Note to Eagles: More of this, please
Players, coaches deserve praise for pivotal road victory
From Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/4pfdwwer
PHILADELPHIA — A week after meeting to discuss the passing game, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith put on a clinic.
In Sunday’s 28-22 road win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Eagles’ aerial attack looked revitalized, aggressive and adaptable. Hurts was finally under center, better enabling him to make reads at the line of scrimmage and employ play-action passes, and he connected with Brown and Smith for a combined 304 yards and three touchdowns.
Can we expect this approach going forward?
“If you have a perfect quarterback rating, you obviously played a really good game, and Jalen did,” coach Nick Sirianni said Monday, referencing Hurts’ 158.3 passer rating, the best possible. “He played awesome.
“But when you have a perfect quarterback rating, that may be a Jalen stat but that’s a team stat, too. It took great protection, which we had against a really good front all day. It took the commitment to the run game to try to get that going to open some other stuff up. It took unbelievable catches by the wide receivers and route detail and discipline.”
Literally everything Sirianni mentioned had been an issue beforehand: Scheme had been predictable, Hurts had rarely been under center (almost exclusively in the shotgun or pistol), protection had been lacking, he wasn’t making good reads, route running had become frustrated and sloppy, and receivers weren’t always making the plays when the ball came their way.
It truly was on everybody. And it was on everybody to fix it.
Coming off a “mini-bye” to face a Vikings team fresh from a full and actual bye week, the Eagles and their battered offensive line put Hurts under center, kept six in protection, and let him read the defense and rely on quick drop-back timing to make decisive throws — including over the middle, something he’d long been reticent to do — to Brown and Smith, who rewarded him with crisp routes and highlight-reel catches.
Furthermore, even though Saquon Barkley averaged a measly 2.4 yards per carry behind that beaten-up line, the Eagles stayed committed to the run, which held the vaunted Vikings’ defense in check and kept the stage set for big passing plays downfield.
“There were a little bit more under-center runs, so you mesh up your play actions and your passes with some of those things,” Sirianni said, perhaps revealing some of his subtle, behind-the-scenes nudging and wise advisement for which he often isn’t credited. “It’s always going to be important that your run and your play-action pass game mesh together because a defense has to go from a run defense to then be a pass rusher, which is difficult for a defensive line.”
The O-line has dealt with myriad injuries and players being in and out of the lineup since training camp, from left guard Landon Dickerson to right tackle Lane Johnson to various guys nicked up — plus Tyler Steen being a new starter at right guard. And then, on Sunday, center Cam Jurgens exited in the first half with a back injury and was replaced by Brett Toth.
While the offensive line’s health may factor into the lackluster run game so far, Sirianni implied Jurgens’ departure didn’t play a role in Hurts being under center against Minnesota.
“You go into a game and you’re always thinking about the players that you have,” he said. “We have a lot of faith and confidence in Brett Toth. That’s why he was in there. Nothing really changed when Brett got in the game because Brett does such a good job of preparing like a starter and he is always ready when called upon.”
In other words, Hurts was under center because the plan was for him to be under center, no matter who the center was.
Hurts completed 19 of 23 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns, hitting on all five of his 20-plus-yard attempts for 215. Brown caught four passes for 121 yards and two scores. Smith exploded for nine catches, 183 yards and a 79-yard TD that blew apart the margin in the third quarter.
The results in Minneapolis came on the heels of a private chat last week between Hurts, Brown and Smith at NovaCare Complex, an effort to reset timing and spacing after a two-game skid. They also came with some self-described soul searching by the coaching staff.
And Smitty didn’t just make the 79-yard play Sunday; he saw it coming. He walked through the locker room at halftime telling teammates and coaches that the deep shot was there.
“He called it in the locker room,” Barkley later told reporters. “He saw something and we had it in, so we had an answer for it and we called it at the right time.”
Last year, the Eagles used candid communication during their Week 4 bye to find their identity and launch their Super Bowl run. Sunday’s performance against the Vikings came off a “mini bye” following a Thursday night loss to the Giants. The Birds play New York again this Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field and then have their real bye in Week 9.
This stretch could define the 2025 Eagles.
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Christiaan DeFranco covers the Eagles and Phillies for MediaNews Group. Email him at cdefanco@medianewsgroup.com. Follow him on X at @the_defranc.