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The Eagles' season has been a journey to nowhere, reminiscent of a Talking Heads song. When they return from their bye week to face the Steelers on Nov. 22, it will have been over two months since their last victory—a 27-24 win over the Titans on Sept. 20, sealed by Jalen Hurts' game-winning drive.
While these suggestions may not spark a turnaround, here are five changes that should be implemented over the final eight games.
1. Feed Makai Lemon
Even when DeVonta Smith and Tay Wicks return from injury, the rookie wide receiver should continue to see a healthy number of targets. Lemon has improved with each game and is one of the few bright spots on a struggling offense. With Smith missing four of the team's nine games, Lemon leads the Eagles with 312 receiving yards, two more than Smith. Since Week 7, Lemon has posted three consecutive games with at least six catches and 50-plus yards, joining Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the only players on such a streak.
2. Build a role for Eli Stowers
It's curious that Dallas Goedert wasn't traded for anything—perhaps no team wanted to give up assets for the veteran tight end. Even more puzzling is why Johnny Mundt and Grant Calcaterra remain on the roster. Maybe Zach Ertz has nothing left, but wouldn't fans prefer to see him threaten Harold Carmichael's franchise record for career catches (589, set in 1983)? Ertz currently has 582. Regardless, Stowers needs a larger role. The second-round pick played only seven snaps against the Giants in Week 9, while Goedert was on the field for 57 snaps (81%). Goedert likely won't be back on a third straight one-year deal, so why shouldn't Stowers cut into that workload?
3. Play Ty Robinson more
The trade of Jordan Davis should facilitate this. The defensive tackle has played just 61 defensive snaps in his second season but has held up well in a rotational role. He needs more playing time to evaluate what the Eagles have in him over the next two years of his rookie contract.
4. Give Zion Wilson a shot
Wilson spent the preseason with the Eagles but was waived on cutdown day despite recording nine tackles, two tackles for loss or no gain, and four QB pressures in three preseason games. He was signed to the practice squad on Oct. 13. At 6'3" and 315 lbs, Wilson was denied another year of college when he tried to transfer from East Carolina to Virginia, so he entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent. In 2025, with East Carolina, he had seven sacks. It would make sense to either elevate him from the practice squad or sign him to the roster to take Davis's place.
5. Rest the rookies
Barring Joe Milton leading the Eagles to a win or two, play Cole Payton in the final two games. Even if Milton wins a game or two, playing Payton should happen—it's evaluation time, after all. The same goes for outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby and safety Cole Wisniewski, who has one practice squad elevation remaining. Why play Marcus Epps? He's not part of the future. James-Newby has shown some promise in limited opportunities. Then there's guard Micah Morris—why not give him some reps, too? At 6'5" and 335 lbs, he's a big guy. Let's see what these players have.
Ed Kracz has been covering the Eagles full-time for over a decade and has written about Philadelphia sports since 1996. He has covered the Phillies in the 2008 and 2009 World Series, the Flyers in their 2010 Stanley Cup playoff run to the finals, and was in Minnesota when the Eagles secured their first-ever Super Bowl win in 2017. Ed has received multiple writing awards as a sports journalist, including several top-five finishes in the Associated Press Sports Editors awards. Follow him on Twitter @kracze.