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Author: Marcus Hayes

  • Let’s stop acting like the Eagles haven’t had a great season. An NFC East title would make it a rousing success.

    Let’s stop acting like the Eagles haven’t had a great season. An NFC East title would make it a rousing success.

    Nobody wants to hear this, but every football season is different, and the preceding season should never flavor its successor, and expectations of continued excellence from a team that is markedly different are utterly ridiculous. Super Bowl LIX is gone, just like six significant players from that championship roster.

    Which brings us to the 9-5 Eagles, who, contrary to much of the commentary and punditry, are nearing the end of a very good season. Saquon Barkley isn’t going to break rushing records this season, and the passing game hasn’t equaled its pedigree, and the defense won’t finish ranked No. 1, but none of that matters. What matters is who they beat, who they lost to, and where they stand.

    The Eagles are about to win the NFC East again, as usual. Here’s how they’ve done it.

    What? How? Why even consider such heresy as this? Isn’t there enough gaslighting going on during White House press briefings?

    This isn’t fake news, and this isn’t pandering to the franchise (as if).

    This is common sense.

    The Eagles’ results through 15 weeks present a team that can become just the eighth franchise to win consecutive Lombardi Trophies.

    They’ve beaten the Rams, Packers, and Buccaneers, all playoff teams. They also beat the 8-6 Lions, and they won in Kansas City against a Chiefs team that began the season 5-3.

    More relevantly, if you view the season objectively, the negative isn’t very negative.

    The Birds have one bad loss in 14 games. That bad loss came Oct. 9, to the Giants. That was one of the NFL’s idiotic, three-days-of-rest, Thursday Night Football games, and the Eagles were the road team. The Giants were riding a wave of hope in the form of a pair of dynamic rookies with names straight out of youth fiction sports novels, Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo. Still, it was a loss, and a bad loss.

    The other losses are eminently explicable.

    The week before they lost to the visiting Broncos, who, now 12-2, turned out to be the best team in the league.

    They lost to the Cowboys at Dallas on Nov. 23 because Dallas came back hard, which was to be expected, since Dallas has the league’s No. 1 offense.

    They lost to the Bears, a 10-win team that holds the No. 2 seed in the NFC, mainly because of an inability to stop the run game, an inability predicated on the infirmity of defensive tackle Jalen Carter’s shoulders, which were subsequently repaired. That also was a short-week game, played on Black Friday.

    They lost on the road to the Chargers, another 10-win team, because Jalen Hurts had a catastrophically bad game. That’s allowed. It was his first catastrophically bad game since Dec. 18, 2023, when he and A.J. Brown went rogue. That means it was Hurts’ first disaster in a span of 36 starts. That’s not bad, considering Brett Favre averaged about two catastrophes per season in his first years as a starter.

    Hurts hasn’t been great, but this season he has produced his two best games in terms of passer rating, which this season is 99.4, about 5 points higher than his previous four complete seasons as a starter. With 22 TD passes, he’s just two away from a career high.

    Jalen Hurts and the offense have been frustrating to watch at times, especially during the three-game losing streak. But on balance, Hurts has had a good year.

    And, while every team suffers in-season roster attrition, it’s only fair to factor in the Eagles’ most relevant absences, since they help explain some of the losses.

    They recently lost three games in a row when Carter and right tackle Lane Johnson, the two best players on the team, were either playing hurt or not playing at all.

    Guess which other game Carter missed because of injury? The bad loss in New York.

    Further, the Eagles have had four short-week games: Games 6, 10, 12, and 14. They have a fifth, on Saturday, at Washington. They could have a sixth if the NFL decides Game 17 against the Commanders should be played on a Saturday.

    Short-week games are an onerous burden. The long week that follows a short week never compensates for the shortened time for rest, healing, and preparation.

    These are not complaints. These are explanations. This is how champions are forged. This is the price of greatness.

    Have the Eagles looked great in the first 14 games? No. But when they’ve looked bad, or when they’ve lost, it either occurred against very good teams, or with extenuating circumstances, or both.

    What, then, does Saturday portend? Nothing certain. The Eagles have lost once apiece to their other NFC East opponents, the Cowboys and Giants, each time on the road. The Commanders might be without some of their better players, but they are not without talent, however aged that talent might be.

    Eagles vs. Commanders in Week 16: Here are the numbers that matter

    They play hard for coach Dan Quinn, who worked as the Cowboys defensive coordinator for three seasons before taking over in Washington.

    This game isn’t a walkover, and the rematch in Game 17 won’t be a walkover, either. But, assuming Johnson and Carter return soon, the Eagles should be regarded as a fearsome playoff foe.

    This is a much more palatable argument coming off an impressive win, but it would be just as true had they not won by 31 points or shut out the Raiders.

    Because they are a very, very good team. Does Jalen Hurts need to run the ball more? Yes. Does the offense need to commit fewer penalties? Yes. Did they endure a midseason lull? Yes.

    But the Eagles are nearly a touchdown favorite Saturday, and likely will be favored by even more in the season finale against the Commanders. They’ll probably get points in Buffalo next weekend, but likely no more than a field goal.

    Why? Because, again, they’re a very good team that has had a very good season.

  • Brandon Graham set the Eagles’ shutout tone Sunday; NFL’s injury epidemic changes the playoff picture

    Brandon Graham set the Eagles’ shutout tone Sunday; NFL’s injury epidemic changes the playoff picture

    Cooper DeJean committed two penalties on the same play in the first quarter Sunday. First, he held Tyler Lockett, then he pushed him, which drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. However, that was not the most important thing that happened on the play.

    In the backfield, 37-year-old unretired defensive end Brandon Graham, playing his second career game at defensive tackle due to depth issues, sacked Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett. It was about 25 degrees, it felt about 25-below, and the turf was as cold and as hard as Graham’s heart when it comes to quarterbacks.

    The penalties dulled the impact of the sack, but that sack changed the game.

    To that point, Pickett was 4-for-5 for 16 yards, plus an 8-yard scramble. The Raiders had gained 20 yards.

    They gained just 55 more yards all game as the Eagles secured their first shutout since Dec. 30, 2018. Graham was the only current Eagles defender to play in that game; the next afternoon, Pickett, a sophomore at Pitt, lost to Stanford in the Sun Bowl.

    After the Graham sack, Pickett looked like he wished he was back in El Paso. Pickett went 11-for-20 for 48 yards, with an interception, minus-1 rushing yard, and three more sacks. Every drop back, he’d glance at the coverage and then look for Graham & Co.

    “It was big, man,” Graham said. “Whenever we can hit the quarterback like that … you just abort the plan that you had.”

    Moro Ojomo sacked Pickett on the very next play.

    Graham later collected another sack on a day when he became the oldest Eagle in history to record a sack. They were his first and second since he returned to the field six games ago, when the Birds found themselves shorthanded at end. Now, in the absence of Jalen Carter, Graham, at 265 pounds, is playing tackle, to great effect.

    He was good at the Chargers last week, but he was great Sunday. It was his first game with at least two sacks since Jan. 1, 2023, against the Saints, which was Game 16 of the 2022 season.

    DeJean was grateful that, thanks to Graham laying wood while he was fouling Lockett, nothing much came of his penalty.

    “It had this, like, carryover effect,” DeJean said. “It gets into the mind of a quarterback, and we were just able to come after him.”

    Graham didn’t win every play. In fact, not only did Graham not see Zack Baun intercept Pickett’s pass early in the third quarter, he was rendered completely irrelevant.

    “Oh, my goodness,” Graham said after the game, shaking his head and smiling. “Oh, my goodness.”

    Graham had left the middle for one play and lined up on the left edge. There, he told tight end Michael Mayer, “You better not chip me!”

    Mayer chipped him as right tackle DJ Glaze blocked him.

    Graham wound up on his back.

    He was still there when Mayer, who’d raced across the field, tackled Baun.

    “I didn’t think he was going to chip me,” Graham said with a shrug. “He got me. But trust me, it looked worse than it felt.”

    Shutout football with two sacks at the age of 37 can be a powerful anesthetic.

    Injury earthquakes

    Micah Parsons is the Packers’ best defensive player. He entered Sunday’s game with 12½ sacks and a league-high 60 QB pressures, a brilliant return on the Packers’ investment. He cost the Pack two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark in a blockbuster trade with Dallas, then signed a four-year, $188 million contract extension.

    Then, Sunday. Parsons left the game with a knee injury in the third quarter just before the Broncos took the lead for good in their 34-26 win. Reports indicate that he has a torn ACL.

    The Packers’ Micah Parsons reacts after suffering a knee injury Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

    The loss dropped the Packers to 9-4-1, a half-game in the NFC North standings behind the 10-4 Bears — the team they visit Saturday night — but Green Bay leads the 9-5 Eagles, in case that matters. Parsons’ absence might matter more than anything. It would be like the Browns losing Myles Garrett, or maybe even like the Chiefs losing Patrick Mahomes.

    On that point …

    Mahomes left the Chiefs’ loss Sunday with a torn ACL. The Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention.

    So, suddenly, the best player on an elite NFC team is gone, and, while the return from an ACL injury can be as short at eight months, Parsons, a dynamic athlete who relies on speed, probably won’t be the same until 2027.

    Also, suddenly, the best player in the NFL over the last eight seasons on the best team in the NFL over the last eight seasons is gone, and, as perhaps the most effective mobile quarterback in history, Mahomes probably won’t be the same until 2027, either. Neither will the Chiefs.

    Finally, star wideout Davante Adams left the Rams’ comeback win against the visiting Lions when he aggravated a hamstring injury. Adams has 14 touchdown receptions, which leads the league by six. He’s seventh on the all-time TD catches list with 117, and he’s the active leader by 11. The Rams sit atop the NFC at 11-3, which might be enough to secure the No. 1 seed, but the impact of a diminished Adams could resonate in the playoffs.

    Philip Rivers gave the Colts a chance to win in Seattle but came up just short at age 44.

    Extra points

    The Cowboys’ home loss to the Vikings left them at 6-7-1 and essentially ended their hopes for a playoff berth. The Cowboys would have to win the NFC East, and to do that they’d have to go 3-0 and have the Eagles go 0-3. … Josh Allen led the Bills to five touchdowns and a third big comeback win, this time at New England, which kept the Patriots from clinching the AFC East. … Unretired grandfather Philip Rivers, signed by Indianapolis to replace injured Daniel Jones, threw a touchdown pass and an interception but the Colts (8-6) lost their fourth in a row when Seahawks kicker Jason Myers kicked his franchise-record sixth field goal, a 56-yarder in the final minute. Seattle, with quarterback Sam Darnold, is 11-3. … Trevor Lawrence led the Jaguars (10-4) to a fifth straight win with a career-high five TD passes, ran for another, and has his team on top of the AFC South.

  • ‘Ridiculous’ indeed: Jalen Hurts is nearly perfect in an Eagles bounce-back blowout

    ‘Ridiculous’ indeed: Jalen Hurts is nearly perfect in an Eagles bounce-back blowout

    When Jalen Hurts hit A.J. Brown in the end zone with the exclamation point touchdown Sunday, he turned to the Eagles’ sideline and, with unusual enthusiasm, he jumped up and down, waved his arms with emphasis, and said several things that seemed out of character for a young man who usually behaves in such a godly manner.

    Maybe he was saying, “Bench me? Bench me?!? That’s ridiculous!”

    Probably not. But you couldn’t blame him if he was.

    After the game Hurts declined to divulge what he said, or even what he felt, after that, his last play of the game.

    “Just a natural reaction,” he offered.

    Hurts declined to divulge much of anything, in fact. It is part of his personality: When he plays well after a spate of poor play, he retreats into himself.

    “Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” said Brandon Graham, unlikely Shakespeare paraphraser. “Everybody thinks they want it until they get it.”

    Hurts was benched in the 2018 College Football Playoff Championship Game, was a second-round draft pick projected as a gadget quarterback, and is routinely maligned for his arm strength and decision-making when things go badly. A three-week slump isn’t going to derail his career.

    “Everybody needs to remember where I come from,” he said, “and how I’m built. … [Losses] aren’t barriers. They’re just bumps in the road.”

    The high road, in Hurts’ case.

    Naturally reticent and having long borne the burdens of doubt, demotion, and disappointment, it is all Hurts can do in these moments to not gloat. Small clues provide the only window into Hurts’ world. Like a master gambler, he has few “tells,” but you can always sense the smoldering passion when, after playing under water, he burst to the surface for air.

    It’s how he has survived. It’s how he survived the past week.

    “You control your own joy when there’s a lot of noise out there,” coach Nick Sirianni explained.

    It was impossible for Hurts to not hear the noise.

    Hurts’ seven turnovers and 69.9 passer rating were the most apt and most significant barometers of the three-game losing streak the Eagles rode into Sunday’s snow-frosted walkover contest against the visiting Raiders.

    Hurts’ slump raised the question about whether, if he continued to struggle, he should be benched. This, despite having gone to two Pro Bowls and two Super Bowls, the most recent of which he was crowned MVP. Still, playing without stars Lane Johnson on the offensive line and Jalen Carter on the defensive line, the Eagles had slipped from 8-2 to 8-5 and had gone from being the No. 1 seed in the NFC to No. 3, with the Cowboys lurking in the weeds of the NFC East race.

    Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts runs past Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Darien Porter during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.

    The question in question was posed by the Eagles’ flagship station, WIP 94.1-FM, during its weekly, contracted interview with Sirianni that follows the most recent game. Hurts had five turnovers in the most recent game, a Monday Night Football loss at the Chargers.

    Sirianni’s response: “I think that’s ridiculous.”

    The question wasn’t ridiculous. It was legitimate.

    It sure seems ridiculous now.

    Nick Sirianni: Sitting Jalen Hurts ‘ridiculous’? Hardly. Bench him if he struggles Sunday.

    Hurts rebounded from the worst game of his career with one of the best. He completed 12 of 15 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Two went to tight end Dallas Goedert, who led the team with six catches for 70 yards. The third went to Brown, only his second official target of the day, a 27-yard dime into triple coverage — by far, Hurts’ best throw of the day.

    It was not, however, his best play. That came a few minutes earlier.

    Midway through the third quarter, a holding penalty put the ball on the Raiders’ 27 and presented Hurts with third-and-12. At stake: a dagger touchdown or a field goal that would preserve for the Raiders a sliver of hope.

    Hurts, in the shotgun formation, saw the middle of the field utterly undefended. He appeared to audible at the line of scrimmage, but later said the play was run as called by offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. Either way, it was the sort of play that only a handful of quarterbacks can make.

    Hurts received the snap, took a half-step backward, tucked the ball, and darted up the middle. He then scooted to his left and outraced defenders to the sideline, exiting the field a yard beyond the first-down marker.

    Three plays later, he hit Goedert from 4 yards and the Eagles led, 24-0.

    The Brown TD was little more than garnish, but might serve the team well. Brown spent the first half of the season complaining, mostly on social media, that he was being underutilized. He then was targeted 45 times in the next four games, but the offense struggled and the team lost three of four.

    On Sunday, Brown was underutilized again, but he did catch the TD pass.

    He didn’t speak with the press after the game.

    Monitor your insta feed.

    At any rate, Hurts thrived in a game that unfolded in the proper design for the team’s composition.

    He threw just 15 passes, but none was thrown into harm’s way. None was forced to Brown. Hurts’ 154.9 passer rating was the second-best of his 89 starts, including playoffs. He has not thrown more than 28 passes in any of his top four.

    Eagles running back Saquon Barkley runs for a first down as Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao moves in.

    Hurts benefited from an absence of offense from the Raiders, who used backup quarterback Kenny Pickett in place of injured Geno Smith, who’d been piloting the league’s worst scoring offense, at 15.1 points per game. The Eagles’ defense was great, but it was playing a warm-weather dome team in 20-degree weather with 25-mph wind gusts on Pacific Coast time.

    Hurts also benefited from a pointed effort to feature running back Saquon Barkley, who ran 22 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 14 carries during the losing streak.

    Finally, the Eagles incorporated a handful of designed runs, and Hurts ran on his own. His 39 yards on seven rushes were his most since Game 4. He averaged 44.8 rushing yards in the first four games, all of which were wins. The Eagles went 4-5 in the next nine games.

    Hurts needs to run. Saquon needs to run. Goedert needs the ball.

    If A.J. gets some looks, great. If not, live with it.

    “It’s a good formula,” said Brandon Graham, who had two sacks in Game 14 of his 16th season. He’s seen some stuff. “It’s definitely a good formula for us.”

    Sirianni understands the formula but wouldn’t commit.

    “Next week we could come out and it could be a completely different game,” he said.

    Why?

    This is how these Eagles can win.

    Any other method would be ridiculous.

    When Jalen Hurts started forcing the ball to A.J. Brown, the Eagles stopped winning
  • Since Jalen Hurts started forcing the ball to A.J. Brown, the Eagles have stopped winning

    Since Jalen Hurts started forcing the ball to A.J. Brown, the Eagles have stopped winning

    Three seismic developments occurred over the past three Eagles games, all losses. Seismic, because the developments involved the Eagles’ best current defender, the best receiver in club history, and perhaps the best player in the history of the franchise.

    First, in an apparent response to complaints about his role in the offense, the Eagles began force-feeding wide receiver A.J. Brown. He was targeted 35 times in the three games in question. He’d been targeted 37 times in the five previous games.

    Second, right tackle Lane Johnson, who might be the greatest Eagle in history, injured his foot. The Eagles win 66% of the time when Johnson plays, while their winning percentage without him is 34%, and falling.

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    Third, defensive tackle Jalen Carter was either hurting or absent. Carter missed the loss Monday night against the Chargers after undergoing a procedure on his shoulders, which had rendered him virtually useless in the two previous games.

    Nothing can be done to remedy the conditions of Johnson or Carter. Johnson issued a cryptic Twitter/X message after Monday night’s game that indicated his return might come sooner than later, and he wasn’t put on injured reserve, but he’s going to miss Sunday’s game against the visiting Raiders. Carter isn’t on IR either, but he’s out, too.

    Which leaves A.J.

    He was getting fewer and fewer looks. The ball just wasn’t finding him. He wanted the ball more. Hell, I wanted him to get the ball more. After all, with due respect to the golden oldies and one year of Terrell Owens, the Eagles have never had a receiver quite like him.

    But getting it to him has spelled disaster.

    Me, Me, Me

    After the Eagles beat Tampa Bay in Game 4, Brown, who had two catches for 7 yards, posted a passage of scripture that indicated he was being ignored: “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”

    Three games later, after a win at Minnesota, Brown posted, “Using me but not using me.” He had four catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

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    A week later, after a win in Green Bay, Brown was seen on a livestream playing a video game with a friend and saying the offense was a “(bleep)-show” and that he was “struggling” after catching two passes for 13 yards.

    Brown might have been indiscrete, but he wasn’t wrong: He needs to be included, if not featured, in order for the Eagles’ offense to function properly. What the past three games proved is that he does not need to be featured in order for the football team to win.

    A day after the “(bleep)-show” scandal, very publicly, on the sideline at practice, owner Jeffrey Lurie convinced Brown to stop publicly humiliating the team. Brown has gone silent.

    He also has been targeted a whopping 46 times. The first 11 times came against the Lions, a game the Eagles won.

    That was also the last time the Eagles had a healthy Lane Johnson and Jalen Carter.

    Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown has been targeted 35 times over the past three games, up from 37 in his previous five.

    Correlation equaling causation?

    How do the issues fit together?

    Well, while the Eagles beat the Lions, they scored only 16 points — not exactly an offensive feast. They won not because Brown was targeted 11 times but because Carter had his second-best game of the season and the defense surrendered just nine points. The Birds scored just 10 in Green Bay the week before, but Carter & Co. limited the Packers to seven.

    The offense wasn’t humming, but neither was it hurting the cause, in large part because the offensive line remained viable.

    Without Johnson, it is less so.

    Why Jalen Hurts plans to ‘stay the course’ after turnovers stalled the Eagles offense

    Before Johnson was injured, Hurts had committed three turnovers in 10 games. The team was 8-2.

    Since Johnson’s injury, Hurts has seven turnovers in three games. The team is 0-3.

    The defense has been pretty good in the past three games, but just before Carter wore down it had again developed into the type of elite unit that led the Eagles to their second Super Bowl win.

    The defense has not been good enough to compensate for Hurts, who is playing the worst football of his career.

    But is it because he’s trying to force the ball to A.J. Brown?

    What about us?

    Before Brown’s bellyaching got him more looks, bookend receiver DeVonta Smith was on pace for a career-high 1,241 receiving yards. That pace has been cut in half in the past four games.

    Asked Friday why his inclusion and production had slowed, Smith paused, then replied:

    “Um … ” five seconds passed as he looked into the distance and mused: ” … I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for that.”

    No one can accuse Smith of being indiscrete.

    Similarly, tight end Dallas Geodert was on pace for 72 catches, 13 more than his career best, and in a contract year, to boot. His pace has slowed by about 25%.

    First-time playcaller Kevin Patullo runs an offense that is both predictable and flavorless.

    Meanwhile, after projecting to fewer than 900 yards for 2025, Brown now has a chance for a fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season.

    There are plenty of issues with the Eagles’ offense.

    The biggest problem: The offensive line, due to rampant injury and aggregate fatigue, has declined from being the league’s best to being the league average.

    Another problem: First-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who has never before called plays, runs an offense that is both predictable and flavorless.

    The most recent problem: Hurts has become hesitant unless he’s throwing to Brown, usually on the first read.

    All three of those problems get diminished the minute Lane Johnson returns. All three of those problems matter less if Jalen Carter is on the field.

    But the only thing the Eagles can do Sunday is let the ball find A.J. when the ball finds A.J.

  • Nick Sirianni: Sitting Jalen Hurts ‘ridiculous’? Hardly. Bench him if he struggles Sunday.

    Nick Sirianni: Sitting Jalen Hurts ‘ridiculous’? Hardly. Bench him if he struggles Sunday.

    Early during Nick Sirianni’s weekly interrogation by Eagles flagship station 94-WIP on Wednesday morning, he was asked about Jalen Hurts by host Joe DeCamara: “Is there a possibility later this season, if he continues to struggle, that you could make a change at the quarterback spot?”

    Sirianni replied:

    “I think that’s ridiculous.”

    You know what’s ridiculous?

    Saying you would never replace a quarterback in the middle of a horrible performance — that’s ridiculous. Saying you would never bench a quarterback who’s slumping worse than the economy — that’s ridiculous.

    It’s more than ridiculous. It’s malpractice.

    It’s not as if Sirianni is averse to benching people.

    He benched defensive coordinator Sean Desai late in the 2023 season.

    Hell, he benched himself in 2021, when, as a rookie head coach, he found the burden of play-calling too onerous, and ceded it to then-offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.

    Don’t be afraid to do unto others, Nick.

    There are two reasons a coach has not only the right, but the responsibility, to bench a quarterback who is playing losing football. This is doubly true of a coach whose team has the weapons to make another deep postseason run, which is exactly the sort of team Sirianni has.

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    First, the coach owes it to the rest of the team to give them the best chance to win. He doesn’t just owe the players. He owes his coaching staff, his support staff, the administrators, the scouts, the janitors — everybody.

    Because everybody’s livelihood suffers when the team doesn’t win, and if Hurts continues to play this poorly, the team cannot win.

    Second, when you’re in a tailspin like Hurts, you’re very unlikely to dig your way out of it. Defensive coordinators are using a very clear formula to beat Hurts: Load the box to stop the run, force the receivers inside, give up nothing deep, and don’t bother with a spy, since Hurts doesn’t want to run anymore, and he has lost a step, anyway. And blitz, blitz, blitz.

    This is the third time since Hurts became the unquestioned starter that he has lost three straight regular-season games. However, it is, by far, his worst performance of any three-game slide, and the first time he has been the biggest reason for the losing. Hurts has a lower passer rating (69.9), more total turnovers (seven), and fewer rushing yards (72) than in previous losing streaks. He’s been bad before, but never this bad.

    The Eagles are 8-5. A loss Sunday to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders combined with a Dallas Cowboys win against the Minnesota Vikings would shrink the Eagles’ lead in the NFC East to a half-game and put even a wild-card berth in peril.

    This is no time to worry about Jalen Hurts’ feelings.

    It might sound heretical to say of the Super Bowl MVP, but if Hurts continues to struggle, he damn well should be benched. He is not sacred.

    Also: Do you believe Sirianni?

    Liar, Liar

    Can you believe Sirianni? He lies all the time to protect players. He admitted this in 2023: “That’s something I’ve always done.”

    With that in mind, if, by halftime Sunday, Hurts has thrown two interceptions, fumbled the ball away, and he’s 3-for-11, I think we‘ll see Tanner McKee.

    I guess Sirianni needs to say that Hurts is untouchable in order to fortify Hurts’ confidence. Sad.

    The Eagles were burned the last time they benched a starter. In 2020, Carson Wentz, who already was angry that the Eagles drafted Hurts in the second round, was benched with 4½ games to play. The benching infuriated Wentz. He first got coach Doug Pederson fired, then forced a trade. The trade hung the Eagles with a then-record $33 million salary-cap hit and left them with Hurts, a talented, raw, flawed quarterback.

    Four years later, Hurts has gone to two Pro Bowls, two Super Bowls, and won a Super Bowl, and signed a $255 million contract. Nevertheless, Hurts remains raw and flawed — less so, but still.

    It’s rare that franchise quarterbacks get benched on merit, but that’s a phenomenon almost exclusive to NFL QBs. Hurts is on a five-game slump, which is about 30% of his season. If Bryce Harper hit .150 over 54 games and made 10 errors or if Tyrese Maxey shot 20% for 27 consecutive games and averaged seven turnovers, you can bet your britches they’d get a day or two off.

    Hurts understands that he’s a big part of the problem. He acknowledged that he’s in a slump, and it’s a granular slump. And when he says he needs to be more “detailed,” it means he needs to get back to the basics in practice so they translate during games.

    “How can I have the right technique?” he said. “How am I playing with the fundamentals? To run the way I want to run? To throw the way I want to throw?”

    It comes. It goes.

    “For whatever reason, that’s a part of the game,” Hurts said. “Success or greatness — those things aren’t linear. You have your ups, you have your downs.”

    When athletes in other sports have their downs, they get sat down.

    But not quarterbacks.

    They’re special.

    Whatever.

    Tradition!

    It’s more than a little ironic that the analytically driven Eagles have, in Sirianni, a pocket-protector spokesman who is essentially telling us that he wouldn’t bench his quarterback because “This is the way it’s always been done.“

    Listen: If you want to go for it on fourth-and-4 from your opponent’s 32-yard line with 3 minutes, 30 seconds to play, when a field goal would put you up seven or eight points, then you don’t get to use the “This is the way it’s always been done” defense.

    I understand the concerns with going to McKee — concerns independent of how it affects Hurts. There are concerns about offensive timing. You know Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will show McKee exotic looks on every snap. McKee will be baited by defensive backs.

    McKee might fail catastrophically, and then, where are you?

    You are no worse off, that’s where.

    What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 15 vs. the Raiders

    It’s not as if Hurts hasn’t been benched before. He lost his job as Alabama’s starter at halftime of the 2018 College Football Playoff national championship, which his replacement, Tua Tagovailoa, won. Instead of transferring, Hurts returned the next season, served as a backup, and, 11 months later, replaced Tagovailoa in the SEC title game and led a comeback win.

    If anybody can handle a benching, it’s Jalen Alexander Hurts.

    There’s no debating that there’s a contingent of folks, especially in the Philadelphia area, who would love to see Hurts fail. You can debate their motives, but he’s not nearly as appreciated as he should be.

    This has led to a cycle of protectionism inside the NovaCare Complex. That’s not good for anybody.

    However, most folks don’t want any scenario to surface in which Hurts gets benched. He has played wonderful football at times.

    But to dismiss his benching out of hand isn’t just ridiculous.

    It’s coaching malpractice.

  • Saquon Barkley’s uncomfortable truths, plus the Eagles rooting for the Lions and another replay fail

    Saquon Barkley’s uncomfortable truths, plus the Eagles rooting for the Lions and another replay fail

    “They wanted it more.” — Saquon Barkley, after the Eagles blew a lead and lost at Dallas.

    “Honestly, I think it’s been awful.” — Saquon Barkley, assessing the Eagles’ game-day juice, after the Eagles lost the following game on Black Friday to the Bears.

    What will Saquon say if the Eagles lose a third straight game when the visit the Chargers on Monday Night Football?

    Whatever it is, believe it. It’s the truth. His truth.

    What we’ve learned in Barkley’s 32 games as an Eagle is he speaks his truth. It is a refreshing and unvarnished truth, and not everyone always agrees with that truth.

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni “saw the effort sky-high” all game long in Dallas and has emphasized that the effort level remains high.

    Lots of folks criticized Barkley in April when he not only attended the Eagles’ White House reception (several teammates, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, conveniently discovered scheduling conflicts), he also golfed and lunched with President Trump the day before, even as Trump advanced his scurrilously racist agenda.

    Saquon Barkley got cozy with Donald Trump. Jalen Hurts declined. So what?

    Barkley didn’t care.

    He didn’t care that Nick clapped back. He didn’t care that I clapped back.

    Barkley is 28. One day he might regret his words or actions. One day he might speak and act with greater discretion.

    For now, even while living as a celebrity in a world of unprecedented scrutiny, he’s saying what he feels and doing what he wants.

    For that, he should be commended.

    Go, kneecap-biters

    In 2021, Sirianni’s disastrous introductory press conference was largely overshadowed by comparisons to Dan Campbell’s outrageous presser, in which he promised his Lions would bite off kneecaps.

    Since their memorable arrivals, Campbell has been nearly as successful as Sirianni. Many Eagles players and coaches expected to face the Lions in the NFC Championship game, and they were quietly pleased as the Lions stumbled through the season.

    Now, they’re rooting for the Lions.

    The Bears’ loss to the Packers on Sunday helped the Eagles’ chances to secure the No. 1 seed and a bye in the NFC. The Packers are 9-3-1 and atop the NFC North. The Bears are 9-4, and the Eagles can move to 9-4 with a win Monday night, through the Bears hold that tiebreaker.

    However, after they play the Browns next week, the Bears face the Packers again, then the 49ers, and finally, Campbell and the Lions to end the season. The Lions blew out the Bears in Week 2.

    The Rams’ win at Arizona put them at 10-3 and they remain atop the conference with the best chance at the bye, but they face the Lions and the Seahawks, who they barely beat at home, as well as the Falcons and Cardinals.

    The Packers face the Broncos, Bears, Ravens, and Vikings.

    The Eagles will face the Raiders, Commanders, Bills, then the Commanders again. The only game they won’t be favored in will be at Buffalo. If they finish 4-1, a 12-5 record could secure the top seed. Don’t scoff: The Chargers, Raiders, and Commanders all have injured starting quarterbacks.

    What’s the Eagles’ most likely path to the No. 1 seed?

    First, they would need the Rams to lose the next two weeks. One of those losses would be to the Lions. That would leave the Rams at 12-5, but the Birds have the tiebreaker since they beat the Rams.

    Second, they would likely need the Bears to beat the Packers, then lose to the 49ers … and Lions. That would leave the Bears at 11-6.

    Third, they would need the Packers to lose to the Broncos and, probably, the Ravens. That would leave the Packers at 11-5-1.

    Where would all of that Lions winning leave the Lions? At 12-5, that’s where. The Eagles beat the Lions on Nov. 17, and so hold that tiebreaker.

    So, go, knee-biters.

    The curse of replay

    Replay stinks.

    My stance: Review every play or review nothing, and do so with replay officials located in the booth rather than forcing coaches to challenge.

    My point: Too often, reviewing plays to the letter of the law robs us of plays that follow the spirit of the game. Just ask the Ravens.

    Leading, 27-22, midway through the fourth quarter Sunday, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to catch his own batted pass — but he also appeared to lose possession as he fell to the ground and to have the ball snatched from him. The initial call awarded the Ravens an interception at the Steelers’ 31-yard line with 6:26 to play. However, upon mandatory turnover review, Rodgers was ruled down by contact, even though his possession seemed far too flimsy to reverse the call. The Steelers kept the ball and punted.

    Certainly, the Rodgers ruling was much more convincing than another play that was reversed upon review four minutes later.

    Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely caught a go-ahead touchdown pass, took one step, took another as he extended the ball away from defender Joey Porter Jr., but before he landed a third step, Porter knocked the ball from his hands. The initial ruling of a touchdown was overturned, and, two plays later, the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.

    Likely didn’t tuck the ball away, and he didn’t get a third step down, so it was ruled incomplete. The call might have been right, but the rule is dumb, and its enforcement Sunday was ridiculous.

    These plays happened minutes apart in the same game that, for the moment, gave the 7-6 Steelers the AFC North lead and bumped the 6-7 Ravens out of the playoff picture.

    Replay slows the game. It also it affords officials the chance to interpret plays in a counterintuitive manner. Officials are terrified to not apply the letter of the law, even when the spirit of the law aligns better with common sense.

    Zach Ertz, humanitarian, might be done

    Zach Ertz, one of the Eagles’ heroes in Super Bowl LII, ended a possible Hall of Fame career when he suffered a torn ACL on Sunday. Ertz planned to retire after this, his 13th season. Ertz only went to three Pro Bowls, from 2017-19, but he ranks in the top 10 in receptions (5th), yards (8th) and TDs (10th) for a tight end.

    Zach Ertz dives over the Patriots’ Devin McCourty to score the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl LII.

    Ertz and his wife, Julie, a soccer star for the U.S. Women’s National Team, spread goodwill wherever they played and lived, be it in Pennsylvania/New Jersey, Arizona, or the Washington, D.C. area. He might never get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he’s become a Hall of Fame person.

    Too tough?

    Before Sunday, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was in the middle of a career resurrection, but he also had played three games with a broken bone in his left leg. He was one of several quarterbacks playing with what appeared to be significant injuries to non-throwing appendages: Aaron Rodgers’ left wrist, Jayden Daniels’ left elbow, and Justin Herbert’s left hand, which was surgically repaired just a week ago but was not expected to keep Herbert out of Monday’s game against the Eagles.

    Daniels played with the aid of a brace from a company called Protect3D, begun by two clever former Duke teammates who helped Jones play in college with a broken collarbone by 3-D printing a similar protective device. It was a cool story.

    On Sunday, however, Jones collapsed with a non-contact injury to his right Achilles tendon. This brings into question whether playing on the broken left leg created stress on the right Achilles, and whether Jones should have been playing at all.

    Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) grabs his leg after an injury during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

    He was anticipating a massive free-agent contract extension in 2026. Now, he’s looking at unemployment and a season lost to rehab.

    Extra points

    On Sunday night, the Chiefs lost to the Texas in Kansas City to fall to 6-7, with possible losses to the Chargers and Broncos on the horizon. After reaching five of the past six Super Bowls and winning three of them, the Chiefs are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. … Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders, who played under Deion Sanders at Colorado before falling to the fifth round of the draft, threw for 364 yards and with three touchdowns, an interception, and a rushing touchdown in a 31-29 loss to the Titans. It was his third start. He’d thrown for 358 yards in his first two starts combined. … The NFL has enjoyed the careers of running quarterbacks like Randall Cunningham, Cam Newton, Steve Young, and Steve McNair, but in less than eight seasons Josh Allen holds the rushing TD record, which he extended Sunday to 77. That’s two more than Newton, who played 11 seasons. Notably, Hurts is in third place with 63 rushing TDs, and he’s played less than six seasons.

  • Jalen Carter’s injury only increases the pressure on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts

    Jalen Carter’s injury only increases the pressure on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts

    Now that the truth is known, it falls to Jalen No. 1 to compensate for the absence of Jalen No. 2.

    Now that the drop-off in Jalen Carter’s play in 2025 compared with 2024 has been explained by his deteriorating shoulders, the responsibility for a late-season surge falls more squarely on the shoulders of embattled quarterback Jalen Hurts.

    He’s got to throw better passes. He’s got to run the offense more efficiently. He’s got to start using his legs as a weapon, because the main weapon on defense is gone.

    If you haven’t been paying attention to the Eagles’ troubles, let’s get you up to speed

    Carter as an NFL sophomore last season fueled the best defense in the league. That defense allowed an average of 19.3 points to the No. 5, No. 7, No. 15, and No. 17 offenses in four playoff games. Zack Baun, Milton Williams, and Josh Sweat made $231 million in new contracts after that Super Bowl run. They owe about 25% to Carter.

    Now, though, Carter is taking time off to heal his aching shoulders. According to Dr. David Chao, Carter likely received PRP injections — platelet-rich plasma — a procedure that is minimally invasive and intended to have the patient’s own plasma speed healing at the injection site.

    In the best-case scenario for the team, Carter will miss no more than two games. In the best-case scenario for Carter, he will miss the last five games before the playoffs begin. He needs to be pain-free, fit, and strong if the Eagles hope to defend their title.

    To his credit, Carter tried to play through the injury all season. He reported the injury in the offseason and missed time during training camp, but as the games got colder the dam finally broke.

    Carter was bad in the second half at Dallas two weeks ago, when the Cowboys came back and won. He was even worse last Friday, when the visiting Bears rushed for 281 yards. Still, Dallas and Chicago scored just 24 points apiece. Carter is that effective at half-strength.

    That’s about the level at which Jalen Hurts has been playing … for quite a while, to be honest.

    Jalen Hurts’ steely resolve will be tested during a stretch when the Eagles are at less than full strength.

    The Challenge

    As well as Carter played last season he wasn’t the Eagles’ best player, because Saquon Barkley had the best year any running back ever had. This season, however, defenses have sold out to stop Saquon, and it’s working.

    It’s working, in part, because Hurts and his coaches have decided to reduce his designed quarterback runs. Hurts is on pace for only 119 runs, about 47 fewer than his average over the past four seasons.

    Jalen Hurts running more might be the best thing for the Eagles. Is it also hazardous to his career?

    Exacerbating the matter: The poor health, inconsistent play, and key absences on the offensive line, usually an unstoppable force, have diminished that unit’s effectiveness.

    The biggest blow: Right tackle Lane Johnson, one of the best players in franchise history, hurt his foot against the Lions. He missed both the loss at Dallas and Friday’s loss, and he won’t be back for at least two more games, more likely four. Without Johnson, the Eagles wouldn’t have won Super Bowl LII or LIX. Hurts and Barkley wouldn’t be under contracts worth more than $300 million. He’s just that good.

    So, yes, as they enter the homestretch of the season, the 8-4 Eagles will play without their best defensive lineman and their best offensive lineman. With Carter and Johnson either limited or absent, they’ve lost their last two games.

    Still, things aren’t all that bad.

    The Road to the Top

    They hold the No. 3 overall seed in the NFC. They again hold a 2½-game lead in the NFC East over the Cowboys, who lost Thursday night in Detroit. They’ve given themselves a buffer, and they have a runway — as long as Hurts starts playing to his $51 million average annual value.

    First, the Chargers, in Los Angeles, on Monday Night. Right-handed Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will be playing with a surgically repaired left hand, so the balanced attack might be less balanced, and the offense should run exclusively out of shotgun or pistol sets, and adversity along the Chargers’ line has mirrored that of the Eagles’.

    However, the Chargers have the No. 2 passing defense and 11 interceptions, which is tied for eighth. The Eagles have the 24th-ranked offense and the 23rd-ranked passing offense, despite weapons like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. They’re getting open, and they’re running the plays called by first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo.

    Will receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, with the necessary assistance of their quarterback, have a big Monday night in L.A.?

    Hurts has been a problem all season. Hurts can turn that narrative around Monday night, and beyond.

    The two-win Raiders visit the next week, and the season ends with home-and-home games against the three-win Commanders, who have the second-worst defense in the league, sandwiching what likely will be a brutal trip to Buffalo.

    The Eagles can win three of their remaining games, four if they win Monday night. That would give them 12 wins and a chance at the No. 1 seed in the NFC, since they’ve beaten the Rams and Lions, and since the Bears have a much more challenging schedule left to play.

    But no longer can the Eagles expect their defense to win games for them, as Hurts squeezes the football and stares, mystified, into opposing secondaries.

    He’s averaging just 209.5 passing yards. That’s fewer than Geno Smith, Mac Jones, and Jacoby Brissett.

    That has to change.

  • Kevin Patullo still loves Eagles fans and Philly as he endures a season of hate

    Kevin Patullo still loves Eagles fans and Philly as he endures a season of hate

    For a husband and father who had just experienced an act of vandalism that impacted his wife and family, Kevin Patullo didn’t just take the high road. He took the highest of all possible roads.

    He complimented the overwhelming majority of fans and media who have called for his dismissal and created an environment that can provoke inexcusable attacks.

    “I’ve been here for five years now, and it’s been awesome,” Patullo said. “We all know that part of our job is to handle criticism. … But when it involves your family, it crosses the line. That happened. At this point, we’ve just got to move on.”

    Patullo is the first-year offensive coordinator for an 8-4 Eagles team that is the reigning Super Bowl champion, occupies first place in the NFC East, and would be the No. 3 seed in the conference if the playoffs began today. After a home loss Friday to Chicago, around 3 a.m. on Saturday, his home in New Jersey was pelted with eggs by what a posted TikTok video indicates was a group of boys. The incident is being investigated by the Moorestown Police Department.

    I asked him Wednesday if he was angry about the incident or fearful for himself, his wife, or his son and daughter. I told him I certainly would be both angry and scared. It’s natural.

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni (right) has stood by offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

    “You want to separate the job from your family,” he replied. “Us, as a family, we know we’ve got to stick together. To be honest, there’s a lot of great people in the community. I have great neighbors. There’s so many people who have reached out to my wife and I. …

    “We’ve just got to move on. No, you’re not uncomfortable … being in that neighborhood. You’re not uncomfortable with sort of continuing with things as they are. … We’ve had a great experience here in Philadelphia. It’s a very special, unique place.”

    You can say that again.

    Perhaps Patullo is being so gracious because, according to one Eagles source, far worse things have happened to people in the Eagles organization in the past four years. I shudder to think what those things might be.

    Perhaps Patullo feels so secure because, as a high-ranking figure in an $8.3 billion franchise that belongs to a league that annually generates more than $20 billion in revenue, those entities take stringent measures to protect their own. Copycats, beware.

    Saquon Barkley and the Eagles running game have struggled this season.

    You might consider the use of “terrorism” overwrought in this case, but consider Merriam-Webster’s definition:

    “The systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion.”

    A single house-egging might not be “systematic,” but, as the Eagles offense continues to sputter, Patullo has, for months, been the most viciously criticized of eligible targets. There have been calls for his dismissal since the Eagles began the season 4-0. No, that’s not a misprint.

    Yes, Jalen Hurts is the ‘problem’ for the Eagles, not Kevin Patullo: So what?

    This, despite the inconsistent play of quarterback Jalen Hurts and the disappearance of running back Saquon Barkley. This, despite the continual injury issues along the offensive line. This, despite A.J. Brown, Hurts, Barkley, and the offensive line saying it’s not Patullo; not primarily, at any rate.

    Patullo might not exactly be Bill Walsh, but he’s not Dana Bible, either.

    Also: Vic Fangio’s defense collapsed in Dallas and got gashed by the Bears, but nobody egged his house. Take one look at Vic. I dare you to vandalize that man’s house.

    Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio during training camp in August.

    You might use the tireless excuse that Patullo’s home was violated by that vague minority of so-called supporters intent on perpetuating the stereotype of Philly fans being venomous cretins who would gladly eat their own. You know, the fans who, in April 1999, booed the drafting of Donovan McNabb, then, that October in Veterans Stadium, cheered when an ambulance drove onto the field to take Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin to the hospital.

    But how many of those fans — your friends and neighbors — dismissed this act of vandalism as “boys being boys”? How many shook their heads and said, “That’s too bad, but fire his butt anyway”?

    How many? Too many.

    I’m a transplant to Philadelphia, but that was 30 years ago, so this is my home. However, I still marvel at how folks choose to revel in sports misery; how many choose to bemoan what is imperfect, and what might go wrong, and the fixation on blaming one particular villain.

    Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo struggle as Eagles lose again due to poor focus, fundamentals

    I take full responsibility for my part in the critical nature of Philadelphia sports coverage, especially in the 15 years I’ve been a columnist, a television panelist, and a radio personality, and I’ve criticized Patullo when it was warranted, but I strive to keep my criticisms impersonal, unless the person in question has acted in a manner that reveals flaws in his character.

    There seem to be few flaws in Patullo’s character.

    “When you look at the big picture, it’s just a piece of who I am, who my family is. Ultimately, you know, it’s fine.”

    No. No, it’s not fine.

    Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is at the helm of an inconsistent offense.

    Objective criticism is fine. Targeted criticism — the sort Patullo is enduring — is not. Not when there are so many other issues.

    There’s a difference between criticism and toxicity. Toxicity can lead to violence. Violence always is abhorrent.

    The Eagles rank 24th in average yardage. They are 23rd in average passing yardage — which is six spots better than 2024 — and 19th in scoring.

    They are 22nd in rushing yardage, which is the real issue, since they were second last season. That can be blamed not only on Patullo’s sometimes clunky sequencing and predictability, but also on teams selling out to stop the run and a clear falloff by both the offensive line and Barkley.

    The offense has health issues, but every team has to deal with injuries. The Eagles spend more than twice as much on the offense as they spend on the defense. Nick Sirianni is a former offensive coordinator with the Colts, and Patullo has been his right-hand man since Sirianni hired him as his receivers coach in Indianapolis eight years ago.

    Hurts has been a Pro Bowl quarterback and a Super Bowl MVP. Barkley, Brown, DeVonta Smith, and several of the linemen have Hall of Fame talent.

    Should the offense be better? Absolutely.

    But if you expect Patullo and the offense to be better, why can’t you?

  • Yes, Jalen Hurts is the ‘problem’ for the Eagles, not Kevin Patullo: So what?

    Yes, Jalen Hurts is the ‘problem’ for the Eagles, not Kevin Patullo: So what?

    If you want to keep beating your head against the wall, keep expecting Jalen Hurts to turn into Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.

    If you want to preserve your sanity, however, just accept Hurts as a complementary player.

    That’s not an insult. It’s objective analysis. He’s playing a little bit better than his draft projection, which, on the NFL’s website in 2020, read thus:

    “Slow recognition of early throw opportunities. Leaves slants and crossers behind targets. Misses check-downs. … Quick to drop his eyes when pressure mounts. … He’ll struggle to beat NFL defenses from the pocket.”

    Granted, these were the most negative aspects of Hurts’ profile, which projected him as a second-round pick who might one day develop into a competent starter. Which, to date, is exactly what he became.

    Look around the league. Philadelphia is lucky to have him.

    Tyrese Maxey, Vic Fangio head the annual Philly Sports Thanksgiving thankfulness list

    He’s a competent starter with a few special gifts. He is a tireless worker, a steady hand on the tiller, a fine runner, fearless, tough, accurate, with exquisite touch on deep passes. He is not the total package. To expect him to be so only courts disappointment.

    Eagles first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo might not be calling all the best plays, and his sequencing might be imperfect, but the consensus among analysts and several Eagles sources is that Patullo’s not the problem. Hurts is missing wide-open receivers, sometimes missing multiple receivers on the same play, even when he’s not pressured.

    But no sane entity in the Eagles’ organization, to my extensive knowledge, is wishing for Hurts to be replaced by Tanner McKee, who has yet to take a meaningful snap in a meaningful game since being drafted in the sixth round three years ago.

    Hurts played his best in 2022, which was his second season with offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, now the coach in Indianapolis. He was superb at times in 2024 under Kellen Moore, who’d coached and coordinated Dak Prescott for five years in Dallas; Prescott had a similar pedigree and projection as Hurts.

    This year the Eagles hoped Hurts would develop past the need for an experienced coordinator. He has not.

    Have there been streaks over the years in which Hurts looks like a star? Sure. Has he produced in several big games? Absolutely.

    Jalen Hurts’ second season with offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, in 2022, perhaps gave a false sense of what the quarterback was capable of.

    But the league clearly caught up with him after that first Pro Bowl season in 2022, when his legs were as much as a weapon as his feet. He is running far less frequently this season, on pace for 119 runs, which would be his career low as a starter. The player we’ve seen for large stretches of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons matches that NFL.com draft profile better than it matches the Super Bowl LIX MVP.

    Hurts isn’t the superstar owner Jeffrey Lurie and the Jordan Brand wish he was. Rather, he’s at the right place at the right time. He finds himself surrounded by elite talent on both sides of the ball, led by a very good coaching staff, with the NFL‘s best owner and its best GM. Together, they make it work. They win, a lot. But when good defenses set their minds to making Hurts beat them, and disguise their defenses, winning is less certain and much uglier. That’s what has happened in 2025.

    There are other issues, of course. Chief among them: Twelve games in, the projected starting offensive line has yet to start and finish consecutive games, and probably won’t do so for at least three more weeks. The defense started poorly but has improved. Saquon Barkley isn’t as explosive, and his debut as an Eagle in 2024 was the best season a back has ever had, and that provided the best sort of camouflage for Hurts.

    Most big-money quarterbacks are asked to be the best player, but Hurts’ real job is to complement players who are better at their job than he is at his, when compared with players who play their positions. Led by Barkley, those players include, without question, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and linemen Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, and Lane Johnson. Tight end Dallas Goedert and center Cam Jurgens might qualify, too.

    That’s no insult to Hurts. It’s really a compliment to Howie Roseman, who acquired them all, including Hurts, at excellent draft and salary values.

    Howie Roseman surrounded Jalen Hurts — a complementary piece — with stars like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

    It’s true that a better quarterback would not be diminishing prime years of Brown, Smith, Barkley, and Goedert. But Hurts isn’t going anywhere. He is the darling of Lurie, who insisted on both the drafting of Hurts in 2020 (which devastated franchise QB Carson Wentz) and the unnecessary, $255 million contract extension in the spring of 2023, after which Lurie said Hurts already was one of “the great ones.”

    The “great ones” don’t miss receivers, misdiagnose defenses, and make decisions too late to matter. Not this often.

    He’s only 27. Maybe Hurts can be great yet. Giants bust Daniel Jones is thriving in his seventh season now that he’s in Indianapolis. Jets bust Sam Darnold resurrected his career in Minnesota in 2024, his seventh season, and he’s even better this season in Seattle. Browns bust Baker Mayfield found new life in his sixth season with his fourth team, Tampa Bay, where he’s gone to the past two Pro Bowls.

    That’s not much solace here on the homestretch of a muddled, 8-4 season in which the offense still hasn’t played four quarters of proficient football against a good defense.

    The Eagles, as defending champs, have endured a hellish schedule, one that includes losses to unexpectedly good teams like Denver and Chicago. Hurts has yet to deliver the sort of wire-to-wire performance you would expect from a quarterback averaging $51 million per season (even though that ranks just 11th in the NFL).

    What 2025 has proved is that Hurts, today, is a pretty good quarterback who can win you games if things fall just right. If that’s not good enough for you, well, too bad.

    You can get angry, and you can beat your head against that wall, but nothing’s going to change except the level of your headache.

    The Cult of Analytics

    You never start an argument with an analytics zealot because you will always lose. They have data and numbers and history. They generally ignore intangibles such as momentum, atmosphere, competition, site, and psyche.

    Nick Sirianni defends decision to go for two down nine vs. Bears: ‘I always want to know early what I need’

    This matters this week because of the meaningless yet fiery debate, fueled by superb (if somewhat self-anointing) NFL analyst Greg Olsen, surrounding the Eagles’ decision to try a two-point conversion with more than three minutes to play, trailing by nine, to make it a seven-point game. It failed. That meant the Eagles needed two more possessions to win, which was unlikely considering the limited time remaining. It made more common sense to kick the PAT and make it an eight-point game.

    Nick Sirianni said, “I’m always going to go for a two in that scenario,” citing his personal research on the matter over several years. Sirianni is winning at a legendary clip, so maybe his studies show something publicly available that analytics do not. Those analytics give a slight edge to doing what Sirianni did.

    But what Sirianni did virtually assured the loss. By doing so, it removed any real incentive from the defense, which had already been on the field 14 minutes more than the offense. The most realistically hopeful scenario after the missed two-point try was for the defense to hold, for the Eagles to score a TD, then for the Eagles to recover an onside kick, which happens at only about a 5% rate in the last two seasons.

    Olsen and his tribe used X/Twitter to preach their message, which, predictably, incensed the anti-analytics barbarians.

    It was kind of fun to watch the two sides battle, but kind of sad, too.

    Because anyone who watched that game knew the Eagles weren’t going to score another touchdown, anyway.

    Can the Eagles still get the No. 1 seed in the NFC? Yes, but it will be difficult.

    Extra points

    Nobody’s any good, right? The Eagles lost at home to the Bears, who are the NFC’s top seed. The Colts lost at home to the Texans, the mighty Rams lost in Carolina, the Chiefs lost at Dallas, and Jacksonville’s 8-4, the third seed in the AFC, behind the No. 2 Patriots and the No. 1 Broncos. And both the Chiefs and Lions would miss the playoffs if the season ended today, just like nobody predicted.

  • Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo struggle as Eagles lose again due to poor focus, fundamentals

    Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo struggle as Eagles lose again due to poor focus, fundamentals

    Jalen Hurts gave up two third-quarter turnovers Friday against the Chicago Bears — first, a bad, deep throw, then a fumble during a Tush Push. Both inexcusable. Both plays that reek of poor fundamentals.

    Poor fundamentals mean poor coaching.

    Bears running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai ran for 125 and 130 yards, respectively. It’s the first time since 1960 that two opposing runners gained more than 100 yards on Eagles home turf — astonishing, considering how awful some of the Eagles’ defenses have been. They surrendered a total of 281 rushing yards, the most they’ve allowed in a decade.

    How did this happen?

    Mainly, poor tackling. Poor tackling means poor fundamentals.

    Poor fundamentals mean poor coaching.

    As has so often happened this season, the offensive play calls took far too long to be communicated to Hurts, then from him to the team. First-time offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is 12 games into his career as a play-caller. It’s not as if the offense is particularly complex. Crowd noise was no factor: It was a home game.

    Maybe they couldn’t hear above the boos.

    Bears running back D’Andre Swift runs for 17 yards past a fallen Cooper DeJean during the second quarter.

    The Eagles’ Super Bowl hangover is getting worse as time grows short in the 2025 season. As was the case after Nick Sirianni and the Birds won the NFC title after the 2022 season, the coach and the team, who won Super Bowl LIX, have been unimaginative, ineffective, and have appeared unmotivated for most of the season.

    It took 11 games in 2023 for the malaise to collapse the season. It has taken only 10 games in 2025.

    After the Eagles blew a 21-point lead and committed 14 penalties at Dallas on Sunday, Sirianni fell on the sword. He did so again Friday:

    “We all have to do a better job. And that’s going to be starting with us as coaches — starting with me, as a coach.”

    For the second straight week, he swore he wouldn’t replace Patullo, who is reaching Sean Desai-levels of unpopularity. (Desai was the scapegoat defensive coordinator for part of the lost 2023 season.)

    They got paid. They got Super Bowl rings. And now, the Eagles’ offense is unmotivated.

    Blame Nick. Blame Kevin. Blame whoever you like but the Eagles are now 8-4 after a 24-15 loss to the visiting Bears. Petulant receiver A.J. Brown caught 10 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and had eight catches for 110 yards at Dallas in the previous game, so he’s been productive and presumably happy, but he’s an outlier.

    The Eagles’ well-paid, pedigreed offense has managed just three solid drives in the last six quarters, and one came against a prevent defense in the fourth quarter Friday night.

    The Eagles were unprepared for Dallas’ five-man front in their last game. They were unprepared to stop the Bears’ running attack Friday. They don’t seem to know what’s coming. On the other hand, the Eagles offense and defense both seem entirely predictable, and when they aren’t disciplined, they’re a disaster.

    “Turnovers and sloppy sloppiness,” said center Cam Jurgens.

    How to fix it?

    “Watching film being brutally honest.”

    It sounds as if there’s been less accountability lately.

    “You know, in a walk-through somebody false starts — like we need to make a point of every single part,” Jurgens said. “You know, and it’s happening in the game. We need to make sure we’re covering all of our bases and stay on top of it, because we’re just the sloppier team today.”

    There might have been a play or two Friday that the officials didn’t call in the Eagles’ favor, but if you’re underthrowing passes and failing to cover backs out of the backfield, and then you’re begging the refs to bail you out, well, that’s just kind of sad.

    Speaking of sad, the Eagles’ final possession of the first half went like this:

    • Weird, soft, 1-yard pass to Brown;
    • The Eagles wasted about 30 seconds when they could not get a play call in before the two-minute warning. In a bizarre moment postgame, Sirianni, clearly rattled and desperate to protect Patullo, delivered a nonsensical answer that asserted that they wasted that time on purpose;
    • Aborted route over the middle by Brown, who would have been hit hard by Jaylon Jones as he caught it;
    • Offensive pass interference on Brown, who pushed off (softly) to negate a 12-yard completion;
    • On third-and-19, an 11-yard pass to Will Shipley, who, with 1 minute, 43 seconds to play, foolishly ran out of bounds, saving the Bears about 30 seconds.
    • Braden Mann then shanked a downwind punt 44 yards. He shanked another at the start of the fourth quarter that went 40 yards.

    Needless to say, the Eagles left Lincoln Financial Field to a chorus of boos. They’d gained just 83 yards in the first half, their worst first-half production of the season.

    It got worse.

    On the first play of the second half, Hurts hit Saquon Barkley in the right shoulder pad with a pass. Barkley wasn’t ready. Hurts stared him down. In the fourth quarter, Barkley dropped another pass.

    Even when things went right, they went wrong.

    Midway through the third quarter, from the Bears’ 33, Hurts went deep. He underthrew Brown, who adjusted, ripped the ball away from Nahshon Wright, and walked into the end zone to cut it to 10-9.

    A few seconds later, kicker Jake Elliott pulled the point-after attempt left.

    Seriously.

    The Eagles now have nine days to prepare for a West Coast road game against the Los Angeles Chargers, a 7-4 team that is likely to be 8-4 after Sunday’s home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

    That’s a lot of time for extra coaching.

    That is, if Sirianni and his staff are up to it.

    Jerry Jones reveals who saved the Cowboys’ season; Tom Brady’s Chip Kelly problem; more Week 12 thoughts