The Week 15 matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Philadelphia Eagles features a couple of teams who are searching for answers, but in different ways. The Raiders have several problems that won’t be solved until the offseason, while the Eagles are trying to end their offensive woes before a potential playoff run.
To preview the game for Raider Nation, Silver and Black Pride reached out to our friends and Bleeding Green Nation, and Brandon Lee Gowton was kind enough to answer a few questions about the Birds.
Q: What’s going on with the Eagles’ offense this season? Is quarterback Jalen Hurts or offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo more to blame for the unit’s recent struggles?
A: Despite being the most expensive offense in the NFL by a significant margin, the Eagles rank 14th in DVOA, 16th in EPA per play, 21st in offensive points per game, 24th in yards per game, and 26th in success rate. It’s clearly not a very good offense, especially relative to investment.
The Eagles being this bad isn’t just on one person. The quarterback hasn’t been good enough. His surrounding cast hasn’t been good enough. The coaching hasn’t been good enough.
There’s naturally increased attention on Hurts this week since he had five turnovers on Monday night. Make no mistake: he must play better. He’s in a slump right now.
It’s hard to argue that the coaching has done him a lot of favors. I do think the Kevin Patullo hate goes a little overboard because he’s not going into a room and drawing up the entire offense. Nick Sirianni has a lot of say in this offense, as does Hurts. And the play call menu that Patullo is picking from is heavily influenced by them. While Patullo’s sequencing could be better, the play designs aren’t very inspiring.
TL;DR – The offense is a mess and everyone is to blame. There’s a case to be made that the biggest onus is on the quarterback to fix it since he’s being paid over a quarter of a billion dollars to be the rising tide to lift all boats. But the coaching needs to help him more, too.
Q: Based on reports, it seems like wide receiver AJ Brown isn’t happy with his role in the Eagles’ offense. Do you think there is any truth to those rumors? Could Brown be on the trade block this offseason?
A: It’s pretty apparent that Brown is disillusioned with his current situation. He literally went on a streamer’s channel and told people to drop him from their fantasy teams. He’s been demoralized and that much is apparent in his play. He’s largely not playing with energy or confidence.
Things can always change, but Brown remaining in Philly doesn’t seem very tenable right now. He seems pretty miserable.
Q: What is the likelihood that defensive tackle Jalen Carter returns for this game after having shoulder surgery about two weeks ago? If Carter can’t go, which defensive tackles are you expecting to step up and pick up the slack?
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 23: Jalen Carter #98 of the Philadelphia Eagles rushes the passer during a game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 23, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) Getty Images
A: Carter hasn’t been able to practice this week, so he’s going to be out. His absence is normally a big loss for the Birds, but he hasn’t quite been himself while playing through two shoulder injuries. So, it’s best that he rests up and gets healthy.
The Eagles’ defensive line played well despite missing Carter against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14. The defense logged seven sacks, seven TFLs, and 11 quarterback hits against a beleaguered Chargers offensive line. My expectation is that they’ll have success against a Raiders offensive line that’s had struggles this year.
Carter’s absence has shifted Moro Ojomo into being the top DT in terms of playing time, but it was Jordan Davis who made the bigger impact in the Eagles’ last game. The Birds are also counting on former Raiders third-round pick Byron Young to be their third defensive tackle, with veteran defensive end Brandon Graham picking up some slack on the interior as the fourth defensive tackle. Rookie Ty Robinson, who’s often been a healthy scratch this season, played sparingly as DT5.
The Eagles might want to take back the Thomas Booker trade if they could. He’d be a nice player to have right now. And Jakorian Bennett has only played 24 defensive snaps this season.
Q: The Raiders have an International Pathway player on the practice squad who a lot of Raider Nation is intrigued by, offensive lineman Laki Tasi. There are some similarities between Tasi and Eagles’ left tackle Jordan Mailata, in that both were rugby players and had never played football before entering the NFL. Can you shine some light on how Mailata developed into an All-Pro to give us a blueprint for Tasi?
A: Mailata’s path definitely seems like the exception more than the norm. But he showed promise from the jump in his first preseason with the Eagles despite never having played football before. Aided by the tutelage of Jeff Stoutland, who is arguably the best offensive line coach in the league, Mailata worked really hard behind the scenes before eventually getting his first real opportunity to play in 2020. That was two years after he was drafted in 2018. So, maybe 2027 is the year for Tasi to finally get his chance?!
I should also note here that Mailata probably benefited from learning under the likes of future Hall of Famers Jason Peters and Lane Johnson.
Q: I know the Eagles are gearing up for a playoff run, but Raider Nation is already looking at the future. So, can you give us a few key impending free agents that the organization will have to make hard decisions on this offseason? What needs do you anticipate the team having?
A: The three biggest ones: starting tight end Dallas Goedert, starting safety Reed Blankenship, and starting edge rusher Jaelan Phillips.
There was talk that the Eagles might move on from Goedert last offseason. But there was never really a good alternative to doing so and clearly didn’t have a robust market, so the two sides agreed to a reworked deal.
I don’t know that the Eagles want to pay Goedert since he’s turning 31 and he’s had trouble staying healthy in the past. I know the Raiders don’t need a tight end with Brock Bowers in the fold, but I could see the Birds have interest in trading for Michael Mayer. I thought Mayer was the perfect target for them had they moved on from Goedert in the offseason.
Blankenship is in an interesting spot because usually the Eagles don’t let core players play out the final year of their contracts. They like to be proactive and try to get (relative) bargains by getting ahead of the market. Blankenship is a good starter and a team captain, as voted on by his teammates. He’s also really close with Cooper DeJean, who has the makings of a long-term fixture in Philly. I think the Eagles might find a way to get a deal done with Blankenship, but they won’t be handing him a blank check. (No pun intended.)
The Eagles traded for Phillips ahead of the NFL trade deadline. There’s a chance he’s just a rental for this team, but I think they’ll want to monitor his market since he could be worth bringing back at the right price. He might be able to fetch more than Philly is willing to pay, but the Eagles might want to make him their top edge rusher because he’s been pretty good thus far.