Hurts to be under center until morale improves

Hurts contributed just five carries for 18 scoreless yards. With DeVonta Smith (hamstring) out and Saquon Barkley (hamstring) joining him early, the game ended up on Hurts’ shoulders. He responded by averaging 3.4 yards per attempt and generating 68 yards net passing when his four sacks for 25 yards are factored in. The Eagles went 0-12 on third down and blew a 20-10 fourth quarter lead. It, obviously, was a miracle the Eagles had a lead to begin with. Hurts’ longest completion — a fluke Darius Cooper touchdown reception — went for 18 yards. Tank Bigsby had the “long” gain of the day with a 19-yard rush. RT Lane Johnson’s last-minute deactivation was another hindrance, but this is now an Eagles offense that has spent nearly a quarter of the season looking like it is going nowhere fast. Its season high for points is 27, and it has produced 27 combined against the contending Bears and Rams. Things are unlikely to get much better against the Jags’ top-notch defense on the road in London next Sunday.

The Eagles’ only scoring drive came in the two-minute drill to end the first half, but the team still managed to enter the break down only three points to the Case Keenum-led Bears. The first half was mired by mistakes, one of which came with the team in the red zone when backup quarterback Andy Dalton threw an interception in the end zone with Hurts being checked for a concussion. The break did the team no favors as they would go three-and-out on their first three possessions of the second half, ending the game with a Hurts interception and a turnover on downs. In total, the Eagles held the football for just over 23 minutes and gained only 248 yards of total offense on a pedestrian 47 offensive plays. The loss drops them to 2-1 ahead of one of the more difficult matchups they’ll see all season against the Rams in Week 4. Hurts remains a back-end QB1 aided by his rushing upside.

Uncharacteristically, Hurts had just five carries for 16 scoreless yards. This one was way harder than it needed to be, but Hurts stepped up when the Eagles needed him most late in the proceedings. Trailing 20-17 after the Titans drilled a field goal with 1:56 remaining, Hurts locked onto DeVonta Smith on what proved to be the game-winning drive. He capped it off with a three-yard scoring strike to an uncovered Darius Cooper in the end zone. It was far from a sterling performance, but it was just enough with Saquon Barkley in and out of the game as he battled a stinger and Dallas Goedert departing with a knee issue. Up to five passing scores through two starts, Hurts has yet to find the end zone on the ground. Perhaps that changes against the Bears on Monday Night Football in Week 3.

It was an up-and-down performance for Hurts, who faced plenty of resistance from a revamped Commanders defense that managed three sacks of Hurts on the day. Despite the offensive struggles the Eagles had at times, Hurts came up with enough big plays to offset some of those struggles, with the first being an impressive 64-yard throw to Dontayvion Wicks that put the ball on Washington’s six-yard line. That play was followed by a holding call that moved the Eagles back 10 yards, but Hurts connected with Dallas Goedert three plays later for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Eagles their first score of the day. Hurts would later connect with Wicks on a nine-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter after Wicks gained separation in the end zone to position himself for the short score. Hurts and Goedert would link up again in the fourth quarter for another score after the pair took advantage of a confused Commanders defense for a 43-yard touchdown that put the Eagles up 24-16 with less than six minutes to go in the quarter. It wasn’t a great debut for first-time offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, but Hurts and company did enough to overcome a surprisingly gritty Commanders defense to pick up their first win of the season. Hurts will be in the fantasy QB1 conversation next week when the Eagles visit the Titans.

McManus adds that “the feedback internally has been positive” regarding Hurts’ development. Mannion’s West Coast-style system is a “heavy under-center operation” that will increase the team’s play-action rate, decrease its shotgun usage and require the quarterback and his pass catchers to be on time throughout the play. Hurts has thrown more interceptions than beat reporters are “accustomed to seeing” in training camp, but McManus believes “some” of them can be chalked up to the learning curve that comes with a new system, particularly one featuring passes thrown over the middle. McManus adds that the offensive line depth’s emergence has been the biggest under-the-radar development this season, boding positively for Hurts’ performance in both the short- and long-term.

A recent report indicated that the new offense “is expected to have Shanahan/McVay influences,” so the new report from The Athletic’s Zach Berman tracks. The Eagles ran 860 plays out of the pistol and shotgun last year, and just 267 under center. However, they averaged 8.43 yards per attempt under center and 9.07 yards per play-action attempt from under center. Both figures lead their respective pistol and shotgun metrics by more than 0.70 yards. Berman notes that Hurts has had a new play-caller every year since 2016, so he’s no stranger to starting over. That said, Mannion plans to blend his preferences with those of his quarterback. Mannion is confident that Hurts “can do anything we ask of him,” and Hurts was reportedly excited about the new hire. As for Hurts’ rushing usage, it “will be a part of [the offense], but it won’t be the only part of it.” Hurts remains a fantasy QB1, but his spot in that tier is still being determined.

Under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, who will reportedly have “total authority” over the team’s offense, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will have to learn an entirely new playbook predicated on the concepts that have made Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers and Sean McVay’s Rams two of the league’s most efficient offenses. This is very much in line with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie pledging in April that the team would implement “significant offensive changes” after a 2025 campaign in which they ranked 17th in EPA per play, in line with the Texans and Falcons. Depending on which version of the Shanny/McVay offense Mannion installs, Saquon Barkley could see more pass-game involvement while short-area pass catchers like Dallas Goedert and rookie Makai Lemon see plenty of looks from Hurts, who last year ranked 14th out of 45 qualifying quarterbacks in accuracy on short throws. In 2024, Hurts led all QBs in accuracy on attempts between 1-10 yards.

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will take on the Jaguars in Jacksonville’s annual trip to London, where they are 7-7 since the 2013 regular season. Hurts, facing internal criticism this offseason following a difficult 2025 campaign, will look to get back on track in the run-heavy Philly offense that last season ranked 13th in EPA per rush, behind the Commanders and Giants. The Jaguars will look to build off a strong 2025 season, Liam Coen’s first as the team’s head coach. The Jags had the fourth best point differential last season, trailing only the Seahawks, Patriots, and Rams.

Fowler and Eagles beat writer Tim McManus quoted several team sources who were highly critical of Hurts following a disappointing 2025 season in which Hurts ranked 16th out of 40 qualifying QBs in EPA per drop back and 26th in drop back success rate, just ahead of Bryce Young and behind Jacoby Brissett. “Poor body language, not always bought in, not the most coachable and the players notice,” one source told ESPN, describing Hurts as resistant to suggestions and tweaks to the Philadelphia offense. “Though there is plenty of blame to spread, Hurts has had a hand in the offense becoming calcified,” the sources told Fowler and McManus. “He has pushed back on changes that would diversify the scheme, sources said, including when it comes to him going under center more. He has shown a reluctance to let it rip at times, particularly against zone coverage. He diverts from the game plan and changes play calls to what some feel is an excessive degree.” New Eagles OC Sean Mannion is expected to head a “dramatic overhaul” of the stale Philly offense that would presumably mean Hurts will have to be open to fundamental changes. We’ll see if that leads to tension and conflict for an Eagles team that was among the NFL’s most toxic in 2025.

Under head coach Nick Sirianni and new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, a former NFL quarterback, Lurie said the Eagles would make the tweaks necessary to bounce back after a down 2025 campaign. “This year, it was really apparent to everybody, but especially I would say to our head coach that we were able and going to make some significant offensive changes that would get us back to being a championship-level offense,” Lurie said. “We have our own proprietary metrics and ways of measuring offensive and defensive performance, and our offense was not what we were either accustomed to or expected of.” The usually-efficient Philadelphia offense last season ranked 17th in EPA per play, behind teams like the Commanders and Giants. Jalen Hurts’ passing efficiency fell off big time, as the Eagles were 15th in adjusted yards per pass attempt, in line with the Falcons and Texans.