The Philadelphia Eagles franchise is in shambles. After starting the regular season 10-1 and looking like the NFL's best team, the Eagles then went on to lose six of their last seven games, including an embarrassing 32-9 wild-card playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
While many people are blaming Eagles coach Nick Sirianni for his squad's collapse, Lane Johnson — Philadelphia's perpetual All-Pro and Pro Bowl offensive tackle — is more disgusted with what he witnessed from teammates.
During an interview Johnson did with media after the Eagles' loss Monday, the star tackle didn't mince words about his team's lackluster effort.
"What I tell my guys, the O-line, no matter what the f——— scoreboard is, you play," Johnson said. "No [sloppiness], no f——— clapping your hands, no sulking after bad plays. You go up to the line of scrimmage like nothing f——— happened, like a robot. I think something that needs to be addressed as far as the start of next season, you never give your opponents anything. They see that s—- on film — sulking, bad body [language], all that stuff. You can't give your opponents anything."
The barrage of F-bombs Johnson hurled conveys his feelings about how the Eagles' season ended. However, Johnson wasn't done there.
Eagles reporter Zach Berman posted an excerpt of a discussion with Johnson on X in which Johnson made it clear that, regardless of why Philadelphia's downfall occurred, something needs to change.
Lane Johnson: "The effort wasn't the problem. We all had great relationships. It's just, we have a slide going and you can't stop it. Losing the last — whatever we did, probably the first fucking team to end like this after starting the season the way you did... — it's…
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) January 16, 2024
"The effort wasn't the problem," Johnson said. "We all had great relationships. It's just, we have a slide going and you can't stop it. Losing the last — whatever we did, probably the first f——— team to end like this after starting the season the way you did ... — it's frustrating. We offered plenty of explanations, but at the end of day, we never did get the result we wanted to do. So s—-'s got to change."
When one imagines what might change for the Eagles next year, the first thing that comes to mind is that they'll get rid their head coach. Yet, after The Athletic's Dianna Russini posted on X Wednesday that the upcoming meeting between Sirianni and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has been called off, it seems that the Eagles are trending toward keeping Sirianni around.
Though this may suggest that Nick Sirianni is safe, I’m told he has not met with owner Jeffrey Lurie, something that was not possible today because of logistical issues.
Until that meeting happens, all bets are off. https://t.co/G7zM4YhK82— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 18, 2024
So while Johnson's sentiment seems to be shared by the Eagles' brass, we can surely expect some changes to occur in the coming weeks.