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11/29 08:46 CST Can Nick Sirianni and the Eagles avoid another late-season collapse following 2 straight losses? Can Nick Sirianni and the Eagles avoid another late-season collapse following 2 straight losses? By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) --- The slumping Eagles are on the brink of becoming the collapsing Eagles. Seem familiar? Eagles fans --- and certainly coach Nick Sirianni and the players still around --- can almost gag when they remember the 2023 season. The Eagles were coming off a Super Bowl trip (like this year), started 10-1 (this year's Eagles were 8-2) before a massive meltdown nearly cost Sirianni his job. The Eagles spiraled with five losses in their last six games and were promptly bounced in their first playoff game. Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and Sirianni are here again, this time facing two straight, soul-sucking losses that could derail the stretch run and have fed-up Eagles fans in front of a national streaming audience chanting "Fire Kevin!" in throaty yells for the team to dump embattled offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. You know, like in 2023 when Sirianni stripped defensive coordinator Sean Desai of his play-calling duties in a desperate, last-ditch effort to salvage the season. The move didn't work for the Eagles in 2023. It smacked of panic and made the sky-is-falling feeling from the outside penetrate the locker room. Sirianni has tried to keep his cool this time around and gave Patullo his second vote of confidence in five days after the Chicago Bears flexed their offensive muscle and beat the Eagles 24-15 on Friday. "We all have a part in it. Kevin has a part of it. I have a part of it," Sirianni said. "All the coaches have a part of it. All the players have a part of it. Again, you win and lose as a team. It's never on one thing." Usually. Except there is one thing that has doomed the Eagles --- at least, pretty much the one thing that matters --- and that is a dysfunctional offense. The Eagles (8-4) have scored 10, 16, 21 and 15 points since the bye week and have scored 24 points or less in eight of 12 games. "It's not ideal," Hurts said. Hurts had a costly fumble --- on a tush push, of all plays --- and an interception. The Super Bowl MVP, Hurts hasn't come close to playing at an elite level this season. It raised the question, is Patullo really not that astute at play-calling or is he hampered at how he can use the playbook because of Hurts' shortcomings? "I wish I could tell you this is exactly what it is, and this is hard," Sirianni said. "It's not easy to be successful, stay successful, so we have to, again, do it collectively."

What's working Not much. Not now.

What needs help The tush push. The once unstoppable play (beloved in Philly; much maligned elsewhere) has become easier of late for defenses to solve. Hurts scored the Eagles' lone touchdown two weeks ago in Green Bay on the normally reliable short-yardage play, but the Eagles failed on their other five sneak attempts. Against the Bears, Hurts fumbled on the tush push and the Bears recovered and scored a touchdown. Have opposing defenses finally figured out how to defend the tush push? "It's becoming tougher and tougher," Hurts said. "But ultimately, me holding onto the ball, that's something I can control."

Stock up Would you believe A.J. Brown? Brown publicly griped and cryptically posted over his unhappiness with his role --- under the guise of wanting to contribute more --- when his numbers were down and the Eagles were 8-2. Brown's numbers have skyrocketed the last two games with 18 combined catches for 242 yards. Against the Bears, Brown became the first Eagles player with 10-plus catches for 125-plus yards and two-plus TDs since Zach Ertz in 2018 against Dallas. Better stats. Worse win-loss record. The Eagles are 0-2 since Brown got his catches.

Stock down Pick a defender, any defender. Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean were totally overmatched over the middle in a game where D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai each rushed for more than 100 yards --- the first Bears teammates to hit that mark in one game since 1985 --- and Chicago bullied their way toward 281 yards on the ground.

Injuries The Eagles escaped without any major injuries.

Key number .400. That's the Eagles' winning percentage against the remaining five teams on the schedule. Only the Chargers and Buffalo Bills (both 7-4) have winning records. The Commanders (who they play twice) and the Raiders have a combined five wins.

Next steps Fix the offense before the Dec. 8 game at the Los Angeles Chargers. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl