Why Jordan Mailata is confident Eagles' offense will contribute in playoffs

Why Jordan Mailata is confident Eagles' offense will contribute in playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Because the Eagles are resting some key starters for this Week 18 game against the Commanders, their starting offense finished its regular season on a sour note with an ugly second half against the Bills in a win.

Despite that, left tackle Jordan Mailata is still confident. In fact, Mailata on Wednesday said their confidence is “through the roof.”

Why is the confidence high?

“The guys we have,” Mailata explained. “I think we’ve been here before. We’ve been doubted before. I think we’ve had these same questions heading into last year. And so, for us, we welcome that challenge. It’s not like we’re just pushing it under the carpet. We’re doing everything we can to get this run game going, to get this play-action game going to help and give our defense a rest. 

“But we’ve been here before. We’ve been doubted and every time we’ve proven them wrong. That’s why I have confidence. That’s why everyone else does as well.”

Mailata is right that there were definitely some questions about the Eagles’ offense entering the 2024 playoffs but those questions were about one element of the offense. The Eagles’ passing offense was struggling deep into the 2024 season but they did have a 2,000-yard rusher last season.

This year, the Eagles are entering Week 18 as the NFL’s 24th-ranked offense in yards, 19th in points and 12th in EPA/play. No matter how you slice it, this is an underperforming offense, especially relative to expectations.

The good news for the Eagles is that their defense has been incredible recently. And the offensive players definitely appreciate it.

“I think one thing I can and 100% know and I can get behind is the energy of our defense,” Mailata said. “If I look back through this whole year, it’s been the most consistent thing this year. And it’s picked us up in games when we weren’t doing anything and it’s helped start us hot in games. They’ve been the most consistent thing.”

The Eagles’ defense has gotten better and better as the season has gone on. Since their Week 9 bye week, the Eagles have the No. 1 defense in points allowed, giving up just 14.5 per game. Since the bye week, the Eagles have somehow won games in which they scored 10, 16 and 13 points.

But let’s face it: The Eagles’ offense just isn’t living up to its end of the deal right now.

“All we want to do is contribute to the games,” Mailata said. “And it hurts us when we don’t contribute. When we suck, that hurts. And we know it too. Us on the sideline, we’re all problem-solving, trying to figure out how to contribute to this win. That’s why I feel like it is a great opportunity for us to learn from our mistakes but also learn that this is football. This is going to happen. The defense is going to have our back. That’s football, in my eyes. 

“Now heading into the playoffs, our goal, my goal at least, is to help contribute. Stay on the field and contribute to win because I think if we can play total football and complete football, I think everyone would have a great playoff run.”

There’s no question the Eagles have a talented offense but it’s also clear this offense hasn’t maximized its potential all season, save for a few fleeting moments.

It’s possible the Eagles can win in the playoffs playing the brand of football we’ve seen this year — with an elite defense winning tight games. But it would really help if the offense could get it going just a little bit more.

“I think anything beyond what we’ve done becomes not important,” Jalen Hurts said. “It’s about what we do with the opportunities that we have. I’m excited about this opportunity this week to improve and ultimately everything we have in front of us.”

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