Jalen Hurts and the Eagles never figured out their offense — and now their season is over
The NFL will officially crown a new Super Bowl winner this season.
The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, who dominated Super Bowl 59 a year ago, were eliminated from the playoffs Sunday in a 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. And the Eagles’ season-long problem proved costly in defeat, namely their pedestrian offense.
Last season, Philadelphia averaged 36.3 points and 361 yards in four playoff games. Against the 49ers on Sunday, the Eagles were held under 20 points and finished with just 307 total yards – mustering a season-low 4.3 yards per play – a mediocre effort that ultimately sank the season.
The game was close enough that Philadelphia still had a chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. After San Francisco scored the go-ahead touchdown, quarterback Jalen Hurts and the offense had two minutes and 54 seconds to get a go-ahead score of their own. But drops by AJ Brown and Devonta Smith proved costly, and a Hurts incompletion on fourth-and-11 from the 49ers’ 21-yard line effectively ended the game.
Pick one offensive problem from the Eagles’ regular season, and it showed up against San Francisco.
Does the inability to throw the ball downfield hurt you? After Philadelphia finished the regular season averaging just 194.3 passing yards per game, Hurts threw for even less on Sunday, finishing with just 168 yards on 35 attempts.
Having trouble getting brown highlights? The Eagles’ star receiver had just three catches for 25 yards – and no receptions after the first quarter.
Brown frustrated by this lack of touches? He argued with head coach Nick Sirianni during the game.
A running game that was no longer able to compensate for the passing offense? Philadelphia averaged less than 4 yards per carry in the loss. A season ago, the Eagles ran for 5 yards the entire Super Bowl.
All those struggles added up to just 19 points against a 49ers team that was dealing with massive injuries on both sides of the ball but still found a way to win on the road.
Even though Philadelphia managed to win 11 games this season, fans were concerned about the direction of the offense under new coordinator Kevin Patullo. The team finished 19th in the NFL in points per game, 24th in yards per game, and 22nd in yards per game.
Hurts himself even hinted at his frustrations with Patullo when asked before Sunday’s game why he didn’t run the ball more often.
“No, the season went the way it is,” Hurts told reporters when asked if he was running less to stay healthy. “The approach this year and the way the games were organized with this coordinator – with the coach [Patullo] …that’s just how it happened. I took it in stride and did the best I could in the position they put me in.
Even though the Eagles will be just one season away from a championship by the time they take the field again, it’s clear that Philadelphia’s biggest task will be this offseason: fixing an offense that has declined significantly over the course of a year.
