The Eagles are finally entering the level that many expected them to be in at the start of the 2024 season. But just because the expectation was not met early on does not mean that the team would falter later down the road. With a new offensive coordinator, a new mouth or two to feed on offense, and a head coach sitting in hot water, Jalen Hurts tuned out all of the noise and was patient.
It was only a matter of time until the Eagles franchise QB found his groove again. Despite having four interceptions and five fumbles in the initial four games of the season, Hurts never lost focus on where he wanted to be.
The Eagles just needed to do right behind him and that was by lessening the load off of his shoulders. Sure, he’s the franchise QB, the leader of the locker room, and one of the many faces of the NFL, but this offense could never last if it broke their QB before getting to the finish line. Which is the ultimate goal.
Jalen Hurts is a special QB but even the greatest quarterbacks needed a system to help get them to where they wanted to go. This is why the Eagles needed to lose the mindset of being a pass-first offense. It never made much sense. The offensive line loves to get up the field and maul as many defenders as possible and the franchise finally has a big-time running back getting paid big-time money to make big-time plays.
Saquon Barkley is the saving grace for both Jalen Hurts and the offense. Barkley’s play has opened up the passing lanes for Jalen Hurts and has allowed Hurts to play his game with great confidence. With Barkley being a three in both the run game and pass game, we have now seen Jalen flourish into the QB that Eagles fans fell in love with after the 2022 season.
He’s able to navigate the field with defenses being forced to focus on where Saquon is. In those moments, he’s finding a wide-open Grant Calcaterra and even making eye-popping throws to both DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown. The offense is growing in ways that many people expected it to but at its own pace. With their new run-first identity, we are even seeing the rebirth of the RPO, and it’s working to the advantage of the Eagles.
Due to how big of a threat Saquon Barkley is, defenses are having a hard time predicting what this offense is going to do next. While Barkley has completely carried the offense, Jalen Hurts has taken full advantage of it and is making defenses pay for their lack of attention to his every move. His confidence has completely opened up the offense at the right time.
With the team heading to Dallas this weekend, the Eagles need to put away the Cowboys early so that they can focus on their Thursday night matchup against the Commanders. The stars will shine bright in that clash but Philadelphia needs to dim a different star before they can get there.
The Eagles will take on the Cowboys at 4:25pm EST on Sunday.
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