thoughts

The Eagles are too talented for this to keep happening. The offensive line is still talented. Jalen Hurts is a great mobile quarterback. Saquon Barkley is elite. Despite personnel issues, this isn’t just a roster problem. It’s a structural one. The good news is that some easy fixes are there.

It’s hard to imagine the Eagles winning another Super Bowl with a run game that opponents can stop so easily. Super Bowl winners don’t need to dominate on the ground, but they must be able to run the ball with purpose, efficiency, and reliability when it matters most.

Right now, the run game isn’t doing that. And until it does, everything else about this offense has a lower ceiling than it should.