Oct 9, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) on the field before the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta
When Lane Johnson speaks, the Eagles usually listen.
Johnson has earned that gravitas ten times over. He's the epitome of a locker room leader. The Eagles' revered core lineman group of Johnson, Jason Kelce, Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox played together for ten seasons. Of those franchise legends, Johnson is the last remaining active player.
Johnson, drafted by the Eagles in 2013, has seen a few things. He witnessed Chip Kelly's Icarus-esque quick rise and quicker fall, he won a Super Bowl under Doug Pederson, and then he won another one under Nick Sirianni.
So naturally, Johnson has played in quite a few different offensive schemes. Some have undoubtedly been better than others, but through six games, the 2025 version of the Philadelphia Eagles offense isn't sitting quite right with him.
"We're not very efficient offensively. We have times where we have big, explosive plays, but (we're) not able to capitalize and put it in the end zone," Johnson told Josina Anderson after Thursday's 34-17 loss to the New York Giants.
Clip: #Eagles RT Lane Johnson on why lost to t/ #Giants (in-part):
“…Maybe we're too predictable. When you look at some of the stuff we did last year, the production isn’t matching the talent..”
Lane Johnson said A LOT of honest things
WATCH FULL VID: https://t.co/PeWGoRDYuy pic.twitter.com/rr4awPsz3L
In Johnson's eyes, the issues on offense boil down to predictability. He brought up that word in multiple postgame interviews Thursday night.
"Last two weeks, you kind of know what it is. You know when the pass is coming, you know when the run is coming," Johnson said.
He's not wrong. Through six games, the Eagles offense has regularly been stymied by opposing defenses. The lackluster performances are uncharacteristic of an offense that boasted a 2,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver last season.
"I think when you look at some of the stuff we did last year, the production isn't matching the talent, so collectively, we've got to come together and do better," Johnson said. "Obviously, what we've been doing the first few weeks hasn't been working. Even the games that we've won, it hasn't been as efficient as we'd like."
Through Week 5, the New York Giants' defense gave up an average of 128.8 rushing yards per game, ranking 23rd in the NFL. The Eagles, with the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in the backfield, mustered just 73 rushing yards Thursday night. Saquon Barkley ran for 31 of those yards on the first two plays of the game.
"I thought we started the game good, with the run game, and then it kind of went stagnant and became one-dimensional," Johnson said. "And you saw the result."
The offense is frustrating for Eagles fans to watch, and it's frustrating for Eagles players to execute. Johnson repeatedly voiced his frustrations with the offense's talent and production not lining up.
Johnson also called out the lack of in-game adjustments in multiple postgame interviews.
"A lot of football games are won by adjustments at halftime, or in between series, and obviously we're not doing a good job with that," Johnson said. "You can game plan all you want, but when you get in the game, a lot of it is making adjustments."
So according to Johnson, the 2025 Eagles offense is predictable, has a propensity for becoming one-dimensional, and struggles to make adjustments.
These are strong words from a four-time team captain. It's very uncommon for Johnson to speak up and air grievances in this manner, but after the Eagles were flat out embarrassed on Thursday night, it's not uncalled for.
Is this an indictment of much-maligned Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo? Johnson says no.
"It's not a finger-pointing show. I'm with Kevin until the end. A lot of it comes down to execution," Johnson said.
"We'll go back and look at this tape and see what we've got to fix, but moving forward, maybe more efficient, less predictable and capitalize on big plays and explosives."
More efficiency, less predictability, better adjustments and better execution.
The Eagles don't play again until Oct. 19. Hopefully Johnson's honesty will push the coaching staff to pore over Thursday's game tape and work on fixing those issues during the team's mini-bye..
