Eagles’ Jalen Hurts blames offensive woes vs. Rams on ‘poor execution’
While missing DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Lane Johnson, and then losing Saquon Barkley early in the game, Hurts struggled to move the offense.
Jalen Hurts repeated the same phrase four times at the beginning of his news conference. He wanted the message to resonate.
Asked about the Eagles’ second-half offensive struggles in their 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Hurts said:
“Poor execution. Poor execution. Poor execution.”
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The very next question, Hurts was asked about his team’s third-down struggles over the last two weeks. They went 0-for-12 on third down against the Rams — which was the worst third-down performance in Eagles history — and 0-for-5 in the second half against the Chicago Bears in Week 3.
How could this happen?
“Poor execution,” Hurts said.
The Eagles offense had two completions in the second half. They had 68 net passing yards on 31 drop backs. Hurts, who finished with 93 passing yards, compiled just 10 passing yards in the second half.
Yes, the mounting injury woes are a factor — the Eagles entered Sunday without No. 1 wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring), starting tight end Dallas Goedert, right tackle Lane Johnson (personal) and lost running back Saquon Barkley (hamstring) during the game — but, as Nick Sirianni said himself, injuries can’t be an excuse. It’s clear that, four games into the Sean Mannion era, something isn’t jelling.
So, is something wrong with Mannion’s offense — a wide-zone scheme that was supposed to rejuvenate the Eagles offense?
“I would say it’s an executing thing,” Hurts said. “I would say it’s an executing thing.”
Sirianni offered a stronger endorsement when asked the same question.
“I have a ton of confidence in Sean,” he said. “He’s going to wear a lot of this, no doubt. I’m going to wear a lot of this. Our offense is going to wear a lot of this. You win together, you lose together. I have no complaints with what happened there today. There’s opportunity for us to grow.”
Unsurprisingly, the Eagles are facing questions about whether they should change the offense. Remember: During the 2024 Super Bowl season — which they also started 2-2 — Sirianni tinkered midseason to revolve the offense around Barkley and the offensive line.
“We’re going to forge together,” Hurts said, asked if the Eagles should make a similar change this season. “We’re going to figure out a way. We’re going to grow and we’re going to reflect on these things as we’ve done following any and every game and come together and continue to get better as a team.”
