Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) drops back to throw a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
The drama swirling around the Philadelphia Eagles regarding their offense would be more at home at the Kimmel Center.
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
I’ve been covering sports in the City of Brotherly Love for over 20 years drama-filled years, ranging from the drama of Donovan McNabb not being Black enough for an NAACP president, the late Rush Limbaugh calling McNabb a DEI hire before it was fashionable, to the madness that was Terrell Owens.
But, the latest strife involving quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles inconsistent offense has so many layers of dysfunction and not so virtual insanity that my fellow reporter friends from around the country are calling and asking me, “Yo, wassup with your boys in Philly?!”
You have an Eagles team that has the best record in the NFC at 8-2 and is on a four-game winning streak. Before Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions, Hurts had thrown eight touchdown passes in the three games. In two of those of games, he had a passer rating of 141.5 (win against the New York Giants) and a perfect passer rating of 158.3 against the Minnesota Vikings, which was against former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.
Put a pin in that. It’ll be relevant in a minute.
In the aftermath of one of the most masterful defensive performances in Eagles history in a 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions on national television, former Comcast Sports Network reporter, Derrick Gunn, said on Seth Joyner’s postgame show, “There are a lot of people within the (Eagles) organization that are frustrated with the quarterback situation.”
Gunn compared Hurts situation to that of Wentz — See, I told you it would be relevant — when he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts back in 2021 and the Eagles were forced to take a $33.8 million salary cap hit. He said Hurts has the team “over a barrel” because of his contract.
That’s deep and a bit over the top.
It’s also something I can’t say in a family newspaper.
This is a quarterback who has a 51-15 record since 2022 as a starting quarterback with two Super Bowl appearances in three years and a Super Bowl MVP award. Hurts outplayed three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes in both of his Super Bowl appearances against the Kansas City Chiefs and has a better record against him than both Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, both of which have won the league’s Most Valuable Player award. I wonder if that was what Gunn meant about Hurts having the team over a barrel.
If the organization is that concerned or frustrated with Hurts’ performance as Gunn reported, the frustration should be extended to the rest of the offense, because it takes 11 people to play in an NFL offense, and he’s not the only one with issues this season.
To his credit as a team leader, Hurts took responsibility for his team’s struggle on offense this season.
“We obviously got a lot to work to do, and it starts with me,” Hurts said during his Wednesday press conference.
It took the Eagles eight games into the 2025 season for them to have a 100-yard run rusher on the ground when running back Saquon Barkley ran for 150 yards against the New York Giants. It was the first time the former Penn State star eclipsed the century mark since the Eagles win over the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game.
Since the Super Bowl, the Eagles coaches, most notably, first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, have not figured out the “secret sauce” that Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo used to stymie the Eagles running game. In a copycat league, opposing defenses this season have had their share of success shutting down the Birds running game.
In that Super Bowl, it took a monster effort by the defense, and Hurts using his arm and legs to bring home the Lombardi Trophy. In that game, the conventional wisdom said that if you shut the running game, you force Hurts to have to beat you.
And he did that. Hurts was both the passing game and the running game in the 40-22 win over the Chiefs. He was an efficient 17-of-22 passing for 221 yards with a pair of touchdown passes, and he gained 72 yards rushing on 11 carries and a touchdown.
The Eagles offensive line has had its share of injuries. Veteran right tackle Lane Johnson will be out for the next four to six weeks. Left guard Landon Dickerson has his share of injuries between knee surgery in August, back and quad injuries.
Center Cam Jurgens has missed a few games with knee injuries and is currently in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Meanwhile, Barkley is not getting the space to run the football as he did last year. He is averaging just 3.8 yards and has gained just 662 yards rushing with four touchdowns. Last, Barkley gained 2,005 yards, averaged 5.8 yards per carry, and scored 13 touchdowns.
The bottom-line is this — whether it’s injuries on the offensive line, Hurts or wide receivers complaining on social media, fixing a struggling offense comes down the Eagles offensive coaching staff made up of Patullo, offensive line/running game coordinator Jeff Stoutland and head coach Nick Sirianni.
So, it might be a good idea if everyone left the drama at the Kimmel Center.
All this quarterback drama has drowned out the fact that the Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at 4 p.m. You can catch the game on Fox 29.
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