“Minshew Mania” was in full effect at MetLife Stadium on Sunday as Eagles backup quarterback Gardner Minshew III made his first start of the season for the injured Jalen Hurts(ankle) against the New York Jets(3-9).
At times, Minshew was magical, especially in the first half. In the Eagles’ first three possessions, which all ended in touchdowns, Minshew completed 11-of-11 attempts for 165 passing yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Dallas Goedert. He completed 93% of his passes in the first half (14-of-15 for 188 yards). Ultimately, Philly would take a 24-18 halftime lead and would defeat the Jets 33-18.
The Eagles(6-7) scored on their first seven possessions of the game, marking the first time they have done so since at least 2001.
The third-year quarterback ended the game 20/25 for 242 yards and two touchdowns, and more importantly, the Eagles are a 1/2 game behind the Washington Football Team and the San Francisco 49ers for the final two Wild Card spots in the NFC.
“It’s the best time I’ve had since we won last year,” Minshew said after the win. “There’s nothing like that feeling. Glad to do it with this group of guys. They made it easy for me.”
Minshew was solid on Sunday, but that should be expected when considering the defense he was facing. The Jets lead the NFL in points allowed, and coming into this game against the Eagles, have allowed 30.4 points per contest. While fans in Philly may want Minshew to keep the job, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said this week when healthy Hurts is the guy, and he reiterated that after the game.
“There’s been times when he’s been one of the best in the league,” Sirianni said about Hurts. “The way he’s moved around, made plays, we look at that quarterback rating and what he’s had there. He’s played really good football when he’s in, so when he’s healthy, and he’s back, he’ll be our starter.”
Philadelphia continued to run the ball successfully as they had 185 yards on the ground, and Miles Sanders(left game in fourth with a leg injury) had his first 100-yard game of the season with 120 yards on 24 carries.
The final four games will determine if the Eagles can make the playoffs, and after the bye, they host the Washington Football Team for the first of two games in three weeks against WFT. Those games will have playoff implications.
Going forward, if he is healthy, Hurts will have an opportunity to play meaningful football in December.
Notes:
-Philadelphia increases their all-time series lead against the New York Jets to 12-0. The Eagles’ 12-0 mark against the Jets is currently the most wins without a loss by any NFL franchise in a head-to-head series. Philadelphia (12-0 vs. New York; 5-0 vs. Houston) and Minnesota (5-0 vs. Houston) are the only NFL teams with undefeated records against active opponents.
-Goedert’s 36-yard touchdown is tied for Philadelphia’s longest passing score of the season (also Jalen Hurts to DeVonta Smith in Week 10 at Denver). It is the longest TD by an Eagles TE since Brent Celek’s 65-yard catch on 12/19/10 at N.Y. Giants (thrown by Vick). Goedert finished the game with six catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
–Philadelphia’s defense struggled in the first half. They allowed the Jets to score three touchdowns. However, they blanked the Jets in the second half.
If the Philadelphia Eagles(5-7) miss the playoffs this season, they will most definitely look at their loss against the New York Giants(4-7) on Sunday. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw three interceptions, and Philadelphia had four turnovers as they fell to the Giants 13-7 at MetLife Stadium.
Philadelphia rushed for 208 yards on Sunday, which is the third consecutive time they ran for over 200 yards. The Eagles have also produced 175-plus rushing yards in five straight games for the first time since 1950.
However, Hurts, who had a game-high 77 yards on the ground, struggled to throw the ball. He was 14/31 for only 129 yards with zero touchdowns, and again, three picks.
Giants safety Julian Love, who almost got a pick on Philly’s final drive, said the team wanted Hurts to beat them with his arm.
“Obviously, he’s pretty dangerous running the ball, and they’re finding that in their offense,” Love, who had a fumble recovery, said after the game. “With us, we just tried to play physical, just play straight up and kind of make him throw the ball, so to speak. He got some runs, obviously, but when it comes down to crucial passing situations, I thought we handled him well. So that was part of the plan, and guys executed.”
Clearly, that game plan worked as the Giants’ defense stepped up on the day the team retired legendary DE Michael Strahan’s number 92 jersey.
However, despite Hurts’ struggles, the Eagles had two opportunities to put themselves in a position to win the game. With 31 seconds left, Hurts threw a nice pass to Jalen Reagor in the end zone, but he dropped it, and on 4th and 10, Reagor had another drop that would have put the Eagles around the Giants’ goal line.
“That was a heart-stopping play, that last one. Different than the previous one,” Love said. “That was a heart-stopping play, and I think he just played through it, and he was applying pressure all game, and sometimes that accumulates. So yeah, Reagor didn’t come down with that one at the end, thankfully.”
Reagor, who has only 25 receptions for 201 yards this season, has been a disappointment for the Eagles since being selected by Philadelphia in the first round(21st pick) of the 2020 NFL Draft, but to his credit, he did take ownership for what happened.
“You have bad days; you have good days; you’ve just got to move forward,” Reagor said. “Because tomorrow’s still gotta be here, I still have to go practice; I still have to play next week. You can’t too much dwell on it. Just me taking ownership and moving forward.”
It’s not all on Reagor. Hurts was terrible on Sunday, and Boston Scott had a critical fumble on the previous drive, but Reagor has to make those plays, and he didn’t. Now, the Giants, who fired OC Jason Garrett this week but still struggled on offensive against Philadelphia, has life in terms of the playoffs, and the Eagles, who still have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs, missed out on a valuable opportunity to move up the standings.
Notes:
-The 20 total points and the 13 points in a victory were the fewest in a Giants game since a 10-7 triumph against Dallas on Dec. 11, 2016. Before Sunday, the Giants lowest points total in a victory under Judge was their 17-12 triumph in Seattle last season.
-Darnay Holmes, Xavier McKinney, and Tae Crowder had the Giants interceptions off Jalen Hurts. It was the Giants’ first three-interception game since Blake Martinez, Jabrill Peppers, and Logan Ryan all had interceptions in Washington in 2020.
-Daniel Jones completed 19 of 30 passes for 202 yards, including a one-yard touchdown to tight end Chris Myarick. He did not throw an interception for the seventh time in 11 games. Jones was not sacked until the Giants’ final non-kneel down play in the fourth quarter. Jones also rushed for 30 yards on nine carries.
Last season, in Week 17, the New York Giants needed the Philadelphia Eagles to defeat the Washington Football Team to win the NFC East, and after three quarters, the Eagles trailed 17-14.
However, early in the fourth quarter, then Eagles head coach Doug Pederson replaced quarterback Jalen Hurts with Nate Sudfeld, who was awful, and ultimately, Washington would defeat Philadelphia 20-14 to win the NFC East.
The following day, Giants head coach Joe Judge was livid and ripped the Eagles for what transpired in that game.
“There’s a number of sacrifices that have been made by all the players and coaches in this league,” Judge said back in January. “There’s a number of sacrifices that come along as well for the family members of the people connected to them. To disrespect the effort that everyone put forward to make this season a success for the National Football League, to disrespect the game by going out there and not competing for 60 minutes and doing everything you can to help those players win. We will never do that as long as I am the head coach of the New York Giants.”
Philadelphia(5-6), who have won three of their last four games, will travel to MetLife Stadium to battle the Giants(3-7) on Sunday for the first time since last season. New York(3-7) has lost two of its last three.
On Friday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, who was not here last season, spoke about the situation from last year.
“That’s a good question, but that’s something I can’t speak on since I wasn’t here for it,” Sirianni said. “I wasn’t in the building for it. It’s a big rivalry that we are all blessed to be a part of. I am just honored that I can be a part of this rivalry. And it’s a rare thing in the NFL – I don’t want to say a rare thing, but it’s pretty cool to have the rivalries that we have in this division, so I am just honored to be a part of it.”
In reality, after Pederson’s firing, this whole issue is kind of nonexistent. Plus, the Giants are not very good this season and just fired their offensive coordinator, so they have more significant issues to worry about.
For the second straight game, and the third time in four games, the Philadelphia Eagles(5-6) ran for over 200 yards, and for the second straight game, they got a defensive touchdown as they defeated the Saints(5-5) 40-29 to get their first win of the season at Lincoln Financial Field.
Philadelphia rushed for a season-high 242 yards against the NFL’s No. 1-ranked rushing defense. The Eagles’ 242 rushing yards are the club’s most in a game since posting 246 yards against the Saints’ defense last season.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, who threw for 147 yards and rushed for 69 yards and a franchise-record-tying three touchdowns, including a game-clinching 24-yard touchdown run, gave his thoughts on the team’s identity on offense.
“We’re going to continue to attack, continue to play our game. I’ve always been asked about the identity of this football team,” Hurts said. “Early on in the season, everybody is asking me the question. Whether I answered it or I didn’t answer it, I think identity is not being able to run the ball or ‘we’re a running team,’ ‘we’re a passing team,’ or ‘we’re a team that doesn’t give up big explosive plays.’ That’s not what identity is. Identity is a mentality. It’s a mentality; it’s an approach; it’s the detail you put in day in and day out throughout the week. It’s being physical; it’s wanting it, it’s effort. It’s all of those things…
“We just want to continue to control the controllables. Continue to connect with one another and know that everybody has each other’s backs out there in the field, and continue to move forward with that mentality of ‘rent is due every day.’ That’s the identity of this football team.”
According to Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, Hurts’ running ability impacts how defenses play them.
“I think [QB] Jalen [Hurts] is a special player that forces defenses to play different,” he said. “You look at the tape, and again I think I told you guys early in the week, you look at the stat sheet, you look at where they are, you look at their defense, but you also want to do what you do well. We know we have been running the ball well, and it’s a little different when Jalen is in there.”
Eagles rookie WR DeVonta Smith, who caught four passes for 61 yards, added on the running game: “When the run game is working the way it was working today, you’re going to stick to it.”
Defensively, Philadelphia produced three takeaways, two by LB T.J. Edwards(interception, fumble recovery), and Darius Slay had a huge pick-6 before halftime to give the Eagles a 27-7 lead going into the break.
With the win, the Eagles move up in the standings. Philadelphia is currently 1/2 game behind the 7th(Saints) and 6th(Vikings) seeded teams, so they are in a playoff race at this point, which, no matter how it ends, will be a great experience for many of the young players on this team.
Best of the Rest:
-Sunday’s game marked the first time Philadelphia has rushed for 200+ yards in consecutive games since the 1978 season, when the team did so in three straight games (9/17/78-10/1/78). The Eagles’ three 200+ yard games are their most in a season since 2013 (five games).
-Philadelphia’s 242 rushing yards are the club’s most in a game since posting 246 yards against the Saints’ defense last season on 12/13/20 at Lincoln Financial Field.
-The Eagles’ 50 rushing attempts were their most in a game since 10/5/97 vs. Washington, when they produced 203 yards and three touchdowns on 50 carries in a 24-10 victory. The last NFL team to record 50+ attempts in a game was Baltimore on 1/3/21 at Cincinnati (54).
On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles(4-6) used a dominant run game, big plays from DeVonta Smith, and an opportunistic defense to knock off the Broncos(5-5) 30-13 at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Eagles rushed for 214 yards against the Broncos, led by Jordan Howard’s 83 yards and Boston Scott’s 81 yards. Also, Jalen Hurts, who ran for 53 yards, became the first Eagles QB to have 50+ rushing yards in four consecutive games since 2011. This was the third-straight game in which the team has recorded 175+ rushing yards. Philadelphia has also rushed for 200+ yards in two of their last three games.
In addition, Hurts to Smith(four catches 64 yards, two touchdowns) worked very well for the Eagles. The two connected on two touchdowns, including a leaping 36-yard touchdown reception by Smith in the first quarter that gave Philadelphia an early 10-0 lead.
Denver would ultimately tie the game at 10, but Hurts would connect with Smith on a five-yard touchdown pass to give the Eagles a 17-10 lead in the second quarter. According to Sportradar, Smith, who celebrated his birthday on Sunday, became just the third Eagle to post multiple touchdowns on their birthday; he also became the first Eagles rookie to record multiple receiving touchdowns in a single game since 2014.
The Eagles took a 20-10 lead into halftime, and late in the third, with the team leading 20-13, the Broncos had a big 4th and one deep in Eagles’ territory, and Broncos RB Melvin Gordon was stripped by Eagles LB Davion Taylor, which was scooped up by Darius Slay who would return it 82 yards for a touchdown to give Philadelphia a commanding 27-13 lead.
“Big Play Slay” made the play of the game, and with the Eagles struggling offensively in the second half, his return for a touchdown was huge.
Philadelphia now returns home to face the sixth-seeded Saints(5-4) next Sunday, and don’t look now, but the Eagles are in a playoff race at this point. They are one game behind the seventh-seeded Carolina Panthers(5-5), so if they can beat the Saints, Philly could get one step closer to the playoffs.
In the end, there’s still a lot of football left.
Best of the Rest:
-Hurts went 16-of-23 for 178 passing yards and two touchdowns.
-K’Von Wallace kept Denver off the board following their first possession of the third quarter when he blocked a 22-yard FG attempt by Broncos K Brandon McManus. He became the first Eagle to register a blocked FG since Derek Barnett on 11/22/20 against the Browns.
After defeating the Detroit Lions 44-6 last Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles(3-6) were a confident bunch heading into Sunday’s showdown against the Los Angeles Chargers(5-3). After 30 minutes of action, Philadelphia had a 10-7 lead.
However, the Chargers would tie the game at 10 in the third quarter and ultimately take a 16-10 lead in the third. The two teams would go back and forth from there. In the end, it came down to who had the ball last, and fortunately for Los Angeles, they had it last as Justin Herbert led them down the field and Dustin Hopkins made a game-winning 29-yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Chargers a 27-24 win at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was solid on Sunday. He completed 11-of-17 attempts for 162 yards, 1 TD, and a 115.3 passer rating. Hurts also added 62 yards rushing, but all he could do was watch as the defense could not get the Chargers off the field.
“It was very tough,” Hurts said postgame about having to watch the Chargers score on their last drive. “I think for me, I always look at it like, ‘What could I have done better to change the outcome of the game?’ That’s how I look at it all the time…. Ultimately, in the end, we didn’t get the ball back and didn’t get an opportunity to go out there and score. It’s a really good football team we just played. I have a lot of respect for [Chargers QB] Justin Herbert, a guy that came out the same year I did. I have a lot of respect for him and a lot of respect for the team.”
After rushing for a season-high 236 yards against Detroit, Philadelphia had another strong performance on the ground and finished with 176 rushing yards against Los Angeles, including 71 yards from Jordan Howard and a touchdown.
“When you’re running the ball like that, again, there are different answers that defense has to come with,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Because you just never, as a defense, want to get the ball pushed down your throat. So, they end up doing different things, which ends up naturally opening up some different avenues.”
Philadelphia appears to have committed to the run game, but the defense was a problem on Sunday; they allowed the Chargers to rack up 445 yards of total offense. Herbert was 32/38 for 356 yards and three touchdowns(one rushing). However, the defense did have two big stops on fourth down in the first half, which they can build on going forward.
Next week, the Eagles go on the road to face the Broncos, who defeated the Cowboys on Sunday, so we’ll see if Philly can bounce back in Denver.
On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles(3-5) bounced back when they defeated the Detroit Lions(0-8) 44-6 at Ford Field to snap their two-game losing streak.
Football games are won in the trenches, and the Eagles controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Philadelphia rushed for 236 yards(the most the Eagles had since they ran for 256 yards against the Cowboys in 2014) and four touchdowns. Boston Scott ran for 60 yards and two touchdowns, while Jordan Howard, who made his regular-season debut after spending the season on the practice squad, finished with 57 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
This is only the second time in Eagles’ history that two players have rushed for multiple touchdowns in a game.
In addition, Jalen Hurts, who was 9/14 for 103 yards, had seven carries for 71 yards.
“We were able to push some guys around up front,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said postgame.
Defensively, the Eagles got after Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Philadelphia sacked Goff six times, including two by DE Josh Sweat. The Eagles had four of their six sacks in the first half. In addition, they allowed 57 yards on the ground. Philadelphia limited Detroit to only 228 yards of total offense and forced a fumble, which was returned 33 yards by former Lions corner Darius Slay for a touchdown.
This was a complete performance by the Eagles, and while the Lions are winless this season, they have played teams tough at home, so give Philadelphia credit for routing the Lions.
Now, the Eagles hope to build on this win next week at home against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Best of the Rest:
-The Eagles scored 44 points, marking the first time Philadelphia has posted 40+ points in a game since 12/10/17 at Los Angeles Rams (43). It is also the most points scored since 11/5/17 vs. Denver (51) and the most scored on the road since 11/3/13 at Oakland (49).
-Philadelphia’s 44-6 victory is the largest margin of victory (38) since 12/22/13 vs. Chicago (43) and its largest margin of victory on the road since 11/8/81 at St. Louis Cardinals (42).
Things started well for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Las Vegas against the Raiders. Philadelphia went on an eight-play, 67-yard scoring drive on the team’s opening possession, resulting in a 13-yard TD pass from Jalen Hurts to Kenneth Gainwell to take an early 7-0 lead.
Philadelphia committed to the running game on that series, and Miles Sanders rushed for 25 yards on five attempts.
However, it was all downhill from there. The Raiders would score 30 consecutive points and take a 30-7 lead into the fourth quarter. Philadelphia would score two meaningless touchdowns in the fourth and would fall to the Raiders 33-22.
Philadelphia had a difficult time stopping the Raiders’ offense. Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr was 31/34 for 323 yards and two touchdowns, interception. The Raiders had 442 yards of total offense.
Following the game, Eagles DT Fletcher Cox, who was notably frustrated during the game, appeared to take a shot at Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon after he was asked about a screen play.
“I don’t get paid to play screens,” Cox said after the game. “I get paid to sack the quarterback, play in the backfield, tackle. I don’t get paid to play screens. We get screened all the time. Get out of stack and run to the football.”
On Monday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni addressed Cox’s comments.
“You know what, frustration, everyone has frustration after you lose,” Sirianni said. “As players, coaches, everybody is going to have frustration. We’ll talk about everything. We’ll talk through it. We’re going to address anything that we need to address as a team. But I’ll keep those conversations private that we’ll have there.
“I understand Fletch’s frustration. I’m frustrated. He’s frustrated. We just got to do everything we can do to get the ship righted.”
Not many expected the Eagles to be very good in 2021. Plus, the early part of their schedule was challenging. After winning their first game on opening day, Philadelphia has lost two straight and five of its last six games, but the next ten games should be manageable for the Eagles starting next week on the road against the Lions. In those ten games, Philadelphia plays three teams who are currently above .500.
However, none of that matters for the Eagles if they don’t play better on both sides of the ball. Defensively, the question becomes, is it Gannon’s game plan, or is it the players? The linebackers are below average, the secondary is below average, and the defensive line is average. They are not getting after the quarterback with their front four, and they’re not blitzing, so the secondary is getting exposed. Also, they are not stopping the run. Philadelphia is 28th against the run, so teams are doing anything they want against this Eagles’ defense.
According to Sirianni, he has had conversations with Gannon about making changes to the defensive schemes.
“Well, with our conversations, Jonathan and I’s conversations, it is just mixing up the coverages. He did that a little bit more yesterday. Still, it didn’t, obviously, work in the sense that [Raiders QB Derek] Carr was 31-of-34.
“We just talked a lot – we know we can get home with our four defensive linemen when they’re there. We just talked a lot about tightening it up as far as the way we’re mixing in some man-to-man, the way we’re mixing in some of the zones with the man-to-man. Just different ways to challenge on the perimeter and get our hands on balls and get in the throwing lane. That’s been the main discussion. It’s been more about to be able to mix a little bit more man-to-man in there…
“I love this roster; I love our defensive roster. I got a lot of faith in them. Again, we’re working like crazy to get it fixed.”
In terms of the offense, they have to be more consistent there as well. Hurts is young, so we should expect struggles, but they can run the ball more and just have a little bit more imagination on offense.
The Eagles are a bad team right now, but it does appear the coaches could do a better job of putting the players in a position to succeed.
Flacco to the Jets
Eagles have acquired a 2022 conditional sixth-round draft pick from the Jets in exchange for QB Joe Flacco, the team announced on Monday. Flacco, who signed with the Eagles in the offseason, played with New York last season.
“Joe(Flacco) is just a great person to be around, great pro to be around,” Sirianni said. “Had a phenomenal preseason and was really good for our room. The opportunity arose for him to go and be able to contribute somewhere else. Then also, obviously, us get a pick for that.
“But our time with Joe Flacco was really good. We really appreciated him and everything that he did. He’s a great pro. You can see why he won so many games when he was in Baltimore and all the other places he’s been.”
Update on Sanders:
Sanders left the game in the first quarter after injuring his ankle. Sirianni gave an update on Sanders:
“Miles will probably be down. Actually, we are week-to-week with him, pardon me. It’s a stretch for him to be up this week, but we’re not ruling anything out yet.”
Three games in 11 days are rough for any team in the NFL, which was the case for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and on Thursday night, the Buccaneers concluded those three games in 11 days with a 28-22 road win over the Eagles for their third consecutive victory.
Tampa Bay was not at their best against Philadelphia, but they did enough to get the job done. QB Tom Brady, who came in battling a thumb injury, completed 34-of-42 passes for 297 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
The Buccaneers’ defense also held the Eagles 213 yards of total offense.
“Definitely. It was a good win,” Brady said after the game. “It’s tough to win on the road. Obviously, we didn’t play our best. So we have to get back to work. We have a good little break here – use it – and then get back to work. See if we can get better.”
After the Eagles cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 28-22 late in the fourth quarter, Antonio Brown, who caught nine passes for 93 yards and one touchdown, helped put the game away with a 27-yard reception on the final drive.
“Yeah, [Buccaneers WR Antonio Brown] made a great play,” Brady said. “Just dipped underneath the guy and then found space – kind of what he’s done his entire career. He made a huge play; it was awesome.”
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians added on Brown’s big catch: “It was huge. Great route and hell of a throw when you’re trying to get out of the pocket. It’s a couple times this year he’s thrown out of the pocket to the right and made a big play down the field.”
Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette also came up big. He accumulated 127 yards from scrimmage, taking 22 rushes for 81 yards and two touchdowns while also contributing six receptions for 46 yards. Fournette has now recorded 100-or-more scrimmage yards in three consecutive games. The five-year veteran, who joined the team late in training camp last season, feels much more comfortable this season.
“I came in two weeks before our first game, so just having that year under my belt makes a big difference understanding it,” Fournette said. “Especially, playing with my guys for a year–trusting them and them trusting me–the lack of trust and accountability is done on both sides.”
Brady added on Fournette: “He’s a great back. He’s big, tough, catches it, runs, blocks, does everything for us. [It’s] great to have him in there. Obviously, when he’s rolling, it’s tough to stop us.”
Tampa Bay is 5-1, and each time they have been 5-1(four times), the Buccaneers won at least ten games, so this is shaping up to be another excellent season for the defending world champions.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive struggles continued on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Philadelphia, who had only 273 yards of total offense in a 21-18 victory over the Panthers last Sunday, totaled only 213 yards of total offense in the team’s 28-22 loss to the Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field.
Philadelphia scored only seven points in the first half but made the game close in the fourth quarter. However, it was too little, too late.
“Just like us, we prepare as well as the other team,” Eagles OT Jordan Mailata said postgame. “I feel like [the Buccaneers] came out there and knew what we were doing right away. We just had to adapt – and it took us a little bit of time to adapt – but like I said, they do their homework, too. Just like we do. We have to learn to adapt, and we have to learn to adapt faster.”
Second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts was only 12/26 for 115 yards, touchdown, interception. He also added two touchdowns on the ground. Hurts struggled with accuracy and were not very sharp, but he made no excuses after the game.
“I don’t want to make excuses for anything,” Hurts said. “I know I hold myself to a high standard of play, and I am trying to go out there and play at a high level for the guys around me. We all do that. We all have that mentality to go out there and play together and have each other’s backs. You look at this game and this past game that we played in, and we started off slow. This whole year, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot, and we know, and we believe.
Despite the struggles, Hurts remains confident.
“I have unwavering faith in the guys on this football team and everybody on this field and that we have everything we need,” Hurts said. “It is just a matter of us putting that together. It is tough, but I have unwavering faith with everyone in this building and that it will come. To go toe-to-toe with a team like that, as bad as I started. It is bad, and we didn’t click early. When it came down to clutch time, at the end of the game, we ran out of time.”
Philadelphia’s best weapon on offense running back, Miles Sanders, had only one carry for one yard in the first half, but Sanders was more involved in the offense in the second half. He had eight carries for 55 yards, and the Eagles’ offense benefitted.
When asked if the offense worked better when Sanders is involved, Hurts said the following:
“We saw the production later on in the game.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni explained why we saw Sanders get more touches later in the game.
“The way they were playing at the end of the second quarter into the third quarter is when they started playing the zone read a little bit different, which opened up a couple of those runs that we had called for that,” Sirianni said. “It was good adjustment by our offensive staff getting to those runs after they made a little adjustment how they were playing the zone read.”
The Eagles’ offense has to be better. That includes both Hurts and Sirianni. The offense seemed very predictable on Thursday night. It’s clear if they want to get better, Philadelphia has to give Sanders more touches in the run game going forward.
