One other week, one other uninspiring efficiency from Philadelphia.
The Eagles once more could not get in a groove on offense and wasted far an excessive amount of time to get issues going of their 33-16 highway loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For the third straight week, the offense did not assemble any kind of momentum or consistency and the Eagles seem to have a major problem transferring the ball as key gamers stay banged up.
It’s powerful to be an entire and profitable offense with out the likes of Lane Johnson, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, however the Eagles have a younger, extremely paid quarterback who hasn’t been capable of overcome less-than-perfect conditions, which is what’s wanted from a quarterback making top-of-the-market cash.
“I feel total, I simply need to play higher,” Jalen Hurts stated afterward. “Gotta play higher. We had a ton of alternatives to guide the offense and actually play complementary ball, and it begins with me on that facet of the ball. To get down like we did, I’ve to assist the protection out.”
The Eagles had zero yards of offense till there have been six minutes left within the second quarter. Zero. Not a single yard. It doesn’t matter what number of gamers are out. Beneath no circumstance is that a suitable stage of manufacturing for an expert group, particularly one which has playoff aspirations.
Hurts did not get something going within the passing recreation, and the Eagles have been utterly neutered for a lot of the afternoon as a result of shaky move safety and Hurts’ personal inaccuracies as a passer. Hurts has 27 turnovers over his previous 20 begins relationship again to final season, together with a strip sack on Sunday.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni would not pin the blame solely on Hurts for that, arguing much more goes into it, and it is not all of the quarterback’s fault.
“That is not [on] Jalen,” Sirianni stated.
Nonetheless, if Hurts shouldn’t be going to be making huge performs like he was in 2022, the Eagles are going to be in retailer for some powerful video games till they will get again to full power.
Maybe there’s a disconnect between Hurts and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, however a few of these points predate Moore’s arrival to the group. Hurts may be a kind of guys who’s reliant on the expertise round him slightly than having the ability to rise above and overcome opposed conditions. That is OK, but it surely places a tough ceiling on what the Eagles can do proper now — particularly if their protection goes to have stretches the place they get diced by the air.
The one side of this offense that appears to be working with any measure of consistency is the newly signed Saquon Barkley, who has recaptured his standing as being some of the explosive, thrilling operating backs within the sport. Barkley had 12 touches for 116 yards, however the Eagles couldn’t get him handoffs as a result of they have been down huge so early within the recreation. This offense can’t play from behind with out its prime extensive receivers, and the Eagles don’t seem to have any solutions on produce offense with out these guys on the sphere.
Sirianni, Moore and Hurts are going to have to determine solutions to this droop. Too many high-level assets and contracts have been dumped into this facet of the ball for the Eagles to slog by as many video games as they do. Issues will undoubtedly get higher when Smith, Brown and Johnson get again into the lineup, however they will’t let these sorts of offensive performances proceed to pile up and develop into their new norm. This has been a downward development for a lot too lengthy, and it’s making folks scrutinize precisely the place Hurts ranks within the hierarchy of NFL quarterbacks.
Philadelphia nonetheless has time on its facet at 2-2, however the Eagles want to determine solutions rapidly as a result of they haven’t been taking part in profitable soccer this season. Since profitable 10 of their first 11 video games final season, the Eagles are 3-7 — they will’t let this spiral a lot additional.
“We have skilled completely different adversities. We simply need to proceed to be taught from these moments,” Hurts stated. “That is been the takeaway from each recreation we have performed.”
