This was one of the best games of Jalen Hurts’ career. Against the Minnesota Vikings, Hurts finished with a perfect passer rating (158.3), completing 19 of 23 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns. The ball placement, timing, command, and confidence were all elite. This Philadelphia Eagles performance was a weird one to break down. Parts of the game showed the same structural problems that have plagued this offense all season. It still feels like too often the plays rely on the quarterback and receivers being superhuman rather than well-coached, but there were things I liked about the design this week, too. Let’s do this.
Offense
The plan was clearly to get under center more, use heavier personnel, and try to establish the run. Hurts took 20 snaps under center and it was apparent early that the staff wanted to see how the Vikings would react. Everyone knows the running game didn’t work, but it did lead to success in the pass game. So you can’t analyse the run game by itself, without considering what it led to in the pass game.
The opening drive showed that the run game may have worked better, if Cam Jurgens did not go out with an injury. The Eagles went under center and had some success getting Saquon Barkley going. It looked more cohesive than it has in weeks. Saquon Barkley had a few early lanes, and for a moment, it seemed like the run game might actually click. Sadly, it did not…
On fourth and four, Hurts and A.J. Brown bailed the offense out. This is the perfect example as to why it feels so hard to analyse this offensive design. The play design itself wasn’t great. I would love for someone to explain to me what AJ Brown is supposed to be doing here! Anyway, sometimes, it’s players > plays. Nothing is open, but the pass protection is fantastic and Hurts and AJ Brown just make a play. It’s easy to forget just how superhuman AJ Brown is. He dominated the Vikings down the field in this one, and made it look so easy at times.
The under center heavy run game continued into the second drive, with Fred Johnson coming in as an extra lineman. The idea was to pull the Vikings into heavier fronts and create opportunities down the field. From that perspective, it worked! The defense began committing an extra man to the box, which set up the later play-action bombs.
Hurts’ decisiveness stood out throughout the game. Minnesota’s defense has caused chaos for a lot of quarterbacks this year, but Hurts looked completely unbothered. On third-and-six, he took a perfectly timed deep shot to DeVonta Smith and it just missed because Smith mistimed his leap. It was still an encouraging sign. The offense looked more vertical, more confident, and willing to attack tight coverage. Hurts wasn’t checking down and was taking more tight window throws this week. When I previewed the Vikings, I was shocked by how good they had been at stopping big plays, but I did speculate that they could be attacked vertically. For all their funky rotations, the secondary is not that talented individually. The Eagles made the right decision going down the field this week.
The run game, on the other hand, remained a nightmare. Brett Toth had to step in at center after Cam Jurgens’ knee injury, and while Toth struggled, the design gave him no help. This is a near impossible block to ask him to make. He’s not playing well anyway, how he is supposed to succeed here! Time after time, the Eagles asked linemen to make challenging reach blocks. Even Lane Johnson struggles here. It’s poor coaching and design. Barkley had no chance. He was often hit behind the line before he could even make his read. The offensive line isn’t blameless, but they’re being put in some brutal situations. I really struggle to understand what is going wrong with the run game, because it feels like it’s something different on every play.
I’m going to sound hypocritical here, because I just said I liked the vertical element to the passing game, but I felt a few too many plays were “all or nothing.” On second-and-long, the Eagles dial up a deep concept that leave Hurts with nowhere to go. Hurts’ brilliance covered for it this week, but the play design still doesn’t leave Hurts with answers vs. every coverage. I’m fine being more vertical, but there has to be a checkdown or a shorter route to give him a chance.
Hurts’ command against the Vikings’ simulated pressures and disguise looks was awesome. He read everything correctly, stayed poised, and delivered on time. The snaps of under-center play action helped too, as they forced Minnesota to reveal their rotations earlier, giving Hurts cleaner post-snap pictures. His progression work here was fast, clean, and confident. It’s easy to forget that this Vikings’ pass defense has been absolutely exceptional this season.
You have to give the coaching staff some credit for setting up the Vikings with the 6 offensive linemen packages. They got the Vikings to bring an extra safety down, then threw it over the top. I would just like to say, that I wrote this last week…
Later on, they used 6 offensive line on a play from under center and gained 6 yards. Here’s my thing… why call these plays once? What’s the point? If you have success with 6 offensive linemen, why not run it again? Run play-action? Sequence something off it?
Well, they did something off it! A 79-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith. The Eagles lined up under center in 12 personnel with the sixth lineman in. The Vikings brought a safety down into the box. Hurts turned his back to the defense and delivered a perfect strike off play action. Smith’s route was outstanding. It was a subtle double move on Isaiah Rodgers, stemming inside before snapping back outside and across. He set him up perfectly. I wonder if he knew he could get him to turn his hips from playing against him in training camp. Hurts down the field accuracy was back to being oustanding. I am sure all of those online who criticised his down the field accuracy will give him the credit he deserves for this weeks performance….
Out of structure, Hurts was equally brilliant. Here, he escaped to his left, and dropped a dime to Smith, who made a fantastic adjustment coming back to the football. This is an area where Hurts has clearly improved the last few weeks. He’s keeping his eyes downfield and throwing accurately while on the move. For years, he’s been hesitant outside structure and often wants to run first, but right now, he looks confident throwing outside of structure. The offense seems to have worked on this, and it paid dividens today. They showed signs of working on it last week, but this week it really worked well.
The attempts to revive the under-center run game continued into the second half, and it remained painful. There was nowhere to go. Every play seemed to break down for a different reason. Here it’s Landon Dickerson missing a reach block here, but I think the angles are off once again. I won’t talk too much more about the failings of the run game because I want to write about it at some point. I understand the desire to get under center to open up play action, but you have to be better than they were this week. I don’t think I saw a single gap scheme run this week. I don’t get it.
Hurts’ third-down connection with A.J. Brown late in the game was so good. The Eagles called all hitches (again, one of the more unimaginative designs), but Hurts broke the pocket and delivered a strike to Brown along the sideline. Brown adjusted perfectly, coming back to the ball and turning a broken play into an important gain. Hurts’ ball placement was superb in this game.
It feels like every run is a different lineman’s mistake. One time Dickerson whiffs, the next it’s Jordan Mailata, then it’s a tight end. The Eagles deserve credit for committing to under center concepts to open the passing game, but if the ground attack stays this ineffective, defenses will stop honoring the run entirely and the play action will not work as effectively.
What stood out most was how much more expansive the route concepts wer this week. The Eagles finally attacked the middle of the field a bit more and mixed in more layered vertical concepts. Smith and Brown’s route trees looked diverse for the first time in weeks. It felt like there were more crossers, posts, deep digs, etc. Hurts threw to every level, and his timing was perfect. The Eagles have 2 exceptional wide receivers. They need to design plays to get them open down the field. Simple, right?!
In the words of J.T. O’Sullivan, this throw is ‘Anticipation with a capital A.’ The ball’s out before the AJ Brown even thinks about turning his head. The Eagles seem to have a lot of success with the double post concept (as Hurts throws a beautiful post route) and I wish we saw it more. AJ Brown’s route was fantastic, too. Hurts saw the field so well this game. Against the league’s best defense at confusing quarterbacks. Go figure…
Again, credit the coaching staff for a gutsy call on 3rd and long. AJ Brown makes football look easy at times. He’s so physically dominant. This was the passing performance that we’ve wanted to see all season. The first half wasn’t great, and the design isn’t “fixed”, but I enjoyed watching Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown ball out. Long may it continue.
Final thoughts
This was the most vertical, aggressive, and confident the Eagles’ offense has looked all season. A lot of that was down to Jalen Hurts. He played fantastic. The under-center emphasis was smart, even if the run game failed. It forced Minnesota to load the box and gave Hurts clean shots downfield.
The passing attack was explosive and vertical for the first time this year. DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown looked awesome. Despite this, flaws remain. The run game is still dysfunctional. Barkley had 18 carries for just 44 yards, eight of which went for one yard or less. After his first 3 runs, he had 28 yards on 15 carries. That’s brutal. Under-center runs averaged less than two yards per carry. The blocking assignments remain too difficult and the offensive line is not playing well.
The offense is far too reliant on Hurts’ heroics and the receivers’ talent. However, when you have elite talent on offense, you can always score points… I enjoyed this one overall! It’s nice to watch some good offensive football!
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon here!
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