The Philadelphia Eagles offense continues to be a scary old sled, unable to slide smoothly for more than a moment before a tremor of instability throws it out of whack. Monday night they couldn’t keep their skis from falling off.
“I think this one’s over,” coach Nick Sirianni said after the 22-19 loss to the LA Chargers. “This stinks and I think at the end of the day we had some turnovers in this game, uncharacteristic of ourselves, and every time it comes down to coaching well enough and executing well enough.”
“Some turnovers” was Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who coughed up the ball five times. Things were so bad for the Philly QB that he turned the ball over twice in one play — throwing a second-quarter INT to defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand, who fumbled on the return, Hurts recovered, then lost his own fumble. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time since at least 1978 – as far back as research goes – a player has committed two turnovers on the same play.
“I didn’t play well enough,” Hurts said. “Too many turnovers. Lots of chances, especially when we got to the other side of the 50.” [yard line] and I couldn’t get us in the box.”
Hurts was off the mark all game, missing passes high and wide — especially throws over the middle — and didn’t get help from his targets, with drops killing several drives. Fittingly, his final pass of the night was thrown to end the game in overtime on the doorstep of a potential touchdown.
The Eagles QB completed 21 of 40 passes for 240 yards with TDs, 4 INTs and a 31.2 passer rating. It marked his first career game with four interceptions (had two INTs in Weeks 1-13). Monday marked his fifth career start with a 40-point mark (second most since 2020, trailing only Mac Jones’ six).
“It starts with me and how I play, how I lead, and that’s my ability to go out there and figure it out,” Hurts said. “There’s no excuses. I know it’s all subjective depending on how you look at it. Of course we always feel like we’ve had a chance but we’ve just got to come together and find ways to win and I’ve got to find ways to win.”
The offense is unable to control the football consistently. The offensive line is the main difference between this season and last, with few holes in the running game preventing Philly from breaking away on road plays. Saquon Barkley rushed 20 times for 122 yards, including 52 on his long TD run. Besides the 52 yards and another 19-yard burst, Barkley was stuffed for 2.8 yards on his other 18 carries. He had zero or negative yards on eight carries. Ugh.
The inability to stay in manageable downs and distances puts Hurts in tough spots, and on Monday, the QB didn’t respond. Sometimes he drove balls to his targets, like the OT dart to DeVonta Smith. For others, it feels like he never practiced with his teammates. The offensive chemistry is rotten.
“Obviously this game is the ultimate team game, so it’s never just one man,” Sirianni said of the QB. “Now at the end of the day, he always has the ball in his hands and I know he’s going to wear a lot of that and own it and I had to do a better job of helping him in those situations. Again, it’s never just about execution, right? It’s always that we look at ourselves as coaches first. Did we help him be in a position to succeed and then obviously execute, right? [you] never wants to turn the ball over. We’ve been pretty good at it, and tonight was a bit unusual for us.”
The coach confirmed he had spent more time on offense this week as coordinator Kevin Patullo is under fire for ineffective play. It didn’t matter much.
The Eagles haven’t scored more than 21 points in a deficit since Week 8. Most teams improve during the bye week. Philly got systematically worse. After Week 9, the Eagles have scored 10, 16, 21, 15 and 19 points, respectively. Fortunately, Vic Fangio’s defense has been shut down, or the current three-game skid would be five.
Philly’s three-game losing streak makes things interesting in the NFC East, where the Cowboys still have a prayer. However, even as their dismal offensive play continues, the Eagles have a 92% chance of winning the division, according to Next Generation Stats.