The Philadelphia Eagles offense continues to be a rickety old sled, incapable of smooth gliding for more than a moment before tremors of instability send it careening out of control. Monday night, they couldn't keep the skis from falling off.
"I think that that one stinks," coach Nick Sirianni said after his team's 22-19 loss to the L.A. Chargers. "That one stinks, and I think at the end of the day we had some turnovers in this game, uncharacteristic of ourselves, and every time it's going to come down to coaching well enough and executing well enough."
"Some turnovers" was Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts coughing the ball up five times. Things were so bad for the Philly quarterback that he turned the ball over twice on a single play -- tossing a second-quarter interception to defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand, who fumbled on the return, Hurts recovered, then lost his own fumble. Per Elias Sports Bureau, it marked 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 opportunities, especially when we get on the other side of the 50 [yard line] and I wasn't able to get us in the box."
Hurts was off-target all game, missing passes high and wide -- particularly throws over the middle -- and didn't get help from his targets, with drops killing several drives. It was appropriate that his final pass of the night was tipped for an interception to end the game in overtime on the doorstep of a potential game-winning touchdown.
The Eagles QB completed 21 of 40 passes for 240 yards with TDs, four INTs and a 31.2 passer rating. It marked his first career game with four interceptions (had two INTs in Weeks 1-13). Monday was his fifth career start with a sub-40 passer rating (second most since 2020, behind only Mac Jones' six).
"It starts with me and how I play, how I lead, and it's my ability to go out there and figure it out," Hurts said. "There's no excuses. I know being all subjective in terms of how you look at it. Obviously, we always feel like we got a chance but we just got to come together and find ways to win and I have to find the way to win."
The offense is unable to consistently drive the football. The banged-up offensive line is the main difference between this season and last, with few holes in the running game keeping Philly from grinding away games. Saquon Barkley rushed 20 times for 122 yards, with 52 of that coming on his long TD scamper. Outside of the 52-yarder and another 19-yard blast, Barkley was stuffed for 2.8 yards on his other 18 totes. He gained zero or negative yards on eight carries. Woof.
The inability to stay in manageable down and distances puts Hurts in tough spots, and on Monday, the QB didn't respond. At times, he would rifle balls to his targets, like the OT dart to DeVonta Smith. At others, it feels like he's never practiced with his teammates. The offensive chemistry is rotten.
"Obviously, this game is the ultimate team game, so it's never just on one person," Sirianni said of his QB. "Now ultimately, he always has the ball in his hands, and I know he'll wear a lot of that and own that and I got to do a better job of helping him in those scenarios. Again, it's never just on execution, right? It's always that we look at ourselves as coaches first. Did we help him be in position to succeed and then execute, right? So obviously, [you] never want to turn the ball over. We've been pretty good at that, and tonight was a little uncharacteristic of ourselves."
The coach confirmed that he'd spent more time with the offense this week as coordinator Kevin Patullo is under heat for the offense's ineffective play. It didn't much matter.
The Eagles haven't scored more than 21 points in a tilt since Week 8. Most teams improve during their bye week. Philly got systematically worse. After the Week 9 bye, the Eagles have scored 10, 16, 21, 15, and 19 points, respectively. Luckily, Vic Fangio's defense has been lights out, otherwise, the current three-game skid would be five.
Philly's three-game losing streak makes things interesting in the NFC East, with the Cowboys still having a prayer. However, even as their dismal offensive play continues, the Eagles have a 92% chance to win the division, per Next Gen Stats.
