Jalen Hurts challenges Eagles to look inward following Monday’s loss to the Bears: ‘Who are we?’
Hurts said the Eagles' offense needs to stop leaving “meat on the bone,” especially in the second halves of games.
In the aftermath of Monday night’s loss to the Chicago Bears, Jalen Hurts said he posed a question to the Eagles.
“‘Who are we?’” Hurts recalled on Wednesday. “‘Ask yourself that question because that’s a choice you can make, and being deliberate and intentional on how we move forward, so we can continue to improve.’”
The Eagles showed in their first loss of the season that they’re still figuring out their identity. The offense took strides in the run game in the first half — especially on their outside zone runs — but that progress dissipated in the second as they got behind the sticks with negative plays and penalties.
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Chicago held them scoreless in the second half, part of a larger trend that is becoming a burgeoning concern for the Eagles offense. They’ve scored 20 of their 55 points this season in the second half. The Eagles have averaged 4.27 yards per play in the second half, which ranks 30th in the NFL.
Still, the Eagles offense is just three games into the season under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. Hurts seemed to express an understanding that the growing pains are part of learning a new offense.
“We want to win, and I think us onboarding new things and us learning new things, a lot of that is just part of the process of us becoming who we are,” Hurts said. “So I’ve talked about continuity and building that continuity, building that chemistry. Us coming together, staying together, and finding our flow, finding out what this team this year is going to be.”
To Hurts, losing provides an opportunity to learn, even if it stings momentarily.
“I hate it more than anything in this world,” Hurts said. “At the same time, we need it, and it’s something that is natural and a part of the process of winning. To win, you have to lose. You have to build resilience and character within that, reflecting on it, choosing to learn from it.”
The Eagles have plenty to learn from their loss, but they don’t have much time to dwell on the past. Coming off a Monday night game, they have a short week to prepare for their next opponent: The 1-2 Los Angeles Rams, whose record doesn’t reflect their talent.
It’s still early in the season, but the Eagles have just 14 more guaranteed opportunities in the form of regular-season games to establish an identity. While Hurts acknowledged that the teaching moments are part of the process, he also voiced a sense of urgency as they seek to collectively answer the question he posed to the team.
“I would like it to come as soon as possible,” Hurts said. “Competitively, it’s like, let’s do [it] by any means necessary. Let’s find a way to win. At the same time, it’s a process, and you know it’s not just one individual. I think it’s a team.
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“It’s a team, and I think expectations are sometimes surrounding one thing when in reality, all these are moving parts, and we’ve all got to work collectively to find the results that we want.”
Against the Bears, Hurts said the Eagles put a collective emphasis on establishing the run, especially given its struggles in the first two games of the season.
The run game showed flashes, as Saquon Barkley amassed 73 yards on 11 carries in the first half alone. Against the Washington Commanders and the Tennessee Titans, the passing game had its moments, highlighted by the explosive and clutch plays orchestrated by Hurts.
Can the Eagles put together a well-rounded showing in both facets of the offense, all while protecting the football and staying disciplined?
“As we continue to put an emphasis on different streams of our game, we’ve got to be able to put it all together, right?” Hurts said. “We’ve been a team that protects the ball traditionally. None of that should change. Protecting the ball has a lot to do with understanding, our thinking, everything being second nature, just going out there and flowing.”
At the same time, though, Hurts said he doesn’t care how the Eagles look, so long as the team wins. The opportunities have been there. He said the Eagles need to stop leaving “meat on the bone,” especially in the second halves of games.
Ultimately, for Hurts, the Eagles’ progress is about looking inward and focusing on nailing down the aspects of the offense that are within their control.
“Not worried about anybody else necessarily,” Hurts said. “Just us trying to master our stuff, coming together and do things the way we want to do them, and have some confidence in that.”
It was a blowout, and it left a lot of questions. The Eagles’ 27-7 loss to the Bears Monday night at Soldier Field featured an offense that fizzled, a defense that folded, and a coaching staff that looked outmatched. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Jeff Neiburg provide a postmortem of the defense’s disappointing start to the season, critique of offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s approach, and assessment of how some of general manager Howie Roseman’s moves have panned out so far. Listen here.
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