The Eagles offense looked bad on Black Friday against the Bears, and quarterback Jalen Hurts spoke to reporters after the game to talk a bit about some of the offensive struggles. He took accountability for his turnovers, and shared that he’s confident in Kevin Patullo while also highlighting the need for the offense to find an identity.
As they head into a mini-bye week, Hurts said he’ll be working and also talked about what his past experiences have taught him about facing adversity.
“We have to definitely stay together. Stay committed to what the team is trying to accomplish. In the end, no one ever said it was going to be easy, and we’ve got to embrace the challenge. We’ve got to embrace this time and respond to it the right way.”
Here’s what the QB had to say:
On the offensive struggles
“A combination of a lot of things. Ultimately, you look inward first and I see it as how the flow of things has gone for us this year and being practical about that. I can’t turn the ball over, so the ultimate goal is to go out there and find a way to win. That’s been a direct correlation with success for us being able to protect the ball and so that really, really killed us.”
Hurts later said that it’s not ideal that they aren’t on the same page yet at this point in the season, but said it’s not exactly surprising given the flow of the season. He noted that it’s about staying committed and together as they work through picking themselves up.
The quarterback was asked about the missed connection with DeVonta Smith on the third-down slant, but he attributed it to a miscommunication.
“No, not a check. It was two guys on two different pages and that’s a bit of the issues that we’ve kind of been having. We weren’t detailed enough in that, I wasn’t detailed enough in instructing him on what to do as we prepared and making myself clear on that, and so I’m trying to find as many particulars as I can when it comes to the level of execution we have, and that’s a group effort that has to be there.”
Hurts also didn’t have one specific answer for why they still can’t get the run game going, and said they need to make the most of their opportunities and need to regroup and reassess their approach.
“I know there’s some that we all want back in the run game, just from an overall execution standpoint, and I can’t point to one thing and say, ‘This is what it is.’ Ultimately, we just have to take advantage of our opportunities when they are there. There can be a ton of different opinions on what or why, but when the opportunity’s there, you have to strike and we can’t let the things get us that have almost gotten us. They’re getting us now. So, we have to definitely regroup and reassess and find ways to eliminate the things that have held us back.”
On the turnovers
Hurts talked about his second interception of the season, and explained that he was escaping the pocket, and he saw Kevin Byard coming over and there was a chance he’d be able to make a play. The QB thought he would throw it to the sideline and give A.J. Brown a chance to make a play on it, but ultimately he wasn’t able to connect with the WR.
He also admitted that the tush push has always posed a ball security risk, but Hurts still took accountability for having to protect the ball – despite hoping that progress was stopped before the ball came out.
“I was hoping that [progress] was stopped, but it wasn’t. It was kind of similar to the New York [Giants] game except that they just didn’t blow the whistle as soon. That’s not to point the finger at anyone else. I mean, I have to hold onto the ball. It definitely presents itself as an issue and it always has. It’s just never gotten us and so today it got us and it’s something that we and I need to tighten up.”
Hurts agreed that executing the tush push has been getting tougher and tougher, but still said that holding onto the ball is something that he can control and he needs to do better. And when asked if he’d rather run a different play on 3rd-and-short, the QB simply noted he can’t fumble the ball.
The quarterback later talked about how making ball security a priority doesn’t have to affect them being aggressive, and that their focus on winning the turnover battle has directly correlated to wins.
“Ball security is very important to going out there and winning games. I know that being a perspective that people have had or a narrative that’s been built from the approach. That approach has served us well and I don’t think that approach is an issue. I think we just have to go out there and execute. Again, you can be aggressive and still protect the ball. So, we’ve got to find that formula for us.”
On why they have success up-tempo
“Well, you’re almost imposing your will on the defense and you’re in attack mode and so I think aggressiveness looks different. It doesn’t mean taking a shot every play, it doesn’t mean throwing the ball down the field or doing extreme things. It just means having an identity and sitting in that identity and going out there and living in that.”
On Kevin Patullo and the offensive identity
When asked about his relationship with OC Kevin Patullo, Hurts said that they’re just kind of pressing on moving forward. The goal is to go out there and find ways to move the offense down the field and put points on the board.
“I’m always encouraging of sitting in an identity and so we’ve all got work we’ve got to do.”
Hurts said that he does have confidence in Patullo as a playcaller and confidence in the team, especially when they’re all collaborative. The QB reiterated his preference to have an identity.
“I have a lot of confidence when we have an identity, so I think that’s the first thing that we have to establish that we’ve talked about.”
After the game Patullo was seen talking to Hurts at his locker for an extended time, but the quarterback wouldn’t divulge those details, saying only that they’re focused on moving forward.
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