/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73778458/2188892065.0.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1 "The Linc – Jalen Hurts is holding onto the ball for a long time while also not pushing it downfield")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73778458/2188892065.0.jpg "The Linc – Jalen Hurts is holding onto the ball for a long time while also not pushing it downfield")
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
Fran’s film review: What’s really going on with Jalen Hurts and the Eagles passing game – PHLY
When talking about the combination of holding onto the ball without pushing it downfield, it’s pretty hard to do it at the rate at which Hurts did on Sunday. I checked. Since the start of the 2021 season, only four quarterbacks averaged less than 6.0 air yards/attempt while having an average time to throw of at least 3.40 seconds in a single game – that is before Hurts (3.47 ATT with 5.6 AY/A) did on Sunday. In 2021, former Eagle Ian Book (3.43 ATT with 4.2 AY/A) led the Saints to a loss against the Miami Dolphins. The following season, Miami would be on the other end of it, with Skylar Thompson (3.58 ATT with 5.40 AY/A) dropping a game against the Patriots. Earlier that season, Sam Darnold (3.68 ATT with 4.8 AY/A) lost a game against the Seattle Seahawks with a similar stat line. This is not great company for Hurts. Fast forward to 2023, and Patrick Mahomes (3.40 ATT with 4.4 AY/A) did it in that late-season loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. We know what the Chiefs went on to do. Quarterbacks, and passing games, can rebound from performances like this. This is not a referendum on Hurts as a player. It’s not a nail in his coffin. But he does have to improve if this team is going to go as far as they have their sights set on going.
Solak on NFL Week 14: Are the Eagles, Rams legit contenders? – ESPN+
As in all aspects of quarterback play, there is give and there is take. Last season, Hurts’ success as a scrambler totally cratered. He seemed less than 100 percent physically, but he also didn’t seem to want to tuck and run at all. And while Hurts is now reluctant to make throws this season, he’s also averaging 10 yards per scramble — the best number of his career. He’s picking up a first down on 56% of his scrambles (also the best of his career). And he’s hitting an explosive scramble 31.3% of the time (almost the best number of his career). By the data, this is one of the best scrambling seasons of the past 15 years. We can argue that Hurts has replaced some pass attempts with scrambles, and that those scrambles are largely valuable. But we must also note that Hurts has replaced some pass attempts with sacks, and that those sacks are very bad. Hurts’ sack rate of 9.0% is the worst of his career and worse than every other quarterback this season save for Deshaun Watson, Will Levis and Caleb Williams. Not the best company … Some of Hurts’ sudden increase in sack rate is the result of holding the ball longer as he struggles to make quick decisions in the pocket — stuff we’ve already seen. But the league is also getting wise to Hurts’ game as a pocket manager. Hurts loves to move to his right and generally struggles when rolling to his left, so opposing defensive coordinators have increasingly rushed him with the intent to move him out of the pocket to his right, then converge on his position.
It speaks volumes how many of Hurts’ best plays came out of structure against the Panthers. It helps explain his lengthy time to throw in tandem with the short yards per attempt. There are very few plays where he hits the top of his dropback, finds an open man downfield and targets him in rhythm. Brown’s first target and catch is one of the rare examples, with Hurts getting a clear line of sight to Brown’s slant route for a 10-yard completion late in the second quarter.
The Eagles passing game was a glaring issue on Sunday against the Panthers, and after the game several people spoke about the problem, including Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown. They both alluded to the fact that it’s hard to be synchronized or in a rhythm when so much of the offense is dedicated to the run game, but Brown’s comments were far more curt than Hurts. The WR succinctly stated the “passing” was an issue, but didn’t directly call out Hurts. Since he made that comment, everyone outside the building has been speculating whether Brown was putting the onus on Hurts or if it’s a bigger problem with the system. The speculation didn’t get any better on Monday when Brandon Graham took the mic on 94WIP and implied that the personal friendship between Hurts and Brown has changed — even saying that they can’t let their personal stuff affect the business relationship.
NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 15 edition – PhillyVoice
2) Eagles (11-2): Brandon Graham revealed that Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown might not exactly be BFFs. I mean, that seemed pretty obvious after Brown’s thinly veiled critical postgame comments of Hurts on Sunday. The Eagles are an 11-2 team with a nine-game winning streak. It’ll be interesting to see if they can focus on the opportunity they have right in front of them.
Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, a current co-host of “Nightcap” with Shannon Sharpe has been in a similar situation. However, Johnson believes the Eagles will turn things around next Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field, and Brown and Smith will be the focal point of the offense. “You know what’s going to happen next week?” Johnson said to Sharpe. “The (bleep) Eagles are going to go out there and they are going to have a field day in the passing game. It was Saquon’s day today.” When he was with the Cincinnati Bengals, Johnson recalled moments when he and former Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh would enter a game and think they would go off against a team that they were better than heading into the game and coming out with significantly different results. Johnson also implored Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to find ways to get the ball in the hands of the two wide receivers as much as possible to quell and discord that could be surrounding the team.
When you look at some of those plays, he was incredibly impressive. The Eagles defense did good things, but Young was better. He was a great QB at Alabama and was the #1 pick for a reason. His pro career got off to a terrible start, but the light has gone on for him and you can see his ability. You can be disappointed in the Eagles, but make sure to give Young a lot of credit. This isn’t the guy from the first month of the season.
Why your NFL team won, lost in Week 14 – PFF
Why the Eagles won: The Eagles’ rushing game compensated for the fact the passing game never got going against the Panthers. Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts and Kenneth Gainwell combined for 209 rushing yards and a touchdown on 31 attempts, averaging 6.7 yards per attempt. Barkley didn’t have a massive game-breaking run, but he was consistent, averaging 6.2 yards per attempt and forcing four missed tackles — and he still managed to have five runs of over 10 yards. The Eagles just know how to grind down defenses with an effective rushing game.
In Roob’s Eagles Stats: Crazy pass defense numbers and more Saquon – NBCSP
3. First-quarter nightmare. The Eagles are the first team to make the playoffs despite scoring 17 or fewer 1st-quarter points through their 13th game since the 2001 Buccaneers, who scored 16 points in the first quarter of their first 13 games. They finished 9-7. The Eagles are the first team to win 11 games despite scoring 17 points in the first quarter of their first 13 games since the 1986 Giants, who scored just 12 (but won the Super Bowl). The Eagles are the first team in the last 50 years to win 11 of their first 13 games despite being outscored by 40 or more points in the first quarter. The 1999 Bucs were outscored by 48 and opened up 9-4.
2. The weird Saquon Barkley stat for the 2024 season. Lost in all of the greatness of Barkley’s season to date, in which he leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,623 yards) and yards from scrimmage (1,890), is this: Barkley leads the NFL with 11 touches on which he was tackled at the 1-yard line. Quarterback Jalen Hurts passed or rushed for a touchdown after all but one of those touches. Barkley, who has 11 rushing touchdowns this season, has not scored a TD on any drive on which he was tackled at the 1-yard line in 2024.
Steelers WR George Pickens not expected to play vs. Eagles – Behind The Steel Curtian
The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering their most challenging stretch of the 2024 season, as they will play three games in an 11-day stretch against three of the NFL’s top teams. Their first stop will come next week in Philadelphia – a place they haven’t won since 1965. And from the sound of it, they’ll be doing it without George Pickens. The star receiver was a surprise inactive in Week 14 with a hamstring injury that was later revealed to be a Grade Two strain. And according to Gerry Dulac of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pickens will likely miss Week 15 against the Eagles as well. “For all the conspiracy theorists out there, George Pickens [is] not expected to play in Philly either because of [his] hamstring injury,” Dulac reported via X.
49ers Restructure Javon Hargrave’s Contract – Over The Cap
The 49ers also have the ability to designate Deebo Samuel a post June 1 release next year following a creative restructure of his contract this past March. This is a recent trend, started by the Eagles a few years ago, where they are essentially finding ways to manage their salary cap by getting the players to sign off on restructures that make it easier for the player to be released on the salary cap. The 49ers should have around $55 million in effective cap space for 2025, with a QB extension likely on the horizon for the team.
Washington Commanders Bye Week Roster “Recalibration” Update: Offense – Hogs Haven
Zach Ertz – Replacement Level: Ertz has provided good value for the Commanders as a reliable second target for Jayden Daniels on a one-year, $3 million contract. He has caught 58.7% of targets for 501 yds, 29 first downs and 4 TDs. But at 34 years old in 2025, he is playing on borrowed time. In 2024, he was the 29th most productive receiving TE, as judged by Y/RR, among 45 TEs with a minimum of 25 targets. The Commanders need another playmaker on offense, and TE is a position worth focusing on.
If there’s been one bright spot for the Cowboys in this disastrous season, it’s been the emergence of second-year linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. After missing his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL last year, he has been a key contributor for the defense this season. The argument could be made that outside of Micah Parsons, he’s the best player in the front-seven of the defense. However, the worst thing imaginable happened Monday night, with Overshown appearing to have suffered another serious knee injury. Overshown was helped off the field in the second half of Monday’s game and was very quickly ruled out with a knee injury. On Tuesday morning, Jerry Jones confirmed that Overshown will be undergoing knee surgery and his season is over.
Jerry Jones: Cowboys ‘devastated’ by blocked punt blunder in loss vs. Bengals – NFL.com
The 2024 Dallas Cowboys found a new way to lose. Jerry Jones’ club fell 27-20 Monday night to Cincinnati after the Bengals capitalized on a Cowboys mishap blocked punt. Dallas forced a punt at the two-minute warning, which was subsequently blocked by Cowboys linebacker Nick Vigil. However, Amani Oruwariye touched the ball after it traveled past the line of scrimmage — essentially a muffed punt — and couldn’t corral the pigskin. The Bengals recovered. Instead of Dallas getting the ball in excellent field position to win the game, Cincinnati was dancing in the end zone three plays later, and the Cowboys eventually dropped to 5-8.
When the Giants waived quarterback Daniel Jones, PFN estimated the team’s chance at the first overall pick at 10.1%. A week ago, that stood at 30%. Now, nearly 40%. What the Giants do with their first-round pick, whether it is No. 1 or later, is anybody’s guess. And something commenters here at BBV will, I’m sure, spend the next several months arguing about. Whether Joe Schoen is the GM ultimately making the pick remains to be seen. The depleted Giants may not intentionally be tanking, but it would be a surprise if as currently constructed they win more than one of their remaining four games. So, a top three pick seems like a near-certainty at this point.
Bill Belichick coaching North Carolina would be the best worst hire of all-time – SB Nation
I was convinced it was a fake post at first. Bill Belichick? Coaching the University of North Carolina? That feels like something that would get passed around by people who paid for checkmarks so they could shitpost and spread false information. Yet, it’s real, and it might actually happen. After a report by Inside Carolina broke last week about the legendary NFL coach wanting to get back into the game at the college level, many around the NFL world have wondered if this was legit. Could the greatest NFL coach ever take his talents to Chapel Hill? For the most part, talks are still ongoing, and Belichick himself said he’s spoken to North Carolina athletic director Lee Roberts about the job multiple times, including an alleged five-hour conversation.
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