As the NFL season creeps toward Christmas, the reigning Super Bowl MVP looks nothing like it.
In fact, Jalen Hurts is so out of sorts, his coach has been forced to confirm Hurts will remain Philadelphia's starting quarterback entering Week 15.
"No, I think that's ridiculous," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said during his weekly radio appearance on 94 WIP in Philadelphia on Wednesday, rejecting the notion of a QB change, . "I know every time I go out on that field with Jalen Hurts as our quarterback, we have a chance to win the game. That's something that's been proven. We've won a lot of football games.
"This is the most ultimate team game. You win together as a team, you lose together as a team. It's never just one thing."
Sirianni is correct: Football is the ultimate team game, and blame for Philadelphia's late-season struggles can be shared by many members of the Eagles. That group includes Hurts, who was responsible for four interceptions and a lost fumble in Monday night's 22-19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Statistically, it looks horrible, but as Eagles fans will confirm, the display didn't appear much different from most of their performances over the last month.
Philadelphia's offense is stuck in the mud. Their running game is inconsistent amid injury-related changes along the offensive line, and despite possessing plenty of pass-catching talent, the passing game isn't much better.
Hurts has appeared hesitant to take risks in recent games, surveying far beyond the usual 2.5 seconds allotted to most quarterbacks. For much of his career, his extended time to throw has been a feature of his game. But of late, it's become an albatross, as Hurts has spent too much time searching for the perfect throw instead of trusting his instincts.
The difference is visible when the Eagles enter a desperate and/or urgent scenario, as they did late in regulation on Monday night. When asked to move the ball quickly, Hurts becomes the instinctive, talented quarterback who fires accurate passes with conviction, finding his stable of talented receivers -- A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert, among others -- for quick completions that become chunk gains.
On Monday night, Hurts powered a 34-yard drive in 1:17 that ended with a game-tying Jake Elliott field goal, forcing overtime. A week earlier, an up-tempo approach saw Hurts lead a five-play, 77-yard drive that lasted just 1:54 and ended in a 33-yard touchdown pass to Brown, cutting Chicago's lead to one point.
The issue is this is the occasional result, not the norm. And when a quarterback slaps four interceptions in red ink next to his name in the box score, folks naturally come calling for his job.
In Hurts' defense, his final interception was not the result of a mistake on his part, but an excellent defensive play made by Chargers corner Cam Hart and safety Tony Jefferson.
"When we have the ball in overtime and I've got Jalen Hurts as my quarterback, I have all the confidence that we're going to win the football game," Saquon Barkley said. "Sometimes, it just doesn't work."
That admission won't wipe the slate clean, though.
As most fanbases will respond when their quarterback is struggling, some are calling for preseason standout Tanner McKee, a sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 2023 who has only made a regular-season impact in a largely pointless Week 18 win over the Giants last year.
Sirianni knows McKee won't fix his offense. It's why he's continuing to trust his process and maintain belief in the quarterback who helped his team bring home a Lombardi Trophy last season.
Until the results match the optimism, though, the criticism will persist. It's up to Sirianni's squad to prove them wrong, starting with Sunday's contest against the lowly Raiders, a perfect get-right game for an Eagles team that desperately needs it.
"I know we can continue to get better. There was a lot of good things on offense on Monday night," Sirianni said. "It was really good defense, it was really good special teams, and there were a lot of good things on offense.
"I come away encouraged from that game, knowing that we have things to clean up ... No one is pressing, everyone is just thinking, how do we get ourselves in the best position to win this game and play our best game this game?"
