PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts blames the Eagles' offensive woes on “poor execution.”
He repeated it three times as his only answer to a question about how the Eagles failed to score in the second half and blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Los Angeles Rams. Hurts said it again when asked how the Eagles failed to convert a single third down in their 24-20 loss on Sunday.
Hurts had only 10 yards passing in the second half.
So what's really
to blame for the offense?
Hurts blames the execution.
Eagles fans, well, they blame coach Nick Sirianni, and perhaps with good reason after his ill-fated decision to try to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. The Eagles failed to score, and the Rams came back and scored a touchdown on a 98-yard drive.
Sirianni took the fall and refused to pin the blame solely on new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.
“He’s going to wear a lot of this. There’s no doubt,” Sirianni said. “I’m going to wear a lot of this. Our offense is going to wear a lot of this. You win together; you lose together. I have no complaints on what happened there today.”
The Eagles also have been smacked with injuries and played without several key starters. They lost a few more on Sunday and could be looking to start a handful of backups when they play Jacksonville this weekend. “Next man up” sounds good in theory. Not necessarily when they need a half-dozen or more to fill the spots.
“I have a lot of faith in everybody on this football team,” Sirianni said. “There’s a reason they’re Philadelphia Eagles.”
The 2-2 record seems pretty dire for a franchise that has set a championship standard. Perhaps they can learn something from the 2024 season when they were 2-2 — and then won the Super Bowl.
Hurts said the Eagles can fix their offensive woes with, yes, better execution.
“You’re finding your flow collectively as a unit,” Hurts said. "I think it comes down to finding a flow, finding a rhythm as a unit, as a group, and going out there and executing at a higher level. We didn’t do that today.”
The Eagles got their first takeaways of the season and were able to convert them into points.
Matthew Stafford was intercepted on the Rams’ first drive on a diving catch by Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba. He had the Eagles' first pick of the season. That led to a field goal. Stafford threw his second pick to Cooper DeJean and that set up the Eagles' final touchdown for a 20-10 lead.
Third-down conversions and second-half scoring. The Eagles failed to convert a single third down on 12 tries and have been outscored 31-0 in the second half of their last two games, both losses. They had only 68 net yards passing and a measly 172 yards of total offense against the Rams.
Darius Cooper. With DeVonta Smith out with a hamstring injury (he could miss Sunday, as well), Cooper ably filled in as a top target. Cooper, who made the game-winning TD catch in a Week 2 win in Tennessee, had touchdown catches of 10 and 18 yards in the first half against the Rams.
His first TD is already a top candidate for the Eagles’ play of the year.
Hurts was under pressure on a pass play and floated a pass into the end zone off his back foot. Rams safety Quentin Lake had a pick in sight and got his fingertips on the ball when he leapt at the goal line. Cooper jumped behind him and snatched the ball and then tumbled to the turf to turn the potential interception into a touchdown and a 13-3 lead.
The Eagles' offensive line struggled without Lane Johnson. There was little pass protection and Cam Jurgens continued to get beat at left guard. Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner repeatedly plowed past him, which stalled the Eagles' run game. The Eagles are 18-30 when Johnson isn't in the lineup.
Where to begin?
Johnson, a two-time All-Pro, was a late scratch for personal reasons.
Saquon Barkley went down early against the Rams with a hamstring injury. Quinyon Mitchell, Jonathan Greenard and Tank Bigsby all went into the sideline medical tent at some point.
Philadelphia already had ruled out wide receiver DeVonta Smith with a hamstring injury along with linebacker Zack Baun, who has a concussion. Six starters were ruled out ahead of the game.
Sirianni had no updates Sunday on Johnson or the injured players.
50 — Jake Elliott kicked a 56-yard field goal and extended his own franchise record with 35 field goals of 50-plus yards. After a down season, he's 2 for 2 on 50-yarders this season. He made a 59-yarder in Week 2 at Tennessee.
Get ready for Britain and Ringo. The Eagles — including punt returner Britain Covey and cornerback Kelee Ringo — are headed to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Stadium. Sportsbooks have the Jaguars as 3 1/2-point favorites.
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