December 09, 2025
Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images
Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Odafe Oweh (98) tackles Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) in the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Jalen Hurts stood at the podium, answered the questions, and kept the same face throughout his postgame press conference about a half hour following another Eagles loss.
Hurts had committed five turnovers by himself Monday night against the Chargers – two on the same play! – and fittingly put the blame for the entire Eagles 22-19 overtime loss to the Chargers on himself.
"To me, we lost the game, and I didn’t play well enough for us to win the game," he told reporters afterward at SoFi Stadium.
The loss was the Eagles' third straight. They're fading down the stretch, and not all of it – but a good amount of it – is due to Hurts not playing his best, or even good, football.
One of the NFL's best protectors of the football throughout his career, and for the first 10 weeks of the season, Hurts has now thrown five interceptions and lost two fumbles during the losing streak.
On top of his turnovers, he and the Eagles are still performing miserably on third down and moving the ball mainly on shot plays. The Eagles were 4 for 13 on third down against the Chargers, just 31 percent, even worse than their season average of 35 percent, which is the NFL's fifth-worst.
Hurts isn't the lone culprit in the Eagles' plunge to becoming one of the NFL's least efficient offensive teams. First-year coordinator Kevin Patullo's play calling, head coach Nick Sirianni's failed attempt to add helpful input, and an offensive line that's dealt with injuries, committed too many penalties and has clearly declined have all conspired against an offense that hasn't scored more than 21 points since Week 8.
But even Hurts couldn't deny the reality that he hasn't played well in weeks, and he's been unable to be the catalyst for an offense that needs more from him.
"I gotta find a way to lead our team to victories," he said. "It's not something that's foreign to us. We're just, um, not able to do it at the moment, and it starts with me and how I play, how I lead, how I go out there and do my job."
The four interceptions were the most of his career in a single game. The 31.2 passer rating was the fourth-worst of his career. His 52.5 percent completion rate was the fourth time in his last five games he's been under 60 percent.
He's struggling against pressure. He's getting confused by defenses changing post-snap. His ball placement, typically precise and accurate, has also eroded, as many of his passes Monday night were high or off the mark.
Despite these shortcomings, he threaded a picturesque 28-yarder to DeVonta Smith in overtime as the Eagles, down by a field goal, marched into Chargers territory and into the red zone.
But a first-down pass to Jahan Dotson became a microcosm for the Eagles' streak, and for his horrendous performance against the Chargers. The pass into a tight window was tipped by a Chargers cornerback and picked by a safety to end the game.
PICKED! CHARGERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/dJsl8Ilk7O
— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2025
"Ultimately, it’s a play I didn't make," Hurts said. "He got a hand on the ball and I didn't make a play. That's a play we’ve made a million times in that scenario versus a cloud corner, and I didn't make that play this time around."
And now the defending Super Bowl champions are teetering on perilous ground. They have tumbled from the NFC perch after 11 weeks into the current 3 seed slot, just one game ahead of the 7-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers with four weeks left in the regular season.
Once considered a slam dunk to win the NFC East, the Eagles still lead the Cowboys by 2 games, which should be enough to still clinch the division, but not if the Eagles can't stop the bleeding.
Not if Hurts can't stop missing receivers, throwing picks, and coming up short on third down.
"We gotta go out there and put it together," Hurts said. "At the end of the day, the 'we' ... I look at it, that's 'I.' It starts with me and how I play, like I said, how I lead and just my ability to go out there and figure it out. There’s no excuses. Obviously, we always feel like we got a chance but we just gotta come together and find ways to win, and I have to find a way to win."
The latest loss might be most remembered for one of the craziest sequences you'll see. Hurts threw an interception in the second quarter to a dropping lineman, then got the ball back immediately when defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand fumbled after being hit by Will Shipley. But Hurts fumbled again when he was hit by Chargers linebacker Troy Dye, his second turnover on the same play.
Da'Shawn Hand picks off Jalen Hurts.
— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2025
Da'Shawn Hand fumbles.
Jalen Hurts recovers.
Jalen Hurts fumbles.
Troy Dye recovers. @Chargers ball.
CHAOS! pic.twitter.com/qHHMF3hFcG
But that's not the mistake that did in the Eagles, nor did two more interceptions by Hurts in regulation. He had a chance to right all the wrongs in overtime.
"As frustrating as it was," Hurts said of the double-turnover play, "we had an opportunity to win the game at the end. I had the ball in my hands, driving down the field, having everything on our terms ... and I didn't bring it home. Thats how I look at it."
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