After weeks and weeks of disappointing passing numbers that didn’t really impact the final score anyway, the aerial struggles of Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles were on full display in Week 14 when, despite being the superior team, the Carolina Panthers. nearly pulled off the upset victory if it wasn’t for a botched catch from Xavier Legette.
Normally, the kind of relatively efficient passing game that Philly has deployed over the past few months would be accentuated by a few deep bombs down the field to really expand the field and take advantage of the stacked boxes that Saquon Barkley demands in the front seven, but at During week 14, this didn’t really happen. Sure, Barkley still got his, but the Eagles didn’t complete a pass of more than 20 yards and generally struggled to get the ball to AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith despite them being clearly the team’s priorities. passing game.
What gives? Why did Hurts struggle so much against the Panthers, and is it just an anomaly or a sign of bigger problems? Asked about the team’s inability to move the ball down the field and Hurts’ increased throwing time against a paltry defense, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore attempted to address the issues, noting that he, too, could do a better job of drawing. up more engaging pieces to keep everyone engaged and happy.
“That’s a good question. I obviously think we will continue to evaluate and give ourselves the best opportunities to succeed. I think there’s a ton of good in that. A bit of situational football, I think we did really well. On first down and second down, there’s obviously some growth opportunities that come from that game for us, just to play cleaner, more efficient football,” Moore told reporters.
“For my part, I’m going to focus on how I can help from game design, from sequencing within a game. All those things just to give us a chance. Obviously there were a lot of good things throughout the season and even in the last situational football game we did a really good job.
Whoa, is Moore just falling on the proverbial sword of being a good coach, or is he really seeing areas where he can grow as a player as well? Fortunately, it could be the former, as he later explained during his press session.
Kellen Moore wants to make Jalen Hurts’ life easier at first
When asked if the adjustments the Eagles made during the bye to make the passing attack less complicated had somehow made Hurts less willing to air things out for fear of an interception , Moore first celebrated his quarterback for avoiding turnovers before noting that, yes, maybe he needs to call better plays to give him better shots.
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“Excellent question. I think Jalen did a great job, first and foremost, protecting the football. With a turnover since the bye week, he has done an incredible job. You still see aggressive throws. You always see him throwing down the field,” Moore told reporters.
“In this game, production-wise, in the passing game, we didn’t hit the explosives and all those things. Sometimes, unfortunately, these kinds of plays happen, and that’s the challenge of the NFL. You have slugfest matches like this, and you find a way to win, and that’s ultimately the number one goal. I think first down and second down can probably find ways to improve there, but I think the credit for the situation goes to our guys who held on, two minute drive, four minute drive, first down and passing situations, red zone, two touchdowns. There are a lot of little details, I thought we played at a high level.
Although the NFL isn’t college football, where offensive coordinators can regularly engineer easy looks for quarterbacks, the Eagles definitely look a little less inspired than many of their league peers, with defenses being able to play on what they plan to do to remove it. If Moore can bring back the motion and give Hurts an easier time before the snap, the overall passing numbers will likely improve just short of it.
