Ball security has always been a bit of a quagmire for Jalen Hurts. The Eagles’ franchise quarterback accounted for three turnovers in Week 1, including an interception with 13 minutes to play that prematurely ended a promising red-zone drive and took potential points off the board.
Hurts’ cross-body throw on that one was ill-advised. Still, the Eagles were able to overcome his fourth-quarter pick and fly back from Brazil with a 34-29 victory. No need to panic, right? Maybe.
Hurts’ miscues are becoming commonplace at inopportune times, vividly illustrated by a fumbled exchange with Cam Jurgens on a “tush play” play late in the fourth quarter. Saquon Barkley recovered the ball with 1:11 remaining and Jake Elliott eventually booted a 21-yard field goal through the uprights to salt the game away for the Eagles.
So, yes, everything worked out. However, Hurts’ three giveaways on the night — two interceptions, one fumble that was Jurgens’ fault on a botched snap — pushed his tally up to 23 giveaways in his last 18 starts. Turnovers stunted the offense in the opener, although the lack of any meaningful preseason snaps played a factor. Chalk it up to jitters, along with coach and quarterback getting comfortable with each other.
“Yeah, I think sometimes the first game,” new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore told reporters. “And, we had two 3rd-and-extra-long opportunities where you practice some of those during training camp and I think we just — we got a little aggressive, myself play calling, also ultimately just the throw. But not overly concerned. They’re outliers in many cases, I think as we all have seen Jalen in those circumstances, so we feel optimistic we’ll be just fine moving forward, and we’ll be able to adjust.”
Against Green Bay, Hurts often looked like he was married to his first read and struggled to adjust when that option was covered up. The Eagles’ QB never took his eyes off DeVonta Smith on his first interception, staring him down and slinging it into crowded double coverage before Xavier McKinney picked it off.
Then, on his second interception, Hurts sailed a wounded duck in the direction of A.J. Brown who was open and waving his arm in the end zone. Problem is, Hurts had to wrangle a bad snap in from Jurgens which threw off his timing. It didn’t help that Brown slipped on the play as Hurts dared to throw it across his body at an awkward angle. Bad decisions all around for the Eagles’ offense.
“Those situations, sometimes those play out differently,” Moore said, “so just communicating through how we want to handle those circumstances, whether it be the backed up or the red zone one. I think we all get to grow from our communication, so I think they’re good growth opportunities for us.”
Kellen Moore calls Eagles’ bad snaps ‘Operational Thing’
Cam Jurgens owns the hardest job in Philadelphia right now, trying to replace the legend of Jason Kelce in his first year as the starting center. While critics were quick to point to a couple of botched snaps in his debut, Jurgens was a beast when he put his head down and opened up holes for Saquon Barkley. His blocking in the Eagles’ run game was on another level at times.
Jurgens, who played right guard for the Eagles in 2023, drew enthusiastic praise from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore who threw flowers on new right guard Mekhi Becton as well. That duo was instrumental in managing the cadence on every snap.
“I thought in general up front, I thought we did an excellent job. We were firm in the pass protection,” Moore said. “Run game, there were some really exciting highlights with those guys coming off the ball, getting to the second level, combination blocks, a lot of things to grow from, a lot of optimism with that group.
“I thought Mekhi did an excellent job. One element is he’s part of the cadence as well, so he’s having to play guard for the first time. He’s also part of the cadence because he’s really our indicator from the quarterback to the center, so he had heavy responsibility with that. He did an excellent job.”
What about those bad snaps by Jurgens? How does Moore intend to clean them up?
“Yeah, I think it’s just an operational thing for all of us to grow through,” Moore said. “There are a lot of things that go with that, from the snap to the cadence to the communication. There are a lot of things that go on pre-snap and just tightening that aspect of it up for all of us, how can we clean it up as much as we can. But I feel optimistic moving forward.”
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
