Break out the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and put up those inflatable Halloween decorations that are definitely a little too intense for the kids in your neighborhood. It’s time for the official Burds of a Feather Halloween Spooktacular (trademark pending). It’s like when your one coworker comes into the office dressed as Michael Jackson from Thriller even though no one else is wearing a costume.
If you’re not a fan of scary movies, then I highly recommend you avert your eyes from the 2026 Philadelphia Eagles. This season has been an A24-level horror movie full of injuries, untimely retirements, bad offense, defense, and special teams, plus a PhD in blood clots. Today in honor of the season, we’re analyzing the Birds in all of their spookiness by sharing Halloween costumes for our favorite Eagles characters, determining which team trends are tricks and which are treats, and finding out what each team in the NFC East is handing out to trick-or-treaters this year.
Read IF YOU DARE (just imagine I said that in a Dracula accent with fake fangs in my mouth…you know what, never mind).
WHAT ARE THE EAGLES BEING FOR HALLOWEEN
I have Adam Schefter on the horn. Here’s the inside scoop on what each Eagles player or coach is being for Halloween this year.
Jihaad Campbell - The Invisible Man
The Eagles defense has been disappointing. The once elite unit has failed to live up to expectations so far this season. At the heart of that disappointment is second-year linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Granted, Jihaad has big boots to fill with the departure of team leader and star linebacker Nakobe Dean (Alexa, play Blink-182’s “I Miss You”). But many fans (your favorite writer included…okay fine at least top 1,000 favorite writer) were cool with Nakobe finding a new home because of the promise of Jihaad.
Last year, Campbell hit the scene like lightning. Through the first 7 weeks of the season (5 of which he started with Nakobe Dean being injured), Campbell was everywhere as a tackler and showed advanced coverage ability. In that stretch, he had 43 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 QB hit, 1 forced fumble, and an interception. Dude was cooking with gas. Now he’s cooking with very old olive oil.
In Campbell’s second act this season, he’s been as underwhelming as Scream 5 through 7. He regularly looks lost, has been a liability in both the run and the pass, and has failed to make much of a positive impact on the game. His play has declined so steadily that he’s now splitting time with backup linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. With his freak athleticism, the Eagles expected Campbell to show some positive momentum with more snaps. But thus far, he’s disappeared into thin air.
Vic Fangio - Ex-Phillies Manager Rob Thomson
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. A dominant team steadily gets worse despite most of the pieces being relatively the same. If you’re a Phillies fan, this is a tale as old as time. And it’s something Vic Fangio is dealing with, much like his old buddy and ex-Phillies Manager Rob Thomson (Topper if you live in Philly).
Fangio’s bend but don’t break defense has unfortunately been bending and breaking. In 2025, the Eagles allowed 314.2 total yards per game (good for 13th in the league), but only 19.1 points per game (5th in the league). This year, however, Fangio’s defense is allowing 371.3 yards per game so far (27th in the league) and 25 points per game (21st in the league). The execution on defense has been horrible at times, with breakdowns in the secondary and a pass rush weaker than a gust of wind.
The Eagles returned 7 of 11 starters from last year’s squad, but it turns out Nakobe Dean, Reed Blankenship, and Jaelan Phillips did more for this team than we realized (sorry, Adoree Jackson). When in doubt, we can always rely on Vic, so I’d bet this defense improves instead of bottoming out. But with a struggling offense, this team needs to rely on it’s defense to get by. If they can’t, the Birds are cooked.
Nick Sirianni - Red Panda
Can I interest you in a woman who rides a unicycle and balances bowls on her head during halftime at NBA games? Red Panda is so much of a national treasure that I wouldn’t be surprised if Nic Cage was looking for her. But we can use her art to describe another man’s pain.
Cue the weary eyes of Nick Sirianni. The Philadelphia Eagles head coach has had a season from hell, including having to answer questions about his star quarterback’s blood clot situation at a press conference BY HIMSELF, having to manage a mountain of injuries to star players as well as his new offensive boy wonder being more boy and less wonder, all while logging on to Al Gore’s internet every day just to see people calling for him to lose his job. It’s hard not to at least feel a little bad for the guy.
Sirianni is juggling a lot. It’s almost like he’s riding a unicycle with a bunch of bowls on his head. But unlike Red Panda, the bowls are falling and shattering on the ground. Despite having the highest win percentage out of any coach in the league, Ol’ Saint Nick’s job is in jeopardy. But if the Birds show some bite for the rest of the season as scrappy underdogs, it could go a long way towards keeping Nick employed in 2027.
Eagles Running Back Room - The Walking Dead
Saquon Barkley has a nagging hamstring injury that is now a nagging back injury and can only seem to use one leg. Backup running back Tank Bigsby is on IR. Much like his backup, Will Shipley. And Will Shipley’s backup, Dameon Pierce. And Dameon Pierce’s backup, Carson Steele. The Birds are down to Jayden Blue to carry the rock (a practice squad back who’s been signed since you last went grocery shopping). Things have been better!
Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis - Bulk and Skull from Power Rangers
Does anyone remember the bullies from Power Rangers who had their own zany music and would try to push around the kids of Angel Grove but usually just got themselves into life-threatening situations only to be saved by said Power Rangers? Anyway, that’s kind of like Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis this season.
Both players were justly awarded big contracts this offseason in the hopes that they would ultimately take the next step forward. And in some moments, they have.
Carter is actually starting the season better than he did last year, having moments where he goes completely supernova. The issue with Carter is his lack of consistency, which has always waxed and waned for him, but also the significant increase in snap counts. In the first 7 weeks this season, Carter has played 419 snaps compared to 291 in the same time frame last year. Maturity has also historically been an issue for Jalen, who left the locker room after last week’s loss to Dallas without speaking to the media.
Jordan Davis at times has been a force in the run game but too often disappears on passing downs. He’s been playing even fewer snaps this year but has had 1 QB pressure in each of the past two weeks. Hopefully these are growing pains for young players. If not, the Eagles may regret top-of-market deals for both dudes.
Tanner McKee - Woody from Toy Story
Shout out to the homie Tommy McNamara for mentioning this. Now I can’t unsee it.
Jonathan Greenard - The Mummy
Losing Jaelan Phillips hurt. But the Eagles were never going to pay the GDP of a small island nation to keep him, with all of the money this team has to shell out in the future. Enter Jonathan Greenard, the Prince Who Was Promised, who the Eagles acquired from Minnesota for two 3rd-round picks and gave a 4-year, $100 million deal. Greenard had the 7th highest pressure rate in the league last year despite dealing with an injury.
This year so far, he’s been wrapped up in bandages, chilling in a sarcophagus (metaphorically speaking, of course). Jonny Greens dealt with a pectoral injury in training camp that kept him out for the preseason, missing reps he badly needed to acclimate to his new team. Eventually coming back and playing on a pitch count, Greenard picked up an ankle injury that will limit his impact.
Greenard was supposed to immediately become Philadelphia’s best pass rusher. A pressure-inducing bandit who stole sacks and QB hits. His mere presence could elevate Jalyx Hunt and the rest of the line. Instead, he’s been on the sideline while the defense struggles.
TRICK OR TREAT?
There’s a lot going on with the Birds. Which of these narratives are a trick and not as they actually seem, and which are a treat like finding a fully wrapped Snickers under your couch (I have no shame okay).
The Sean Mannion Offense is Trending Up
It’s been a tough go for Boyz II Mannion in his first season in the Delaware Valley. Up until last week’s game against Dallas, the Eagles offense ranked 28th in EPA/Play and 31st in success rate, which by my assessment is a certified shit show. The offensive game planning has looked bad, the execution has looked worse, and Mannion is scheming without his #1 wide receiver, #2 wide receiver, star running back, and opening day center and recently retired Hall of Fame right tackle.
Subscribe to Burds of a Feather for free to keep reading!
But against Dallas, things changed. The Eagles were able to move the ball with a game plan that got the ball out of Tanner McKee’s hands quickly and utilized more snaps out of shotgun along with a strong running game. Against Dallas last week, the Eagles were 16th in EPA/Play and 19th in Success Rate. With reinforcements coming in the return of DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, is Sean Mannion’s offense on the rise?
Verdict: TRICK…for now. The Dallas Cowboys defense is clinically awful. They are 31st in EPA/Play allowed and 29th in Success Rate. A ragtag crew of neighborhood kids could move the ball on Christian Parker’s defense. While it’s encouraging seeing Mannion try new things, putting up 21 points against the Cowboys isn’t quite the measuring stick it should be. On top of that, the Dallas defense had multiple moments where they locked down a struggling Eagles offense.
Makai Lemon’s Big Break
Through the darkness of this season shines Makai Lemon’s 7-catch, 67-yard, 1-touchdown performance against Jerry Jones’ fantasy team. Lemon missed a lot of his rookie offseason due to injury and started the season behind the ball. Along with the Eagles utilizing him in weird ways, Lemon’s slow start had fans wondering if the first-round pick was heading towards bustville. But against Dallas, thanks to a favorable matchup and the Eagles finally utilizing Lemon in a way that reflected his skill set, Lemon took off. But is it for real?
VERDICT: TREAT! The transition from college to the pros is difficult. It’s even more difficult when your first-year play caller is not utilizing your skillset. Lemon shines as a tough, over-the-middle, possession receiver with the opportunity to earn yards after the catch. That is exactly how Mannion used him against Dallas, and the returns were excellent.
The Eagles Offensive Line is Getting Better
The immovable force that led the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances in the Nick Sirianni era has suddenly become a very movable object. Brick by brick, the wall has fallen due to injuries to players like Landon Dickerson and new starting center Drew Kendall, the sudden retirement of Lane Johnson, and the regression and trade of Cam Jurgens. For a while there, the Eagles offensive line looked as strong as an old tissue.
But unless my eyes deceive me, it looks like the line is getting better. Jordan Mailata is still #1 in the league for tackles in pass-block win rate and 8th in run-block win rate. Landon Dickerson is getting healthier. Drew Kendall is playing well at center, and Markel Bell is taking his lumps but improving every week. Is this offensive line improving?
VERDICT: TREAT! The Eagles offensive line is far from the elite unit it was in years past, but they’re on their way to at least being average. Adjusting to Chris Kuper’s new scheme has been more difficult than anticipated for the 3 starters who spent years in Jeff Stoutland’s system. But the more they play together, the more things seem to coalesce.
WHAT ARE NFC EAST TEAMS GIVING OUT THIS YEAR
Jump scare! You ring the doorbell of a house, and Dan Quinn answers dressed as a substitute gym teacher. Oh wait, that’s what he always wears? Nevermind.
The Philadelphia Eagles - Apples
The Birds are that neighbor who knows that health is important and tries to hand out apples, which is overtly lame. They mostly do it because they’re overcompensating for how unhealthy they are. The Eagles have spent most of the season in the infirmary with debilitating injuries to their star players. The pendulum has officially swung back on their injury luck. The medical advice of eating an apple a day to keep the doctor away is unhelpful to this team. Also, do you know how many apples it takes to feed 53 professional athletes?
The New York Giants - Candy Corn
As the leaders of the NFC East, the 4-2 New York Giants are riding the JJ McCarthy train to relevance. John Harbaugh has pushed all the right buttons with this team, but people still wonder if they’re for real. The Giants are kind of like candy corn. They are divisive. They are sweet and delicious to some and overrated to others. I mean, why would you want to eat a loose candy out of a dish that most likely was touched by multiple hands? Now that I think about it, JJ McCarthy is kind of the loose candy of quarterbacks.
The Washington Commanders - Watches
Dan Quinn’s squad doesn’t want you to make their time management mistakes, so they’re dealing out custom, cheaply made Commanders wristwatches. First, it was Jayden Daniels going down inbounds with 8 seconds remaining in overtime in a tie game against the Giants despite the fact that the Commanders had no timeouts remaining. Then there was Jayden Daniels throwing the ball away on a 4th and 2. Jayden thought daylight savings time
was two weeks ago. He operates on West Coast time despite living in Washington. Up is down in his world.
The Dallas Cowboys - Yardage
Say what you will about Dallas, but they are generous. They go to great lengths to give your team as many yards as they can carry. They have a big bowl on the stoop of Jerry’s world where you can take as many yards as you want. Dallas is tied with the Raiders for allowing the most yards in the league, including the most rushing yards and 11th most passing yards. They’re like that house in your neighborhood where the rich people live, where they hand out king-size packs of Reese’ Peanut Butter Cups and full-size Hershey bars.
Love this!! Great take and appreciate the sense of humor when things go sideways for your team in the season.
I’ve been making weekly SNF drinks that combine a little of both teams/destinations and perhaps this week’s is one you and other Eagles fans may enjoy: https://sipandsidelines.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-capitals?r=8v24rz&utm_medium=ios
That Tanner McKee pumpkin art is cracking me up, lol