The Eagles’ recent offensive line points to a troubling truth: Jalen Hurts can’t overcome imperfect situations

Another week, another boring performance from Philadelphia.

The Eagles once again failed to get going on offense and wasted far too much time trying to get things going in their 33-16 road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For the third week in a row, the offense failed to generate any momentum or consistency, and the Eagles appear to have a serious problem moving the ball as key players remain ailing.

It’s hard to run a complete, winning offense without players like Lane Johnson, AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, but the Eagles have a young, highly paid quarterback who hasn’t been able to overcome less-than-perfect situations and that’s it what you need from a quarterback making top dollar on the market.

“I think overall I just have to play better,” Jalen Hurts said afterwards. “We have to play better. We 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. To get through like we did, I have to help the defense.”

By the end of the second quarter, the Eagles had zero yards of offense. Zero. Not a single meter. It doesn’t matter how many players are out. Under no circumstances is this an acceptable level of production for a professional team, especially one with playoff aspirations.

Hurts couldn’t get anything going in the passing game and the Eagles were completely neutered most of the afternoon due to shaky pass defense and Hurts’ own inaccuracies as a passer. Hurts has 27 turnovers in his last 20 starts dating back to last season, including a strip sack on Sunday.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni wouldn’t put the blame solely on Hurts, but would argue that there’s more to it and it’s not just the quarterback’s fault.

“That’s not Jalen,” Sirianni said.

However, if Hurts doesn’t make big plays like he did in 2022, the Eagles will be in for some tough games until they can get back to full strength.

Perhaps there is a disconnect between Hurts and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, but some of these issues predate Moore’s arrival on the team. Hurts might be one of those guys who relies on the talent around them rather than the ability to get out of and overcome adverse situations. That’s fine, but it puts a hard limit on what the Eagles can do right now – especially when their defense will have periods where they’re thrown through the air.

The only aspect of this offense that seems to be working somewhat consistently is newly signed Saquon Barkley, who has reclaimed his status as one of the most explosive and exciting running backs in the game. Barkley had 12 touches for 116 yards, but the Eagles couldn’t hand it to him because they trailed badly early in the game. This offense can’t play from behind without its top wide receivers, and the Eagles don’t seem to have an answer for how to generate offense without those guys on the field.

Sirianni, Moore and Hurts must find answers to this break-in. Too many senior resources and contracts have been poured into that side of the ball for the Eagles to endure as many games as they do. Things will undoubtedly get better when Smith, Brown and Johnson return to the lineup, but they can’t allow these types of offensive performances to continue to pile up and become their new norm. This has been a downward trend for far too long and has people questioning exactly where Hurts stands in the hierarchy of NFL quarterbacks.

Philadelphia still has time on its side at 2-2, but the Eagles need to find answers quickly because they haven’t played winning football this season. Since the Eagles won ten of their first eleven games last season, they are 3:7 – they cannot extend the spiral any further.

“We have experienced various adversities. We just have to continue to learn from these moments,” Hurts said. “That was the learning from every game we played.”