Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts turns it over five times in yet another poor offensive display

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 22-19 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers:

Jalen Hurts had maybe the worst game of his career. The quarterback tossed four interceptions in one game for the first time in his career, including the final nail in the Eagles’ coffin in overtime.

Hurts tried to squeeze a pass into a tight window and the ball was deflected to Chargers safety Tony Jefferson to end the game. The offense, overall, was terrible. A.J. Brown, for instance, had a throw clank off his hands for one of Hurts’ picks. But the quarterback was mostly responsible for the three other interceptions.

» READ MORE: Eagles losing skid swells to three games with turnover-laden OT loss at Chargers

Hurts had the rarely-seen double turnover on one play after he was picked off by the Chargers’ Da’Shawn Hand, who fumbled the ball back to the quarterback. But Hurts was stripped and the Chargers recovered. And then a series later, he tossed his second pick of the first half when he threw behind DeVonta Smith.

Saquon Barkley went over 100 yards rushing for only the second time this season. He finished with 20 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown. Barkley had some strong runs into the second level and carried defenders. He went down easily on a few others.

Barkley’s touchdown came from 52 yards out on a fake Tush Push in the third quarter.

Tank Bigsby had one rush for four yards. Will Shipley got on the field in some two-back sets in the first half.

Wide receiver A.J. Brown led the team with six catches for 100 yards, but he had the drop that led to a pick and could have pulled in a few other Hurts passes.

Brown did bounce back late in the game with two huge grabs. But he was unable to haul in a perfect teardrop from Hurts in the end zone later on and the Eagles had to settle for a field goal. Brown also couldn’t pull in a deep ball on the very first play from scrimmage, but drew an illegal contact penalty on a go route later in the first half.

DeVonta Smith caught only 4 of 8 targets, but he was hardly at fault for most of the misses. Tight end Dallas Goedert finished with a team-high eight catches for 78 yards. All four of his first-half catches went for first downs. Goedert converted two long third downs on the Eagles’ first two drives — the second after he beat man coverage with a catch over the middle. Later in the first half, he broke a tackle on a 16-yard grab.

Jahan Dotson was the intended target on Hurts’ killer interception in overtime. Darius Cooper had a key block at the point of attack on the fake Tush Push. He also had a 19-yard catch on a scramble drill. Tight end Grant Calcaterra didn’t play much with the Eagles favoring 11 personnel. He did have a few decent run blocks.

The offensive line wasn’t great, but the unit was hardly the reason for the ineffectiveness on that side of the ball. The group opened some nice lanes for Barkley, but there were bad rushes, as well. Hurts was sacked only once and it was mostly on him.

Left tackle Jordan Mailata’s hold — a questionable penalty — brought back a Hurts-to-Brown touchdown pass before the half. Mailata may have gotten away with hooking Khalil Mack on the fake Tush Push, however. Right tackle Fred Johnson did strong work in place of the injured Lane Johnson (foot) for a third straight game.

Right guard Tyler Steen struggled. He was flagged for holding in the first quarter and was beaten by nose tackle Teair Tart on a Barkley goal-line run before the half. Center Cam Jurgens was up and down. Barkley was dropped for a 4-yard loss when he slipped past Jurgens in the third quarter. Jurgens did open a seam for Barkley on a 13-yard carry.

Left guard Landon Dickerson left late in the second quarter with a calf injury and was replaced by Brett Toth. He returned late in the third quarter. Dickerson allowed a rusher to pressure Hurts into throwing the ball away in the second quarter. He and Mailata had key blocks on Barkley’s 19-yard run off the left in the first quarter. Dickerson won his matchup on Barkley’s next carry that went for 10 yards.

With quarterback Justin Herbert playing with a surgically repaired left hand, the Eagles teed off on the Chargers quarterback. They sacked him seven times and dominated a patchwork offensive line.

Defensive tackles Moro Ojomo and Jordan Davis more than picked up the slack with Jalen Carter out after he had procedures on both his shoulders. Ojomo drew a holding penalty that was declined in the second quarter. His offsides penalty negated an interception, but Herbert likely knew he had a free play to throw downfield. Davis had a big third-down sack in the fourth quarter and split a sack earlier in the half. He had an early pressure up the middle and then he followed up on the next play with a run tackle for loss.

» READ MORE: Forget 2023. The Eagles are in bigger trouble now after their loss to the Chargers.

The Chargers were already without their starting tackles when Trey Pipkins left in the second quarter. Outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips, as expected, took advantage against a backup to a backup: Bobby Hart. He had a couple of first-half pressures, including a hit on Herbert that led to an interception. In the second half, he dropped Kimani Vidal in the backfield on a run. Phillips got too far upfield on two long Chargers runs in overtime.

Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt had strong moments, more so the latter. Hunt had 2½ sacks and eight total stops. He hit Herbert and forced a fumble that the Chargers recovered in the third quarter. Hunt also notched a third-down sack in the second quarter.

Byron Young had a run tackle near the line and recovered a fumble in the second quarter. He was credited with 1½ sacks. Brandon Graham took some defensive tackle snaps with Carter out and helped blow up a third-quarter run.

Nakobe Dean was a blitzing machine. He came up with a huge forced fumble after Hurts’ second interception. Dean ran over Omarion Hampton on the way to strip-sacking Herbert. He lost Vidal out of the backfield on a 60-yard pass play on the Chargers’ opening drive. A series later, he blitzed up the “A” gap and forced Herbert into throwing incomplete. Dean got pancaked on one Vidal 8-yard run up the middle.

Zack Baun was Dean’s equal and tallied eight tackles and a half sack. Baun got picked out of covering Hampton, who waltzed into the end zone from four yards out for the first touchdown of the game. Jihaad Campbell played little on defense, but more than he did last week when he had no snaps.

Adoree’ Jackson had the interception after Phillips’ hit. Jackson got injured on the play, though, when Vidal tossed him to the ground for a personal foul. He had tight man coverage on the first two passes thrown in his direction. Jackson did allow a third-down conversion on a pass to Keenan Allen in the fourth quarter.

Cooper DeJean was outstanding, especially on deep routes. He broke up a long third-down pass to receiver Ladd McConkey in the second quarter. Later in the game, he picked up Vidal out of the backfield and ran with him on an overthrown third-down pass. And lastly, he got his hands on a deep post heave to McConkey late in the game.

Quinyon Mitchell locked down his side until he was flagged for pass interference late in the game. It came on only his second target of the game.

Marcus Epps started ahead of the demoted Sydney Brown after coming off injured reserve. He helped string out a third-down run in the third quarter.

Reed Blankenship made a tackle for loss against the run that helped force the Chargers to settle for a field goal in the third quarter. He also finished with eight tackles.

Kicker Jake Elliott hit a go-ahead field goal from 44 yards out with just over two minutes left but it did not hold up. Overall, he converted on 4 of 5 tries. Elliott did hook a 48-yard field goal attempt wide left just before the half. He has missed five FGs and one PAT in the last seven games. Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker, meanwhile, was perfect.

Braden Mann had a 48.3-yard net average on three punts. On Mann’s 60-yard punt in the second quarter, Kylen Granson ran down returner Derius Davis for a 10-yard loss.

Britain Covey returned four kicks for a 25.8-yard average and three punts for an 18-yard average. He was stripped on one of his kick returns, but recovered the loose ball. Covey had a 22-yard return — in which he evaded a few tacklers — after fielding a fourth-quarter punt at the 5-yard line. Shipley had two kick returns for a 28-yard average.

The defense, of which Ojomo is a part, saved him after he committed a “leaning” personal foul on a field goal attempt in the third quarter that gave the Chargers a first down. The Chargers ended up with a field goal on the drive so no damage was done.

Nick Sirianni got a little more involved in the offense, but the end result was essentially the same. The Eagles won the toss in overtime and Sirianni elected to kick off. It seemed like the right move, but the defense was just on the field for a long drive and looked a little gassed at first. They did force a field goal.

Sirianni’s game management was fine, but his team is reeling and has now lost three in a row.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo tried new things with more motion, different personnel, and formations, but the scheme is a mess. Hurts had maybe his worst game, but Patullo’s calls on third down vs. the Chargers’ tendencies in those situations were wild. Red zone had been the one area the unit had thrived, but they had to repeatedly settle for field goals.

The fake Tush Push was nice, though.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio delivered another masterful play-calling performance. After allowing a touchdown on their first drive, the Eagles defense held Herbert and Co. to one field goal after another. Fangio cooked up an assortment of blitzes and simulated pressures that took advantage of an injury-marred offensive line.