Philadelphia’s newest defensive coordinator is off to a rough start.
The Eagles announced Matt Patricia would be calling defensive plays Sunday afternoon, under 36 hours before Monday night’s game against Seattle. Players were reportedly notified about the change early in the week, and Patricia led defensive meetings all week leading up to Monday’s game, according to ESPN.
Patricia’s debut didn’t go as planned. Despite holding Seattle to just 90 yards before halftime, the Seahawks outscored the Eagles 17-7 in the second half. Philadelphia’s defense allowed a 10-play, 92-yard drive to take the lead with under 30 seconds left. The Eagles allowed backup quarterback Drew Lock to throw for 208 yards and a game-winning touchdown pass.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni will be sticking by the decision.
“I made the decision,” Sirianni said. “I did what I thought I needed to do in the best interest of the football team. We made some adjustments there. Didn’t feel like we were playing and coaching well enough on defense, so I made an adjustment.”
Patricia has had an interesting career running NFL defenses. A former member of the New England Patriots, Patricia won two of his three Super Bowl rings as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator (the third came while he was an offensive assistant in New England). However, Patricia’s defense bottomed out in 2017, allowing 41 points to Nick Foles and the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
He then joined the Detroit Lions as a head coach, where he was never able to get their defense off the ground. Before joining the Eagles as a senior defensive assistant this year, he most recently served as the Patriots’ offensive play-caller and offensive line coach.
The Eagles are now 0-3 in their last three games.
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