Monday night's 58 minutes focused on how Matt Patricia, the Eagles' new de facto defensive coordinator, held the Seahawks to 13 points as the team earned a big conference win on the road.
Didn't quite happen.
Instead, the Seahawks made a game-winning 92-yard game-winning drive at Lumen Field, handing the Eagles their third straight loss.
“Yeah, I mean, of course I would take everything back,” Patricia said Thursday at his first press conference since promotion last week. “That drive starts with me and I have to do a better job of putting them in the right position to get us off the field and obviously help us win. I think our guys played really, really hard. I was really proud of the way they went about it and praised them for what they did. Tried to play aggressively. Tried to play physical up front. Really well covered. Apparently the two minute ride wasn't good enough. It's me.
“I have to do a few things there, make calls, whatever it may be, to help them out a little bit more so they can go out there – and of course give them credit as well. They also played a great game. They are a good football team. But I just have to do a better job.”
The Eagles quietly made a defensive coordinator change last week, demoting Sean Desai after 13 games (and a 10-3 record) and handing the reins of defense to the 49-year-old Patricia, who served as a defensive coordinator and a head coach previously in the NFL .
Patricia doesn't have the DC title, but he has the power. Even if he doesn't want to talk about it.
“I think it’s always a collaboration,” Patricia said Thursday. “We meet and talk and have different ideas and thoughts. Certainly, as I said, it was a great opportunity for me to learn about the defense that Sean built, but really it's the Eagles' defense. It's the Eagles 2023. That's what we're trying to develop.
“I think every year in football things change a little bit and plans change depending on the people and staff you have. I think that’s what we’ve been trying to do all year.”
On Thursday, Patricia spoke to a group of reporters for the first time since the Eagles quietly hired him at the end of the 2023 offseason. The soft-spoken, long-time NFL assistant walked into the Eagles' auditorium at the NovaCare Complex and introduced himself to everyone in the room before sitting behind the microphone.
Patricia mentioned the collaborative process several times Thursday. And of course it is a collaborative process. But if the Eagles had wanted the status quo on that side of the ball, they wouldn't have made the drastic change.
We saw some differences from the Eagles' defense on Monday night in Seattle, although Patricia brought up the point that matchups often dictate the scheme in a single game. But we saw a deeper and more varied rotation on the defensive line, increased use of sub packages with more defensive backs, some zone attacks and other signs that Patricia is now in charge of the Eagles' defense.
Of course, Patricia took over in December when there were only four games left on the schedule. There isn't enough time to completely turn the plan around, and head coach Nick Sirianni admitted as much this week.
“At this point in the year, you're not necessarily going to see complete changes,” he said, “but you're going to see some different things here and there, and the offenses are going to see some different things here and there.”
“Obviously, in terms of competitive advantage, I'm not going to get into all or almost all of the different things that you're going to see, but there will be differences. But again, we're sticking with some of the key points we've made and we've done well in the first 14 weeks of the season.
“Like I said, it’s a collective effort from our defense. Matt is just the one making the main decision now. Sean still has a voice there, and our assistant coaches still have a voice. We’re just trying to refine what we do well and continue to do what we do well and fix some of the mistakes we made.”
For the first 13 weeks of the season, Patricia played a utility man role. His title with the Eagles was senior defensive assistant, but he said he helped on defense, on offense with his old friend Jeff Stoutland and even on special teams. He has also been a sounding board for Sirianni, who values the input of the only former NFL head coach on his team.
But for at least the remainder of this season, Patricia will assume the de facto role of defensive coordinator for the Eagles. And one of his most important tasks will be to control defensive moves up to the green dot on game days.
Patricia said he has “transformed” as a play-caller over his years in the NFL.
“I think sometimes with the play-calling part you draw on other experiences you've had in those situations,” Patricia said. “Sometimes different instincts come into play in a moment, like I feel. A lot of this happens in the game, probably because of an experience that has taught you mostly negative things over the past few years.
“They try to draw on it as much as possible. To prepare for the start of the game, we're just doing our best to put players in the right situations so they can play quickly and aggressively. I think as a coach, when you don't do that, you feel the worst. It makes you feel really terrible that I didn’t give this person a chance to be successful in this piece.”
For 58 minutes of his debut in charge of the Eagles, it seemed as if Patricia had managed it all quite well. It's just the last trip that cost him. But there are still three regular season games and the playoffs left for Patricia to turn things around.
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