Nick Sirianni says defense affected missed ‘dagger’ from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown: ‘I’m not here to assign blame’

It was a play that Jalen Hurts said would have been the “dagger.” The Eagles, leading 17-3 and in complete control Sunday, nearly had the put-away play. Hurts, on a first-and-15 from their own 39-yard line late in the third quarter, missed A.J. Brown on a deep ball that, had it been caught, would have gone for a touchdown against the Broncos.

It was one of the big takeaways after the Eagles’ first loss of the season. It’s easy to overanalyze one play, especially when so many moving parts make it up, but this one stood out because of the way it directly impacted the result of the game — and because of the lead-up to Sunday and the roller-coaster ride that is the Eagles’ passing game, not to mention the connection between the quarterback and his star receiver.

So, did Brown slow down? Did Hurts’ hesitation pump cause the misfire? Was it something else?

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was asked about it again Monday after having time to go through the film. Sirianni mostly credited the re-route Denver executed to throw Brown off. The Broncos, showing a three-man front, had edge rusher/outside linebacker Nik Bonitto way off the line of scrimmage. They were in zone, and Brown, who was lined up in the slot, took only three steps into his route before Bonitto pushed him toward the middle of the field and slowed him down.

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Brown eventually got into the third level of Denver’s defense and behind safety Talanoa Hufanga, but the ball sailed over his head after he slowed down.

“I look back at that and definitely see the re-route affected us,” Sirianni said. “That’s for sure. That’s what defenses do. Sometimes you’re expecting a certain look, they give you a different look or they re-route in the middle of it. That definitely affected it.

“I’m not here to assign blame. We’re just looking for solutions and that’s what we’re doing. That’s what today was about, that’s what the rest of the week will be about, to find solutions.”

Speaking of solutions … the offense has been that aforementioned roller coaster through five weeks.

The Eagles haven’t found success running the ball. They have been very inconsistent passing the ball.

What can they lean on right now?

“I think every game dictates different things,” Sirianni said. “Yesterday we saw opportunity in the pass game to be able to take advantage of a couple things and a couple matchups we were getting. I think for the majority of the first half and even into the first drive of the second half, we were having a lot of success with that.

“Then some other things happened that we didn’t finish out that game.”

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Some of the things that happened were self-inflicted, like penalties bringing back first downs or helping to extend Denver drives. But the Eagles so far curiously haven’t been able to find a rhythm offensively.

“We have the players to be able to run and pass,” Sirianni said. “That’s how we feel. You want to dictate to the defense what you want to do, but there are also times you can’t just force something in there and you got to take what they give you in the run game, in the pass game no matter what. We have a lot of confidence and we got to build on that. We have to finish a game. We have to play a game all the way through, coaching, playing, everything.”

It was an operational issue, Hurts said, that caused the Eagles to be flagged for an illegal shift penalty in the fourth quarter, wiping out a long first down that would have put them in prime position to take the lead back.

But on the fourth-and-4 play from midfield with five minutes to go, Hurts and the offense appeared to have plenty of time to get off the play. A lot goes on before the snap. Hurts has to diagnose what he’s looking at from the defense, and then has to go through his signals and communications, including sending players in motion, in a timely matter.

That didn’t happen Sunday, and Hurts was asked if the play calls were coming in on time.

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“I think that’s relative,” he said. “I get the play, I go make the play happen, so I can’t point the finger at anything else.”

Sirianni said Monday that “there’s never just one thing. Play calls could be coming in late. There could be communication errors.

“We have to practice it better. We have to coach it better. It always comes down to how you go through it in practice.”

There isn’t much time for practice this week. Thursday night at MetLife Stadium will be here soon enough.