December 29, 2025
Tina MacIntyre-Yee/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Buffalo Bills defensive end Andre Jones Jr. and linebacker Terrel Bernard take down Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley during the first-half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Dec. 28, 2025.
Sixteen yards. 16 measly yards.
That's how many total yards the Eagles managed Sunday in the second half against the Bills – after churning out 174 total yards in the first half.
Somehow, the Eagles held on to win, 13-12, despite a historically inept offensive output that, for most teams, would have resulted in an implosive loss.
But the Eagles are either the ultimate outlier, or they're living on borrowed time, because this isn't the first time this year they've completely melted down offensively in the second half of a game and still won.
Against the Bucs, in Week 4, the Eagles actually produced -1 yards after halftime – Jalen Hurts went 0-for-8 passing – after a 201-yard first half. The Eagles led 24-3 after the break, but won 31-25.
So that's twice this season the Eagles have failed to surpass 16 total yards in the second half, and once that they didn't even produce positive yardage.
When you consider how easy it is for some teams – heck, some players – to get at least 17 yards on one play, it's almost comical that the Eagles weren't able to generate that much against the Bills in an entire half and even more mind-blowing that it's happened twice in one season.
On the flip side, the Bills produced five different plays of at least 17 yards in the same game, and three of them came in the second half.
Bills 32-year-old journeyman wideout Brandin Cooks had twice as many yards on his fourth-quarter reception, a 36-yarder that was the longest pass play for the Bills in the game, than the Eagles had the entire second half.
In Week 17 NFL action, there were 30 different pass plays and 32 runs that gained at least 17 yards, for a total of 62 individual plays that gained more than the Eagles did in the final 30 minutes against the Bills.
How's that even possible on a team that features Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert?
Here's a look at some unrecognizable – or less-recognizable – NFL players who had more yards on one play in Week 17 than the Eagles after halftime:
| Player | Play |
| Titans RB Audric Estime | 32-yard TD run |
| Steelers TE Connor Hayward | 29-yard run |
| Jags RB DeeJay Dallas | 17-yard run |
| Packers WR Bo Melton | 34-yard catch |
| Texans WR Jaylin Noel | 43-yard TD catch |
| Titans WR Mason Kinsey | 34-yard catch |
| Saints WR Kevin Austin | 34-yard catch |
| Titans WR Chimere Dike | 38-yard catch |
| Dolphins WR Theo Wease | 63-yard TD catch |
Theo Wease? Yes, Theo Wease, an undrafted rookie playing in just his second career game, had nearly four times as many yards on his lone catch – and just his third career catch – than the Eagles had in the entire second half against Buffalo.
How can Hurts, who passed for 110 yards in the first half, have gone 0-for-7 in the second half? If you combine his second-half passing stats from the Bucs and Bills games, he's 0-for-15 in four quarters. That seems almost impossible from a Super Bowl MVP.
And somehow, the Eagles won both of these games.
But the Eagles' offensive doldrums aren't just limited to the second halves of the Bucs and Bills game; those are just the most extreme examples. They've been prone to bad second halves all season.
| First-half points | Second-half points | |
| Weel 1. vs. Dallas | 21 | 3 |
| Week 4 @ Tampa Bay | 24 | 7 |
| Week 6 @ N.Y. Giants | 17 | 0 |
| Week 11 vs. Detroit | 13 | 3 |
| Week 12 @ Dallas | 21 | 0 |
This kind of Jekkyl-and-Hyde offense has put a ton of stress on an emerging Eagles defense to save the day, but as we've seen in the loss to the Chargers and nearly another against the Bills, the defense can't be asked to make every single play in every game.
But we're headed into the season finale, and it's hard to see anything drastically changing for the offense in terms of play calling or execution.
The Eagles are going to live or die by their hot-and-cold offense.
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