Jalen Hurts takes blame for Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to Buccaneers: ‘I just have to play better’

Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles had a chance to make it a game against the Philadelphia Eagles Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4. Despite the poor play and lack of execution, it was a two possession game.

Hurts and the Eagles were driving in Tampa Bay’s red zone late in the third quarter, but then an all-too-familiar play happened.

As Hurts dropped back from the Buccaneers’ 19-yard line to pass first-and-10, he was stripped and sacked by Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David. The play essentially sealed the game for the Buccaneers in a 33:16 victory over the Eagles as the Birds were unable to penetrate Tampa Bay territory for the remainder of the game.

“Overall, I just have to play better, I have to play better,” Hurts said. “I’ve had plenty of opportunities to lead the offense and really play complementary ball, and that starts with me being on that side of the ball.”

Hurts was without starting wideouts AJ Brown And DeVonta Smith and starting right tackle Lane Johnson against the Bucs. Brown is still dealing with a hamstring injury, while Johnson and Smith were sidelined with concussions.

But Hurts took responsibility for his performance, even if he didn’t have his best weapons and one of the best tackles in all of football.

“I didn’t play well enough, that’s what matters,” Hurts said. “We had chances. We put a lot of time in this week to take advantage of this game and what we had and the guys we had a lot of trust in. We used some and not others. Ultimately it starts with me.

Hurts completed 18 of his 30 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Parris Campbell, who recovered his fumble. He also ran for 20 yards on eight carries and one touchdown.

Hurts’ performance on Sunday was similar to other games he has played against the Buccaneers since becoming Philadelphia’s starting quarterback.

Hurts has played against the Buccaneers five times in his career, including the playoffs, and head coach Todd Bowles has gotten the best out of the Eagles’ quarterback. In those five games, Hurts is 1-4 and has thrown five interceptions for a 59% completion rate.

Turnovers have become a problem for Hurts and Philadelphia’s offense over the past four weeks. He has given the ball away seven times, has lost the ball in every game so far and has been the leader in turnovers since the start of the 2023 season.

Three of Hurts’ seven giveaways this season also fell in the red zone, and Philadelphia has lost the turnover battle in every game so far in the 2024 season.

“There are a lot of things that come into play,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “It could be the decision we made, it could be the protection of a back or offensive lineman, it could be that someone downfield didn’t win, it could be that he was too long held on to it, there are so many things that…” Go into it. But in the end he gets credit for it. At the end of the day it’s a team game and it’s up to all of us.